It’s barely been a week since the White House event concluded, and the UFC is back to its customary task of trimming its roster before it embarks on the next stretch of events lined up for the second half of the year.

Latest reports indicate Dana White and his team have parted ways with three fighters who had been associated with the UFC for the last few years. While reflecting the promotion’s efforts to keep its roster competitive, what seems to have surprised many, however, is the way the move does not spare those who have been with the promotion for a long time. The UFC appears willing to move on even long-tenured athletes.

“Today (Thurs., June 18, 2026), it was revealed that three fighters have been removed from UFC’s active roster, meaning they have either been released from their respective contracts or the promotion decided not to re-sign them. Guilherme Cruz and the automated UFC roster tracker roster. watch reported the news,” veteran MMA reporter Alexander Behunin wrote on MMA Mania.

“The three fighters who lost their jobs are Thiago Moises, Cameron Smotherman, and Ariane Carnelossi.”

With no official statement from the UFC having appeared regarding the three fighters’ releases, one can only infer from their current situations and the UFC’s historical roster-management patterns. The promotion is known to trim its roster, especially when fighters are on a losing streak, stuck in the same competitive tier for years, near the end of their contracts, and perhaps most importantly, no longer viewed as future contenders.

While each case is different, the UFC has historically favored creating opportunities for younger prospects over retaining established competitors whose championship upside appears limited.

It’s not clear if Thiago Moises has reached the end of his UFC contract. Meanwhile, the remaining reasons seem to fit in his case. He departs from the promotion eight years after making his debut at Dana White’s Contender Series Brazil 3. Though he marked his debut with a loss to Beneil Dariush and suffered another defeat to Damir Ismagulov, the Brazilian lightweight showed flashes of promise, including a three-fight winning streak that led to a high-profile bout against Islam Makhachev.

After that setback, Moises struggled to build momentum afterward, posting a losing record over the final stretch of his UFC run, including the two consecutive defeats in his most recent appearances. The former RFA lightweight champion departs with a record split equally between eight wins and eight losses in the UFC.

Moises, Smotherman, and Carnelossi among latest UFC departures

28-year-old Cameron Smotherman’s future seemed more uncertain. The Houston-based MMA fighter hadn’t secured a win since his big win in his UFC debut against Jake Hadley. His most recent bout against Kai Asakura on UFC Fight Night Macau ended in a first-round knockout, leaving him with a record of one win against three losses.

Beyond those setbacks, Smotherman gained considerable attention for the way he collapsed after the weigh-ins for his matchup against Ricky Turicos. While Smotherman successfully made weight, the effort required to do so took a considerable toll on his health as he fainted on the dais post-weigh-ins. As a result, the bout at UFC 324 was cancelled after it caused considerable concerns.

The third fighter on the list is another Brazilian, Ariane Carnelossi, the 33-year-old Sao Paulo native. With her debut against Angela Hill on a 2019 Fight Night ending disastrously, Carnelossi could never really recover from the setback. While she scored two consecutive wins, the loss to Lupita Godinez halted that momentum. It took her two years to return to the cage, when Carnelossi defeated Piera Rodriguez in what turned out to be her last victory. With losses to Talita Alencar this past November and the first-round knockout loss to Ketlen Souza at the most recent Fight Night at the UFC Apex, the Brazilian’s record of three wins against four losses never appeared to satisfy the UFC.

Notably, UFC roster watchdogs also identified another fighter, flyweight Matt Schnell, as having been removed from the roster. The 36-year-old American announced his retirement following back-to-back losses, the most recent being a first-round TKO loss to Alessandro Costa.

The cuts come as the UFC is reportedly expected to add more than 50 new fighters through Dana White’s Contender Series this year. Since the promotion already has hundreds of athletes under contract but only stages a limited number of events annually, it cannot keep adding fighters indefinitely.

So, to make room for new prospects, the UFC often parts ways with veterans. On the whole, the latest roster turnover should be viewed through that lens. It is part of the normal business rather than a personal judgment on any individual fighters.

An example mirroring the latest case appeared months ago when, after the UFC Mexico City, the promotion released Jose Daniel Media and Felipe Bunes, who had competed on the card headlined by Brandon Moreno and Lone’er Kavanagh. It was followed by the departure of Jamie Mullarkey (18-9), Lando Vannata (12-8-2), Vince Morales (16-11), and Daniel Marcos (18-1) last month.