It has been a difficult year in mixed martial arts for Cameron Smotherman.
The bantamweight fighter appeared in headlines this past January following the events that unfolded during the UFC 324 weigh-ins in Las Vegas.
Smotherman face-planted on the stage after stepping off the scale, a scary scene that brought the backlash to weight-cutting in MMA back to the surface.
Things went from bad to worse when he eventually did make it back to the cage in May and lost for the third time in a row.
Should the UFC ban weight cutting?
Cameron Smotherman collapsed on stage after making weight for UFC 324.
Bantamweight Cameron Smotherman is among the victims of the latest UFC roster purge
This past May, Smotherman trolled UFC staff in Macau by pretending to pass out again. The 28-year-old was in high spirits after making it back to action for the first time in 16 months, but things once again did not go to plan for him on fight night.
Smotherman was knocked out by former UFC flyweight title challenger Kai Asakura in less than two minutes at the UFC Fight Night event in China.
That result extended his losing skid to three, coming after decision defeats to Serhiy Sidey and Ricky Simon inside the Octagon.
The setback against Asakura evidently marked the final straw for Smotherman, who has been removed from the roster in what looks to have been another purge from the UFC.
As the promotion gets ready for the upcoming season of Dana White’s Contender Series, a number of fighters have either been released or not re-signed.
At the same time as Smotherman’s departure emerged, Islam Makhachev’s ex-opponent Thiago Moises was removed from the roster, along with Ariane Carnelossi.
The decision may not have come as a huge surprise to Smotherman given his losing run inside the Octagon.
And his latest Instagram post just over a week before his UFC exit was confirmed could suggest that he knew his time in the Octagon was up.
“Regret and failure are an inevitable part of life but I’m still grateful for everything I have and I won’t stop smiling everyday,” Smotherman wrote.
“I’m choosing to look at the bright side of things and although I’ve lost a lot, that means there’s now more space to gain new things.
“The show won’t stop here, I’m still a hero to the people I care about and I won’t stop now. The best is yet to come,” he added.
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