Just four months after fighting for the women’s flyweight title against Valentina Shevchenko, Liz Carmouche has been released from the UFC.
ESPN first reported the news. The outlet added that Carmouche was made aware of her release while in Washington D.C., to promote the UFC on ESPN 7 card that takes place in the capital this Saturday, December 7th.
According to reports from MMA Junkie, Carmouche had just signed a new contract with the UFC, shortly after her title fight loss to Valentina Shevchenko.
“I’m a little bit pained,” Carmouche said. “They brought me out here and had me doing a lot of media obligations. I went to Arlington Cemetery and was part of the wreath ceremony. They brought me out as a veteran and as a fighter. Then today they had me going to the hospital and talking to different people and different wards – only to find out that I’d been released earlier. The news just finally trickled down to me.”
For their part, UFC matchmakers told Junkie they didn’t know Carmouche was part of the promotional tour.
A veteran of women’s MMA, Carmouche (13-7) fought in the first women’s fight in UFC history, when she was submitted by Ronda Rousey at UFC 157 in 2013. She was also the first-ever UFC fighter to come out as openly gay while competing. The 35-year-old fought the very best during her time in the promotion, including former champions Jessica Andrade and Miesha Tate.
Carmouche’s last fight in the UFC was a flyweight title shot against Valentina Shevchenko at UFC Montevideo in August. Losing the fight by unanimous decision, Carmouche called for a trilogy fight with ‘Bullet’ shortly afterward.
The UFC has recently released a handful of fighters after their roster balooned up over 650 athletes during the summer, most notably the likes of former Strikeforce champions Gilbert Melendez and Tarec Saffiedine.