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Sotiropoulos, Sexton and Sakara released from the UFC

Published Dec. 19, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

Damon Martin

A trio of UFC fighters have been released from the promotion after recent losses: former lightweight contender George Sotiropoulos, middleweight Alessio Sakara and women's bantamweight competitor Rosi Sexton.

The news of their respective releases were confirmed to FOX Sports by sources close to the fighters' camps.

Following a run where he was closing in on a title shot in 2010, Sotiropoulos fell on tougher times losing his next four fights in a row. The Australian served as coach on the international edition of The Ultimate Fighter: The Smashes, but lost to fellow coach Ross Pearson in the finale for the series in late 2012.

Injuries have also mounted for Sotiropoulos over the last few years having only competed four times since 2010. Now the 36-year old Australian finds himself outside the UFC for the first time since entering the promotion as part of The Ultimate Fighter 6 cast.

Middleweight Alessio Sakara was also released this week after going 6-8 (1 NC) during his time with the UFC over the last eight years. Sakara was always known as a knockout artist with a tendency to put on exciting fights, but a recent four-fight skid left him on the outside looking in without a lot of options moving forward.

The final fighter released this week was women's bantamweight fighter Rosi Sexton, who went 0-2 in the UFC with losses to Alexis Davis and Jessica Andrade.

Sexton came to the UFC as a 135-pound fighter, although she was always undersized competing against some of the bigger bantamweights on the roster. The British competitor is also expected to have major neck surgery in the coming weeks that will put her on the shelf for an extended period of time.

Combined, the three fighters released carried a 13-14 record overall in the UFC.

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