It appears Rob Emerson, Brad Blackburn and Fabricio Camoes have just been released by UFC.

Sources close to the promotion confirmed the releases late Wednesday night.

Lightweight Emerson (9-9 MMA, 3-3 UFC) served as a cast member of "The Ultimate Fighter 5" and was eliminated in the first round of the tournament-based reality show.

He got off to an unusual start in his professional octagon career when his fight with Gray Maynard at the show's finale was ruled a no contest when "The Bully" knocked himself unconscious just as "The Saint" submitted to a rib injury during the fight.

Emerson rebounded from the odd result with back-to-back wins over Keita Nakamura and Manny Gamburyan. But after a 1-3 stretch that included two consecutive losses to Kurt Pellegrino and Rafael Dos Anjos and a loss to Nik Lentz in his most recent performance at UFC Fight Night 21, Emerson ran out of chances.

Welterweight Blackburn (15-11 MMA, 3-2 UFC) found his way to the UFC as a standout of the now-defunct International Fight League and immediately announced his presence with three consecutive octagon victories, including one over respected veteran Ryo Chonan.

Along the way, Blackburn suffered from injuries to his neck and shoulder.

He returned to action in January but fell short against Amir Sadollah at UFC Fight Night 20, then lost to Damarques Johnson at UFC 112 this past Saturday.

Out of the three latest cuts, lightweight Camoes got the least amount of cage time.

Camoes (10-5-1 MMA, 0-1-1 UFC), a San Diego resident from Curitiba, Brazil, earned his UFC contract with a seven-fight win streak that included a win over UFC veteran Sam Morgan. In his octagon debut, he fought Caol Uno to a draw in which he had one point deducted for an illegal blow.

The Brazilian looked for redemption against Kurt Pellegrino at UFC 111 but fell prey to a rear-naked choke in the fight's second round.