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Chelsea Chandler reacts after her victory over Josiane Nunes of Brazil in their women's bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
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Chelsea Chandler Looking To Plot A Course To Contention

Stockton Native Discusses Competing At Bantamweight, Championship Ambitions Ahead Of Clash With Yana Santos On Saturday

Chelsea Chandler’s interest in fighting started at an early age.

“I went to a karate class when I was really little; I had like a free week to try it out,” begins the Stockton, California native, who takes on Yana Santos on the main card of this weekend’s Fight Night event at the UFC APEX. “I don’t think it was a real karate gym because they put me with this boy that was about my size and they just told us to fight each other.

“I remember beating this boy up — I think he cried — and I had so much fun in class. Afterwards I told my mom that I wanted to go back, and she goes, ‘No, you’re never going back; what if someone does that to you?’”

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While her sporting pursuits shifted to track and basketball during high school, a family trip to Thailand following her freshman year at the University of Miami rekindled the spark for combat sports, as the one-month stay resulted in the competitive Californian beginning to train Muay Thai and taking a couple fights.

With a fighting fire fully raging, she pressed pause on her academic pursuits for a year, returning to Thailand with her sister, where the two trained, competed and fell all the way in love with combat sports. After returning to school and graduating, Chandler returned home to Stockton, and started training at the Nick Diaz Academy, where respected veteran Leslie Smith was one of her main training partners.

Chelsea Chandler kicks Josiane Nunes of Brazil in their women's bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Chelsea Chandler kicks Josiane Nunes of Brazil in their women's bantamweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on March 16, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

That relationship with Smith helped the now 30-year-old bantamweight break into the sport after a period of trying to hunt down opportunities to no avail.

“I went to Tachi Palace with Leslie, who introduced me to Shannon Knapp,” recalls Chandler, who Smith talked up to the Invicta FC President. “Leslie told her, ‘This is Chelsea, she’s good; put her on your show’ and that night, Shannon basically signed me.

“I’m so thankful she was able to get me fights because it was nearly impossible.”

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After losing her professional MMA debut, Chandler rattled off four straight victories to earn a call to the UFC, debuting with a first-round stoppage win over Julija Stoliarenko in an October 2022 catchweight matchup that produced a Performance of the Night bonus, as well.

Since then, the Diaz Academy representative has only fought twice, dropping a decision to Norma Dumont last year at featherweight before collecting a unanimous decision win over Josiane Nunes in March in her return to the bantamweight ranks.

Chelsea Chandler punches Norma Dumont of Brazil in their featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night at UFC APEX on July 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Chelsea Chandler punches Norma Dumont of Brazil in their featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night at UFC APEX on July 15, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Chandler missed weight for the contest, coming in a pound over the 136-pound divisional limit, and recognizes that her appearance on the scale on Friday carries just as much intrigue for observers as her fight with Santos on Saturday does at the moment.

“I see all these chicks on Ozempic, on these weight-loss drugs and I’ve contemplated that stuff,” she says jokingly, chasing her comment with a chuckle. “I’m on low carb, training two, three times a day, doing a ton of cardio. It’s not easy, but I just signed a new four-fight contract with the UFC, so there was a little extra motivation this camp.

“Everything is on track and I’m real happy with it.

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“It’s the tax,” she answered when asked if things have been better now that she’s making a second straight appearance at bantamweight or whether this was simply a fixed cost she had to pay each time out. “As we get older, I feel like the weight cuts get harder, your body doesn’t bounce back the way that it used to. It’s manageable, but it takes dedication, not having those cheat meals, being real meticulous, and that’s what I’ve tried to incorporate this camp.

“At the end of the day, the UFC is the best organization to fight for and that’s where I wanna be, so this is what I’ve gotta do.”

Along with inking a new deal, the wide open nature of the division serves as an additional motivator for Chandler heading into the weekend.

Chelsea Chandler punches Julija Stoliarenko of Lithuania in a catchweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 01, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Chelsea Chandler punches Julija Stoliarenko of Lithuania in a catchweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 01, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

Currently stationed at No. 14 in the divisional rankings, two spots back of Santos, the eager battler believes that there is a clear means of propelling herself up the divisional ladder by leaps and bounds available to her in the next 12-18 months, provided she gets through this weekend victorious and largely unscathed.

“I feel like the division is wide open, like it has been for the past few years,” begins Chandler, who carries a 6-2 record into Saturday’s main card fixture. “You’ve got the champion (Raquel Pennington) who is probably fighting (Julianna) Pena, then you’ve got Kayla Harrison who is probably fighting for the title next, and then you’ve got a bunch of names that nobody really knows.

“I feel like with a win — a dominant win — I can be fighting No. 4, 5, 6, 7. You look at Macy (Chiasson) — she just fought No. 3 and she was No. 9.

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“I feel like there are a lot of opportunities by just being ready,” she adds. “So I feel like a dominant performance and I’ll be in the mix for title talks. A couple fights and I’ll be there.”

But that confidence and hopefulness doesn’t mean she’s taking Santos lightly this weekend.

Though the Russian enters on a three-fight slide, Chandler is quick to point out the quality of competition that Santos has faced, both during her current run of unfortunate results and throughout her career as a whole, recognizing the challenge in front of her on Saturday in Las Vegas.

“I think she’s a formidable opponent,” she begins, acknowledging that she and Santos had each lobbied for the matchup on social media, making it an easy pairing for the matchmakers to put together. “She’s on a three-fight losing streak, but it’s to really good people and a couple of them were really close decisions that I don’t think she lost.

Chelsea Chandler reacts after her victory over Julija Stoliarenko of Lithuania in a catchweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 01, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)
Chelsea Chandler reacts after her victory over Julija Stoliarenko of Lithuania in a catchweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on October 01, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

“I feel like a lot of people are counting her out, but she’s really good. She’s high level — she was the Invicta champ, she fought Cyborg; she’s been in there with the best.

“This is a hard fight — I’m not saying this is an easy fight at all, and I’m really prepared for it and really excited. It’s a great opportunity for me to showcase my skills.”

Should everything go as planned this weekend, Chandler hopes to log one more appearance before the year is out, and she’s already set to play matchmaker once again should she come away victorious.

“There are a couple other girls on this fight card that are on the prelims — Karol Rosa and Pannie (Kianzad); that’s an interesting fight,” she says when asked about her thoughts on what comes next following her bout with Santos. “They’re both ranked (higher) than me, and to be honest, it’s anybody that is ranked (higher) than me.

“I’m pretty open — just give me somebody that will get me to the title.”

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UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs Spivac 2 took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 10, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!