UFC Bantamweight, Chelsea Chandler’s passion for fighting ignited early in life.
“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 is set to take 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?’”
Despite shifting her focus to track and basketball during high school, a family trip to Thailand following her freshman year at the University of Miami rekindled her love for combat sports. The month-long stay led Chandler to train in Muay Thai and compete in several fights.
With her fighting fire fully raging, she paused her academic pursuits for a year, returning to Thailand with her sister to train and compete. After graduating, Chandler returned to Stockton and started training at the Nick Diaz Academy, where veteran fighter Leslie Smith became one of her main training partners.
Chandler missed weight for her first contest, coming in a pound over the 136-pound limit. She recognizes that her appearance on the scale on Friday is as intriguing to observers as her fight with Santos on Saturday.
“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.”
Chandler’s new UFC contract and the open nature of the bantamweight division serve as additional motivators heading into the weekend. 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 October 2022, which earned her a Performance of the Night bonus.
Since then, the Diaz Academy representative has 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 bantamweight.
Currently stationed at No. 14 in the divisional rankings, two spots behind Santos, Chandler believes there is a clear path to climb the divisional ladder in the next 12-18 months, provided she wins this weekend.
“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.
But Chandler is not underestimating Santos this weekend. Despite Santos’ three-fight losing streak, Chandler recognizes the quality of competition Santos has faced and the challenge she presents.
“I think she’s a formidable opponent,” Chandler says. “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.
“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.
“I’m pretty open — just give me somebody that will get me to the title.”
Don’t miss a moment of UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs Spivac 2 live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 10, 2024. Prelims start at 4pm ET/1pm PT, while the main card kicks off live on ESPN & ESPN+ at 7pm ET/4pm PT.