Introduction
Alex Chambers is an Australian mixed martial artist who currently fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and competes in the Strawweight division. She has also fought in Invicta FC. She was also a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Chambers started learning karate when she was a child. By the time she was in university, she held a 3rd dan in karate and was competing on an international stage.
Chambers discovered her first (and current) MMA gym through the MMA Underground Forums. Under her gym's tutelage, she was able to become a BJJ national champion before she made her professional MMA debut in May 2010 for the Rize promotion in Australia. It was the first female MMA bout to ever take place in New South Wales state history. She won her debut as well as a subsequent bout which happened around two months later.
After a period of dormancy in 2011, Chambers returned in March 2012 to fight for the Jewels promotion in Japan. She faced Mizuki Inoue and lost the fight via submission. Chambers then returned to Australia to fight in the Brace For War promotion where she was featured as main event on Brace's first ever all female card. She defeated Mika Nagano by TKO on the card.
Invicta Fighting championships
In 2013, Chambers signed with the Invicta FC promotion. She made her US debut on 5 April 2013 at Invicta FC 5 in an atomweight bout. She defeated Jodie Esquibel by submission early in the first round.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighter
On 11 December 2013, it was announced that Chambers was signed by the UFC along with ten other strawweight fighters to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned, which will crown the first ever UFC strawweight champion.
In the first episode, it was revealed that the UFC had seeded the fighters. Chambers was seeded 10th of 16 fighters and was paired with the no. 7 seed, Rose Namajunas. Namajunas was picked fourth by Team Melendez, thereby sending Chambers to Team Pettis. In their fight, she lost the bout via submission in the first round.
After TUF
Chambers is the first Australian woman to ever fight in the Octagon.
In her first fight after The Ultimate Fighter, Chambers faced Aisling Daly at the The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale on 12 December 2014. She lost the fight via submission in the first round.
Chambers faced Kailin Curran on 10 May 2015 at UFC Fight Night 65. After losing the first two rounds, Chambers came back in the third round to win via submission. The win also earned Chambers her first Performance of the Night bonus award.
Chambers faced Paige VanZant on September 5, 2015 at UFC 191. She lost the fight via submission in the third round.
Personal life
Before becoming a professional MMA fighter, Chambers attended the University of Sydney where she did a double degree in science and mechatronics engineering. Chambers aspired to become an astrophysicist or a robotics engineer before discovering her love for MMA.
Chambers trained at the same gym as fellow UFC fighter and TUF alumni Richard Walsh for seven years. Unlike Walsh, Chambers came in with the intentions of becoming a world champion. However, similar to Walsh, Chambers desires to become a martial arts coach after she retires from professional MMA.
Championships and accomplishments
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time)
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 8 matches | 5 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 2 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 3 |
| By decision | 1 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 5–3 | Paige VanZant | Submission (armbar) | UFC 191 | 5 September 2015 | 3 | 1:01 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 5–2 | Kailin Curran | Submission (armbar) | UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Hunt | 10 May 2015 | 3 | 3:15 | Adelaide, Australia | Performance of the Night. |
| Loss | 4–2 | Aisling Daly | Submission (armbar) | The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned Finale | 12 December 2014 | 1 | 4:53 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Return to Strawweight; Daly missed weight (118 lbs). |
| Win | 4–1 | Jodie Esquibel | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Invicta FC 5: Penne vs. Waterson | 5 April 2013 | 1 | 1:35 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Atomweight debut. |
| Win | 3–1 | Mika Nagano | TKO (knee and punches) | BFW 17: Brace Girls | 27 October 2012 | 1 | 0:42 | Southport, Australia | |
| Loss | 2–1 | Mizuki Inoue | Submission (armbar) | Jewels 18th Ring | 3 March 2012 | 1 | 4:32 | Tokyo, Japan | |
| Win | 2–0 | Claire Fryer | TKO (punches) | Rize 6: Defiance | 31 July 2010 | 1 | 2:57 | Chandler, Australia | |
| Win | 1–0 | Jessica Tolhurst | Decision (unanimous) | Rize 5: Revolution | 29 May 2010 | 3 | 3:00 | Chandler, Australia |
Mixed martial arts exhibition record
| Exhibition record breakdown | ||
| 1 match | 0 wins | 1 loss |
| By submission | 0 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Rose Namajunas | Submission (rear-naked choke) | The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned | 5 November 2014 (airdate) | 1 | 4:38 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | TUF 20 Elimination round |