LAS VEGAS – Chelsea Chandler’s ‘Week from Hell’ actually ended on a high note.
At UFC Fight Night 239, Chandler (6-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) became the first to defeat fellow bantamweight Josiane Nunes (10-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) in the promotion. She did so by unanimous decision.
Smiling ear-to-ear in victory, Chandler addressed the underlying issue head-on during her post-fight news conference: a one-pound weight miss.
Chandler voiced confidence that the issue would not persist. She attributed the scale blunder to a variety of simultaneous issues that emerged throughout the week, including an alleged home break-in.
“Oh God, we can get into it,” Chandler told MMA Junkie. “I’ve had the Week of Horror. My car was vandalized when I left my house. People tried to break into it. That was Monday. I’ve got that time of the month, too. So this has been… I was ready to go, and just little hiccups. I have it dialed in. My nutritionist, my weight, everything is good. So next time, I’ll be here on time, on weight, ready to go.”
Chandler’s alleged home invasion attempt comes less than two weeks after Marlon Vera said the same thing happened to him while he was away for his UFC 299 title fight vs. Sean O’Malley.
“People say, ‘Hey this fighter is going to be gone. Let’s take advantage of it.’ It sucks, but (I’ve) got to get those cameras up,” Chandler said. “… I’ve got to let someone else move into my house when I’m gone and take care of it and babysit the house.”
Chandler hopes the UFC won’t use the weight issues against her. A win over a previously UFC-unbeaten should earn Chandler a marquee fight next, she thinks.
“Listen, I don’t like begging for fights, but I want to fight,” Chandler said. “I want fight offers. After that last fight, there was a bad taste in my mouth. I went up. I took a risk going up in a weight class fighting a bigger girl. This is my home and I’m hoping to get a fight as soon as possible. I’m No. 13 in the world now and I feel like a couple of the girls below me are either out injured. I’m hoping to get someone in the top 10, big top 10 opponents, and get my way through this division. It’s wide open.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 239.
