Las Vegas — After over a year on the sidelines, women’s bantamweight Chelsea Chandler returned to action at UFC Vegas 118, earning a submission finish of Priscila Cachoeira.
Both ladies entered the night on two fight skids, but it was Chandler getting her arm raised. That after snatching the arm of Cachoeira for an arm-bar.
The bout came after Chandler expanded her training camp footprint, working with Cesar Gracie, Felipe Martinez, Moses Cortes and others. Lots of cross-training, in other words.
“I felt like I was very prepared in every aspect for this fight. I trained hard rounds for MMA, hard kickboxing, hard punching,” Chandler told media outlets including Cageside Press following the win. “There were so many times that I threw up for this camp that, I’ve never thrown up before.”
“I knew I was pushing my body and my mental fortitude to the hardest it’s ever been pushed, and then out there it was easy. Because I knew I was prepared and ready to go.”
Coming off two losses, Chandler (7-4) admitted that “I put a lot of pressure on myself, and the people that I’ve lost to are the top in this division.”
“I was fighting with injuries, I had it a few times where it was hard keeping my arms up in training, and the UFC took care of me,” she went on to explain. “I got some stem cells in my neck, and I feel like I’ve got a 10 year old neck. It’s good to be able to go to training and not be injured all the time and believe in yourself, be able to push harder.”
Chandler believes all that showed in her confidence on Saturday. “I was happy to be there, I was enjoying the moment, I wasn’t dreading it. And I look forward to bringing that energy into the next fight.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 118 post-fight press conference with Chelsea Chandler above.