Aussie strawweight Alex Chambers was on a mission, at UFC191, to prove that the MMA world had not yet seen the best of the veteran fighter and that despite being the underdog, against opponent Paige VanZant, she could still bring enough skill to the table to secure a second UFC victory.
Chamber’s fight against Kailin Curran back in May 2015 proved the depth of the Aussie’s heart when she came from behind to win via armbar late in the third round, yet tonight’s showing against the number seven ranked strawweight, VanZant, would not end in the same fairy tale fashion.
Despite going into the early minutes of the third round, VanZant dominated the fight, setting the pace and overwhelming Chambers whether it was standing or on the ground.
Her striking seemed a little better than I thought it would be. She’s definitely relentless. I knew she would be relentless, but I guess I didn’t think it would be like that. Everything she did surprised me.” – Alex Chambers post fight.
Chambers managed to inflict some damage in the early stages of round one when she landed a big overhand right and a series of body punches however VanZant easily countered and dropped the Aussie with a judo toss reminiscent of the Bantamweight Champ, Ronda Rousey whom she is often compared to. VanZant dominated in the clinch, landing knees and throwing punches with reckless abandon for the duration of the fight before it became all too much for the Aussie; Chambers finally conceding early in the third round when she tapped out after being submitted (armbar).
VanZant came into the fight riding a wave of momentum after two dominant wins since making her UFC debut late in 2014, she is now 3-0 in the UFC. Chambers with her second UFC loss sits at 1-2 leaving a question mark over her future with the promotion.
UFC 191 took place at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on September 5th, 2015 and was headlined by a flyweight title fight between reigning champion, Demetrious Johnson and title challenger, John Dodson. The main event saw Johnson dominate Dodson in every facet of the fight to remain the Champion at 125 with a win via unanimous decision.
UFC 191 Results:
Main Card:
- Demetrious Johnson def John Dodson via Decision (Unanimous) (49-46, 49-46, 50-45) – Flyweight title fight
- Andrei Arlovski def Frank Mir via Decision (Unanimous) (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Anthony Johnson def Jim Manuwa via KO (Punches), Rd 2, 0:28
- Corey Anderson def Jan Blachowicz via Decision (Unanimous) (30-25, 30-25, 29-26)
- Paige VanZant def Alex Chambers via Submission (Armbar) – Rd 3, 1:01
Preliminary Card:
- Ross Pearson def Paul Felder via Decision (Split) (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
- John Lineker def Francisco Rivera via Submission (Guillotine Choke) – Rd 1, 2:08
- Raquel Pennington def Jessica Andrade via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Rd 2, 4:58
- Tiago dos Santos e Silva def Clay Collard via Decision (Split) (29-28, 28-29, 29-28
- Joe Riggs def Ron Stallings via Disqualification (Illegal Upkick) – Rd 2, 2:28
- Joaquim Silva def Nazareno Malegarie via Decision (Split) (28-29, 30-27, 30-27)
