The Ultimate Fighter 20: Alex Chambers set to become first Aussie female UFC fighter

ALEX Chambers was always going to become a robotics engineer. That, or an astrophysicist.

MMA fighter Alex Chambers of Manly who recently competed in UFC Ultimate Fighter tv show which will premier soon on Fuel TV, pictured at Manly Beach . Picture Craig Greenhill

ALEX Chambers was always going to become a robotics engineer.

That, or an astrophysicist.

“But then I started fighting,’’ she laughs. “And everything else ... it all dropped away”.

Once destined for a career building ‘bots, Chambers will instead become Australia’s first female UFC fighter this Saturday.

Making her debut at the Palms Casino, Las Vegas — the second bout on The Ultimate Fighter: 20 card — the diminutive Sydneysider will achieve the honour slightly ahead of tattooed Queensland mum Bec Rawlings, who fights fifth.

It is a remarkable effort.

Especially when you consider how, apart from being aged 36, and fighting up a weight division, Chambers was once completing a double degree at Sydney University — studying both science and mechatronics engineering.

Alex Chambers will become Australia’s first female UFC fighter this Saturday.

“The original plan was to be an engineer, working in robotics,’’ the Manly local explained this week from Las Vegas. “But at the time, I was also competing internationally in karate.

“I’d been doing that since eight and, the higher I went, the less of a priority my studies became.

“I was still really interested in physics and astronomy, so I finished my degree. But by that stage I knew I wanted a career in Mixed Martial Arts.”

And for a while, the fighter dubbed ‘Astro Girl’ even tried combining both.

“Studying robotics, I was always thinking of building fighting robots,’’ she laughs. “Fighting is physics and I was always thinking about testing the forces of punches and kicks”.

Today, however, the only force that matters is what gets generated by her 47kg frame.

Alex Chambers: “Fighting is physics and I was always thinking about testing the forces of punches and kicks.”

Having already fought professionally in both Japan and America, Chambers is now set to make her UFC debut against Irish brawler Aisling Daly.

“Which still seems a bit unreal,’’ she laughs. “Growing up, I never told too many people I did martial arts.

“But now that women are in the UFC, it’s a lot easier to explain what I do. Although some people still don’t believe me ... even if I show them photos of me in competition.”

And as for the astrophysics?

“Oh, it’s still a great way to unwind after training,’’ she says. “If I need a break then I’ll jump onto the internet to read the latest papers. Or sometimes I’ll just go out at night and study the stars.

“But fighting, that’s my occupation. Right now everything else is a hobby.”

Originally published as The Ultimate Fighter 20: Alex Chambers set to become first Aussie female UFC fighter