Survivor reality TV star reveals her dad got her into martial arts through an underground parking lot fight club when she was a kid

EXCLUSIVE

Australian MMA fighter and reality TV star Chelsea Hackett has revealed she got her start in martial arts through an underground car park fight club when she was a child.

The 24-year-old personal trainer, who competes in the Women’s Flyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL), had a very unusual introduction to martial arts.

Hackett had been doing some taekwondo from the age of eight, but really got into the underground fighting scene at the age of 12 on the Gold Coast.

“My dad started a Chinese boxing team,” Hackett told TheWSTNews Australia

‘It was just your ordinary everyday people coming together in a car park.

Hackett (pictured) became involved in a truly underground fight club at the age of 12

‘He made a deal with one of the business owners so we could use the car park three days a week for a fight club.

‘One day he asked me to come down and train. I was 12 at this point and he threw the head protector on me and the MMA gloves and put me with a 16 year old guy who was much bigger than me. He set the timer for three minutes.

‘He said “Go, do whatever you want”.’

‘I just let loose. I threw the kitchen sink at this guy. Obviously he wasn’t trying to hit me, but afterwards I realized I had it in me – and Dad realized I had that kind of dog in me.

‘I started doing it three days a week.’

Not long after, Hackett found herself at John Wayne Parr’s Boonchu Muay Thai gym on the Gold Coast, training until she was ready to fight in competition.

At 19, Hackett transitioned to MMA where she has found great success and recently earned selection to the PFL’s flyweight division.

In 2021, Hackett decided to take part in Australian Survivor: Brains v Brawn, but fell ill on the show and was eventually taken to hospital with extreme dehydration and an infection, after two days of dizziness and headaches on set.

The MMA star now competes in the women’s flyweight division of the PFL

Hackett also appeared on Survivor in 2021, but was forced to withdraw due to illness

As tough as her experience was on the reality TV show, Hackett believes it benefited her in many ways.

‘It was full. You’re hungry, you’re dehydrated, you’re hot. You sleep in the bush.

“So trying to do a TV show and having the producers in your face all the time, it was just tough – but it was a good experience.

‘It (the show) definitely built resilience in me and helped me with life in general.’

Hackett lost her most recent fight in the PFL to American fighter Jena Bishop at PFL 1 in San Antonio last weekend.

The Australian star took to social media afterwards to thank her supporters.

‘It hurt. It happens,’ she wrote.

“Back again in 8 weeks for another shot, I have some catching up to do.”

You can catch all the action from the Professional Fighters League exclusively on Stan Sport.