Nine fighters had UFC gold wrapped around their waist after competing on a season of The Ultimate Fighter, and Tina Black expects to “soon” join the group.
The strawweight talent, real name Valesca Machado, was Daniel Cormier’s first pick on TUF 34 and made it to the final with a pair of wins over Natalia Alves and Delphine Benouaich. Fellow Team Cormier representative Melissa Amaya will be standing across the octagon at Saturday’s UFC Vegas 121.
Black holds a professional MMA record of 15-4 and one no-contest, not including the two TUF wins that are officially ruled exhibitions, and has held titles in Invicta FC and A1 Combat before making it to the show.
“I’m appreciating everything that God has put in my path,” Black told MMA Fighting. “He gave me Invicta, He gave me A1, and now He has given me TUF so I can win the title in the finale, and soon the UFC belt. We’re going step by step, and I’m thanking God for giving us wisdom and guidance to follow the right path.
“I always told my coaches that I wanted to come here to stay and make history. I don’t want to be just another one. I want to be recognized like so many other people are. There are great names, Amanda Nunes, a great star, Alex ‘Poatan’ [Pereira]. I want to get there like they did, making history.”
The 30-year-old was victorious in seven of eight bouts between her failed Contender Series appearance back in 2021 and joining TUF earlier this year, and said that fighting twice in a short period of time on UFC’s TV show wasn’t the hardest task of her career.
“It’s not really a big deal because when I won a belt in Invicta, it was two fights on the same night,” Black said. “I think it was harder to win the title in Invicta because I had to fight twice in one night, having to study my opponents without knowing who I was going to face, who they were going to put me against first, and then who would make it to the final. The hardest part was in Invicta. I think that [in TUF], it felt like I had already done half of the work before because of Invicta, and this was another experience that I had already been through.”
Aside from in-cage competition, Black had to deal with beef with other two contestants on TUF. That led to some TV drama, which Black said has bothered her father watching at home.
“Honestly, I’m not a controversial person, but if people want to have beef with me, if they want controversy with me, I’ll do it too,” Black said with a laugh. “Nothing I did there was because I was playing a character. If I did it, it’s because I wanted to and because it was there to be done. Where I come from, from the community… When I was younger, my mom used to say that if I got beaten up in the street, I would get beaten up at home too. That’s the kind of person I am. I’m not going to take disrespect and just let it go. I did everything the right way and kept my connection with God, and I asked Him to guide me and take those intrusive thoughts out of me [laughs].”
Amaya, her opponent in the Sept. 26 final, earned the spot with finishes against Anna Melisano and GiGi Canuto. Black said “she was a real warrior inside the house” after surviving submission attempts that would have forced many others to tap, and is “very happy for her.”
“She has a very good mindset and she didn’t let herself get lost because of a tight armbar,” Black said of Amaya’s semifinal win. “And after other submissions were locked in, she didn’t tap. She’s a warrior. That’s a great achievement for her.”
Black wouldn’t go into details as to how she expects to get the job done Saturday because “I don’t know what God is planning for me, but I believe I’m going to leave with my hand raised.”
“I believe that,” Black continued. “I’m going to leave there as the champion, but I don’t know how. I can’t give you a spoiler about how it’s going to happen [laughs], but I believe I’m going to leave as the champion. The important thing is to put another little trophy up there at my sister’s home. She has a shelf there with all my stuff, so I’m going to put this little trophy there and keep moving forward to get the UFC belt.”
