Athletes
The Ultimate Fighter
Tina Black Just Needs To Be Herself
TUF 34 Standout Talks Being The Favorite, Reaching The Finals, And Readying To Make Her UFC Dreams Come True
There have been several cool stories and surprising moments to come out of the strawweight competition on Season 34 of The Ultimate Fighter, both within the episodes and the series itself and outside of the competition as well.
In the house, the matches and battles between the hopefuls have been some of the best in recent memory, while three members of the cast — Anna Melisano, Gigi Canuto, and Delphine Benouaich —have each made their way into the Octagon already, with Benouaich picking up a dominant win in Paris earlier this month. Heading into Saturday’s finale in Las Vegas, upstart Melissa Amaya has been garnering a ton of attention after having knocked off Melisano and Canuto as she looks to become the third fighter from Spokane’s Sikjitsu to win The Ultimate Fighter.
But amidst all the upsets in the house and early additions to the UFC roster, the one unsurprising staple throughout Season 34 has been Tina Black.
“I feel really grateful for everything,” offered the 30-year-old finalist, who faces Amaya on Saturday’s main card at the Meta APEX. “I’ve been dreaming a lot for this moment, and now we’re here.”
The most experienced competitor on the strawweight side of the competition, the Brazilian was the first woman selected, nabbed by Daniel Cormier with his second pick and immediately assumed to be the one to beat in the house.
As the season unfolded, that proved to be the case. While others had more dominant wins or more eventful fights, the former Dana White’s Contender Series contestant simply handled her business, finishing Natalia Alves in the second round to advance to the semifinals, where she defeated Benouaich by three-round unanimous decision to land opposite Amaya on Saturday.
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Being the first pick can be difficult.
TUF 29 contestant Mitch Raposo has spoken in the past about how those expectations hindered him not only in the house, but for a couple of years after the fact as well, as everyone kept waiting for him to show why he was taken with Alexander Volkanovski’s top pick.
But Black wasn’t fazed by the selection and didn’t feel any pressure because she knew exactly what Cormier and his team of coaches were doing and knew they made the correct choice.
Tina Black: "I Am Going To Be Out There Looking For My Contract" | UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos
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Tina Black: "I Am Going To Be Out There Looking For My Contract" | UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos
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“I didn’t feel pressure because I think they wanted to find great people, great girls for getting to the finale and win, and I feel like I’m that,” Black said. “Everybody over there, they see me in the training, and they think, ‘Oh my gosh —she’s great! She’s gonna do it and get in the finale!’”
Black made good on those expectations, but the process was clearly a challenge.
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“For me, right now, how can I explain to you?” she pondered when asked what it means to have navigated her way to this point. “I survived! You stay over there with a lot of people, I want to get the contract, and now I’m in the finale, and I feel like, ‘Oh my gosh —I did it.’
“I’ve got a lot of experience,” Black said. “I (fought on) a lot of shows —a lot of big shows — and now I’m here in the UFC. I dream a lot for this moment —to be in the UFC —and now that I’m here, I’m really grateful for this.”
Like the other three finalists, Black is on the doorstep of making her UFC dreams a reality, but not quite there yet, as despite them taking place on a UFC fight card, Saturday’s contests do not count as UFC bouts, much like Dana White’s Contender Series bouts.
Regardless of the technicalities, all that is standing between Black and her dream coming true is Amaya, whom the Brazilian had a lot of praise for on Wednesday afternoon.
“I feel like she has a big heart,” Black said. “She did huge fights over there in the house, and in the fight with Gigi, she almost broke her arm. She has a good heart and a good mindset too. I’m happy for her too. Let’s see!”
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Much like being the first woman selected and positioned as the early favorite to win the competition, Black isn’t feeling any real pressure ahead of Saturday’s finale, keeping the matchup with Amaya and the obvious ramifications attached to it as basic as possible.
“For me, it’s the next step,” she said when asked what earning a victory and a place on the UFC roster would mean to her. “I did Invicta, A1 — a lot of shows, big shows —and now, I’m going in the UFC. This is the step.”
And what does she need to do to take that step?
“I need to be me! I need to be me!” she said exuberantly. “I need to be Tina Black! That’s always what I do in my life, always what I do in my training, and that’s what I’ll do on Saturday.”
UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs Barcelos took place live from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 26, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!