TUF 34 winner Tina Black targets top-10 debut to launch UFC title ambitions

Tina Black is not planning to ease herself into the UFC. The Brazilian, who knocked out Melissa Amaya to claim The Ultimate Fighter 34 trophy on Sept. 26, says she is injury-free and ready to compete again before 2025 is out — and she wants a ranked strawweight opponent when she does.

“I’m prepared for any opponent who comes my way,” Black told MMA Fighting. “Top 15, top 10, I don’t choose fights. I’ve never picked a fight in my career, but I hope I get a top-10 or top-15 opponent right away. I’m here to make history. I want to make history in the UFC. That’s my mindset through and through.”

Black, whose legal name is Valesca Machado, reached the TUF 34 final as part of Daniel Cormier’s team, defeating Natalia Alves and Delphine Benouaich along the way before stopping Amaya in the finale. A former Invicta FC and A1 Combat champion, she is currently riding a six-fight winning streak and has not lost in more than three years.

“I still want to fight this year,” she said. “I want to make my actual UFC debut wearing my UFC gear. But if it doesn’t happen, God knows everything. At least I’ve already had three fights this year, but I wanted to finish the year with a fourth fight.”

Black added that she has no injury concerns heading back into training. “I thought I had hurt my hand, but I’m here unscathed and feeling good,” she said. “I’ll slowly start training again so that, if anything comes up, we’ll already be ready.”

The 30-year-old acknowledged that the UFC’s strawweight division is well stocked with familiar faces. She has trained alongside ranked fighters Tabatha Ricci, Virna Jandiroba, and Iasmin Lucindo, and recently cornered both Jandiroba and Lucindo at previous events. Friend Aieza Bertolso also just earned a UFC contract via Dana White’s Contender Series, adding another acquaintance to the same weight class.

“There are a lot of people in this division that I’ve already trained with, who are friends of mine,” Black said. “Maybe we’ll end up facing each other someday. We always say that if we ever face each other, we’ll fight and then go to a bar, have a beer and celebrate.”

At the top of the division sits Mackenzie Dern, who was crowned UFC strawweight champion after defeating Gillian Robertson for the vacant title in Zhang Weili’s absence. Black was measured about her own path to a potential title shot, insisting she has no interest in skipping the queue.

“I’m not someone who skips steps,” she said. “If God wants me to have only three fights and then fight for the belt, I’ll do it. But if He wants my journey to be a long one, I’m ready for that too.”