Tina Black wants to waste no time on the sidelines after winning season 34 of The Ultimate Fighter in September, and she’s open to being fast tracked to the top of the UFC’s strawweight division.
Black, a.k.a. Valesca Machado, beat Natalia Alves and Delphine Benouaich as part of Daniel Cormier’s team on the TV show before stopping Melissa Amaya for the TUF trophy on Sept. 26, and said the bout “went exactly the way I imagined it would.” With that mission accomplished, the former Invicta FC and A1 Combat champion returns to training to make herself available for more fights in 2026.
“I still want to fight this year,” Black told MMA Fighting. “I want to make my actual UFC debut wearing my UFC gear [laughs]. 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.”
“I’m talking to my manager to see if there’s already a fight lined up, if something comes up,” she added. “I’m ready. I didn’t suffer any injuries. I thought I had hurt my hand, but I’m here unscathed and feeling good. I’ll slowly start training again so that, if anything comes up, we’ll already be ready.”
The 30-year-old Brazilian is riding a six-fight winning streak, including the two TUF bouts that aren’t officially added to fighters’ records, and unbeaten in over three years.
“I’m prepared for any opponent who comes my way,” Black said. “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 barely had any time to celebrate her TUF victory, staying in Las Vegas to help her friend Aieza Bertolso prepare for Dana White’s Contender Series. Bertolso won her fight and earned a deal with the UFC, and they are now part of the same weight class.
“There are a lot of people in this division that I’ve already trained with, who are friends of mine, like Tabatha [Ricci], Virna [Jandiroba] and Iasmin Lucindo,” Black said. “And now Aieza is coming into the division, so there are quite a few people there that I know and have trained with. Maybe we’ll end up facing each other someday. I’ve already cornered Virna and Iasmin Lucindo, and we always say that if we ever face each other, we’ll fight and then go to a bar, have a beer and celebrate [laughs].”
Mackenzie Dern currently sits at the top of the 115-pound division, crowned UFC champion after beating Virna Jandiroba for the vacant title in Zhang Weili’s absence and then successfully defending it against Gillian Robertson.
Now, Dern awaits her next contender to be selected by the UFC.
“I’m not someone who skips steps,” Black said of her plans in the UFC. “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, what can I do? I just have to patiently wait on the Lord. I’ve waited for so long. I fought on Contender Series, and now I’ve made it to the UFC, so I have a lot of patience. I’ll wait for whatever path God has created for me.”
