Valesca Machado, Your Table is Ready

Valesca Machado (16-4, 1 NC MMA, 1-0 UFC,) otherwise known by her nickname of Tina Black, has been a must-watch prospect for a while now. Machado first rose to prominence in MMA circles during her stint in women's MMA promotion Invicta FC between 2022 and 2024.

During that stretch, Valesca Machado went 5-1 in her six fights under the Invicta banner. All five of those wins went to the judges scorecards after the final bell. Ahead of Machado's later fights in Invicta, she trekked to California to appear in a February 2024 fight in A1 Combat 18 versus Taylor Mauldin.

That winter's night in The Golden State, she finished Mauldin in 49 seconds. In so doing, she captured the A1 Combat Strawweight Championship before returning to Invicta in the later half of 2024. 

Valesca Machado Proves Impressive on The Ultimate Fighter

Before filming on the just-completed 34th season of The Ultimate Fighter television series commenced earlier in 2026, she was cast to appear on the program. When the fighters were drafted into teams at the start of the season, Valesca Machado was Daniel Cormier's second-round selection.

In the quarterfinal phase of the tournament, she faced off against Michael Bisping's eighth-round draft pick, Natalia Alves. Machado stopped Alves in round two of their quarterfinal fight, winning by TKO.

During the strawweight semifinals, Machado drew the assignment of Delphine Benouaich. Much like all of her victories in Invicta FC, she secured the unanimous decision to clinch a berth in the live finale against Cormier's sixth-round draft pick, Melisa Amaya (9-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC.)

Machado Steamrolls Past Amaya in TUF Live Finale

The contest at Meta Apex was set for the night of Sept. 26 to open up the main card for UFC Vegas 121. After the command to fight was given by referee Jason Herzog, Valesca Machado, who attempted to secure a UFC contract by way of season five of Dana White's Contender Series in 2021, bided her time before landing a hook to knock Melisa Amaya down.

Upon Machado landing some follow-up shots, Melisa Amaya returned to her feet, but Machado wouldn't let up, moving in on her adversary in an attempt to finish the fight, bloodying her from strikes in the process before Amaya stunned Machado right as the round ended.

The second round of action saw Machado use her footwork advantageously before putting Amaya in the clinch, firing off a kick to the leg. After Amaya broke free from the clinch, Vallesca Machado scored with another right hand to wobble her adversary. She closed out the fight with a few more rights to knock Amaya out.

"Surely, that's enough!," exclaimed John Gooden, who worked the UFC Vegas 121 telecast as blow-by-blow commentator. "She gets it done! Tina Black is The Ultimate Fighter season 34 winner, and she does it with style points!"

It's About Time for Valesca Machado

John Gooden could not have summed it up more perfectly if he tried to during the telecast on Saturday night. This was the biggest fight of Valesca Machado's career and the stakes called for an amazing performance. 

There are moments where an MMA fighter in search of a contract with a major promotion, such as the UFC, has to impress the crowd in the arena and the people watching at home with a thunderous finish. Saturday night, Valesca Machado did just that when finishing Melisa Amaya inside the second round.

Machado is a veteran of 21 professional fights who's been working for years to get to this moment. With Saturday's knockout, her dream of becoming a UFC fighter is now realized. The sky is the limit for her.