LAS VEGAS – Melissa Amaya is no stranger to being counted out.
Amaya (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was Daniel Cormier's sixth pick on Season 34 of "The Ultimate Fighter." She finished Michael Bisping's top picks Anna Melisano and Giovanna Canuto to punch her ticket to the finals against Tina Black (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in Saturday's UFC Fight Night 289 (Paramount+) main card opener at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
Amaya is an underdog against Black, which doesn't surprise her.
"She's dangerous everywhere," Amaya told MMA Junkie and other reporters of Black at media day. "She's a veteran of the sport, she's 15-4. It's going to be a tough fight, but I'm excited to test myself against her, and hopefully I get to surprise people, too. I've surprised people since
the first fight on 'The Ultimate Fighter.' Everybody thought I was just a grappler, and I outstriked the striker. So I hope I can come with some surprises."
Amaya takes inspiration from teammate Jaden Ortega, who was just signed to the UFC despite being outlasted in a war against Alvi Dasuyev at Dana White's Contender Series 93 on Tuesday.
"I think seeing Jaden go through a war and not give up, and just seeing that dog in him, just kind of reignited whatever I felt against Gigi (Canuto) when I almost got finished God knows how many times. It just kind of made me feel like, all right, I'm next, it's in our team, it's in our blood. We're just dogs, and it's time to perform on Saturday."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Melissa Amaya hopes she can continue surprising people and win 'TUF 34'
