LAS VEGAS – Valesca Machado is "Tina Black" on fight night.
Black (15-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) meets Melissa Amaya (8-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) in the Season 34 "Ultimate Fighter" strawweight final, which opens up Saturday's UFC Fight Night 289 (Paramount+) main card at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
In Tina Black, Machado is channeling her alter ego.
"Valesca Machado is the person that you see here today. She's right in front of you, and Tina Black is the lioness inside the octagon," Black told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter at media day. "I think it's just a personality thing. I do not have two personalities. It's not a dual personality kind of situation. But outside the octagon, I try as much as possible to be a normal person, and Tina Black is that lioness that's
inside the octagon fighting.
"I think Tina is the dedication, the hard work, the training and the fighting that happens so that Valesca can have a good life. So that's what happens. Tina does everything she can, goes all out, and she does everything so that Valesca can chill and just enjoy life."
On "TUF 34," Black lived up to coach Daniel Cormier's expectations by finishing Natalia Alves then outlasting Delphine Benouaich, who has already since notched an impressive UFC win. Black went 3-0 in 2024, but didn't fight in 2025 – for a reason.
"I was waiting for the opportunity and a chance," Black said. "I was just waiting for it, because I had just come out of an amazing knockout in 49 seconds, just two great wins, and I felt that I didn't need to do anything in any of the other promotions out there. I was just waiting for this opportunity. I felt that I wanted to be here, that I needed to be here, and that I was meant to be here. I was waiting for that, and for the call to be here."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Valesca Machado: 'Tina Black' is the lioness inside the octagon
