Tina Black wants everyone to know her name by the end of The Ultimate Fighter 34. And not just for herself.<\/p>\n
Currently competing as a strawweight on the latest season of the UFC\u2019s long-running reality competition, Black spoke to MMA Fighting\u2019s Guilherme Cruz about her transformation from Valesca Machado to Tina Black, her decision to move to California to train with Urijah Faber and Team Alpha Male, and her promise to not return to her homeland of Brazil until she has a UFC contract in hand.<\/p>\n
The origin of her nickname began in her childhood but has taken on greater importance as the 30-year-old has risen through the MMA ranks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy nickname came from my brother, who used to call me \u2018Tinininha\u2019 when I was little,\u201d Black told MMA Fighting\u2019s Guilherme Cruz. \u201cAs I got older, everyone started calling me Tina. When I started fighting, I went by \u2018Tina Silva.\u2019 I had really big afro hair, and my friend [former UFC fighter] Poliana Botelho said, \u2018Why don\u2019t you drop Tina Silva and go with Tina Black?\u2019 Everyone thinks it\u2019s because of my skin color, but it\u2019s actually because of my afro hair.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also because I really want to represent black people and show that we have our place, we have our voice, and we can achieve anything we want. We deal with prejudice. Only someone with black skin truly knows the prejudice we face and the looks we get from society. Society isn\u2019t used to seeing black people at the top, but we\u2019re fighting to earn our place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Black established herself as one of the top strawweight prospects in the world well before the call came to join the TUF 34 cast. In 2022, she won an Invicta FC tournament to capture a 115-pound title and then in 2024, she became a champion in Urijah Faber\u2019s A1 Combat promotion with a thunderous face-plant knockout<\/a> over Taylor Mauldin.<\/p>\n Through it all, her message has remained clear.<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely think it is, and that\u2019s why I decided to carry that message,\u201d Black said when asked if there\u2019s enough of an anti-prejudice stance in MMA. \u201cI really want people to see that we need to keep raising the black flag. By doing that, I hope everyone from the communities, everyone who\u2019s black, will raise that flag with me.\u201d<\/p>\n Black hit a wall in 2023 when she lost to Danni McCormack in her first defense of her Invicta strawweight title. The setback led her to overhaul her training and preparation, beginning with her joining Faber\u2019s famed Alpha Male gym in 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything changed for me when I lost the Invicta title,\u201d Black said. \u201cI had already come here and done a training camp, but I had to go back to Brazil because of my visa. That affected my life and my career a lot. I thought, \u2018That was my opportunity. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ll ever get another one.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like something was missing. I believe God spoke to me and said, \u2018I have something bigger for you.\u2019 I felt that in my heart. I talked to Urijah, and he embraced my dream and gave me this opportunity, so I came here. I arrived without speaking any English. I\u2019ve been here for three years now, and it\u2019s incredible to train with a Hall of Famer.\u201d<\/p>\n In the two-plus years since Black has planted her flag in the U.S., she has not set foot in her native Brazil. Her exile is strictly self-imposed, with the condition that she cannot go home until she is officially a UFC fighter.<\/p>\n \u201cI promised my parents and my family that I\u2019d only come back home with a UFC contract, and once I put something in my heart and in my mind, nobody can change it,\u201d Black said. \u201cI\u2019m only going home with that contract. I believe I\u2019ll be back in December. I truly believe I\u2019ll return home in December with my UFC contract.\u201d<\/p>\n After her first fight of the TUF 34 season, Black is one step closer to her goal. Black faced Brazilian rival Natalia Alves in the quarterfinals and despite Alves coming in half a pound over the strawweight limit, Black dominated her for the majority of the contest before forcing a knockout stoppage in Round 2.<\/p>\n