​Tina Black wants everyone to know her name by the end of The Ultimate Fighter 34. And not just for herself.Currently competing as a strawweight on the latest season of the UFC’s long-running reality competition, Black spoke to MMA Fighting’s 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.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 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.“My nickname came from my brother, who used to call me ‘Tinininha’ when I was little,” Black told MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz. “As I got older, everyone started calling me Tina. When I started fighting, I went by ‘Tina Silva.’ I had really big afro hair, and my friend [former UFC fighter] Poliana Botelho said, ‘Why don’t you drop Tina Silva and go with Tina Black?’ Everyone thinks it’s because of my skin color, but it’s actually because of my afro hair.“It’s 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’t used to seeing black people at the top, but we’re fighting to earn our place.”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’s A1 Combat promotion with a thunderous face-plant knockout over Taylor Mauldin.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThrough it all, her message has remained clear.“I definitely think it is, and that’s why I decided to carry that message,” Black said when asked if there’s enough of an anti-prejudice stance in MMA. “I 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’s black, will raise that flag with me.”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’s famed Alpha Male gym in 2023.“Everything changed for me when I lost the Invicta title,” Black said. “I 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, ‘That was my opportunity. I don’t know if I’ll ever get another one.’AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“I felt like something was missing. I believe God spoke to me and said, ‘I have something bigger for you.