Ali Akbar Rosady
Las Vegas, NV – In a dramatic turn of events that underscored the high stakes and unpredictable nature of competitive reality television, former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping made a significant personal sacrifice to ensure a crucial fight on The Ultimate Fighter 34 proceeded, despite his team’s fighter missing weight. The extraordinary measures, however, ultimately worked in favor of rival coach Daniel Cormier’s team, which now holds a 3-2 lead in the season.
The fifth episode of The Ultimate Fighter 34 centered around the strawweight quarterfinal bout between Team Cormier’s Tina Black and Team Bisping’s Natalia Alves. The contest, already framed as a grudge match between two Brazilian compatriots, was thrown into jeopardy when Alves failed to make the required 115-pound limit. Her struggle with the weight cut dominated the narrative, pushing Bisping to extremes in his efforts to salvage the fight and, by extension, his team’s momentum.
Pre-fight psychological warfare set the stage for the intense episode. Bisping, known for his cunning and sharp wit, engaged in a calculated deception. He reportedly tricked UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber, an outside coach for Tina Black, into believing Black was part of Team Bisping. This ruse was designed to extract perceived weaknesses in Black’s game, particularly regarding her grappling defense, with the intention of giving Alves a strategic advantage. Based on this misinformation, Team Bisping’s strategy for Alves was to exploit Black’s supposed limitations by emphasizing wrestling and takedowns. However, the execution of this game plan during the fight proved challenging, with Black’s evasive style nullifying Alves’s wrestling attempts.
The weight cut itself became a focal point of the episode’s tension. Natalia Alves endured a grueling process, pushing to the very last second and even receiving an additional hour to attempt to shed the final pounds. Coach Bisping was intensely involved, reportedly joining Alves in the sauna, despite his personal aversion to the oppressive heat. Team Bisping’s guest blogger and cast member, Xavier Franklin, recounted the harrowing scene, stating, "Bisping was literally in the sauna with her. She tried to get out. He trapped her in there. She was screaming and all this shit. He said, ‘We’re not leaving until you get this weight.’ He was being crazy. I’ll tell you, Bisping is super hands-on. He’s a winner. I could tell he was passionate about it. He was in the sauna with her and he hates the sauna." Franklin further added, quoting another team member, Gigi Canuto, who was also present, "He was in there tripping, talking to himself and shit… I think he’s having flashbacks or something." This raw account highlighted Bisping’s fierce dedication and the immense pressure placed on fighters during weight cuts.
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Despite Bisping’s strenuous efforts, Alves ultimately missed the strawweight limit, coming in at 116.5 pounds, 1.5 pounds over. This infraction presented a significant dilemma: Tina Black had the option to refuse the fight, automatically advancing her to the semifinals of the TUF 34 tournament via a bye. Such a scenario would not only deprive viewers of a scheduled bout but also undermine the competitive integrity of the show. To prevent this, a negotiation ensued between the two coaching rivals, Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping. Cormier, looking out for his fighter, agreed that Black would accept the fight in exchange for a financial incentive, initially reported as $1,000 (Black later confirmed to MMA Fighting’s Guilherme Cruz that she received $2,000). The more unconventional part of the agreement, however, required Michael Bisping to shave his head.
Bisping, known for his signature hairstyle throughout his illustrious fighting career and subsequent broadcasting roles, agreed to the drastic measure. This act of personal sacrifice deeply resonated with his team, providing a powerful motivational boost. Xavier Franklin articulated the team’s reaction, remarking, "I was like, ‘Wow, maybe you are here for us.’… That was genuine. I couldn’t even believe it. I was like, wow, he actually cut his hair just so she could fight." Franklin emphasized the impact, stating, "Shit, if he wants us to win this bad, we need to want to win as well. So yeah, that was cool, that was honestly pretty cool of him." This moment served as a poignant reminder of the personal investment coaches make in their fighters, transcending the typical coach-athlete dynamic.
The fight itself saw Team Cormier’s Tina Black, a former Invicta FC champion, emerge victorious over Natalia Alves. Black, fighting on her back foot, demonstrated superior striking and successfully defended Alves’s persistent attempts to take the fight to the ground. She capitalized on her opponent’s advances, ultimately securing a knockout victory via a flurry of strikes late in Round 2. The outcome solidified Team Cormier’s lead, moving the season score to 3-2.
Post-fight analysis from Xavier Franklin provided insight into Alves’s performance and the failure of Team Bisping’s game plan. Franklin described Black as a "backfoot fighter" and a "sniper" who could fight effectively moving in any direction, making her incredibly difficult to corner or wrestle. He noted that Alves failed to "cut her off," instead "following her," which played into Black’s evasive style. Franklin suggested that Alves should have applied more pressure to tire Black out and "throw with her" rather than getting caught countering. He specifically pointed out a crucial moment: "Tina was going straight and Natalia was trying to go around, so that’s how she got hurt. She went to open up and throw something and she got caught with basically a straight left jab when I think she should have just went straight, like an overhand or something I think would have helped more."
Franklin also shed light on what he believed to be the root cause of Alves’s weight-cutting difficulties: a lack of dietary discipline within the TUF house. He and fellow team member Marlon Jones had observed Alves’s frequent snacking habits. "The time when we were getting ready for our fight, she was snacking so much… She eats all the time, how she make weight? I don’t understand," Franklin recounted, relaying a comment from teammate Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu. "Every time somebody had some food or some snack, she would walk by and be like, ‘Let me see it’s good.’ She was eating a fck-ton, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, bro,’ like this is so bad." This candid observation highlighted the constant challenge of maintaining dietary control in the communal living environment of the TUF* house, especially for fighters prone to snacking.
Franklin, a fighter himself, expressed a degree of sympathy but also professional frustration, having experienced similar issues with opponents missing weight in his own career. He recounted an instance where an opponent not only missed weight but also tested positive for steroids, and the original opponent he was scheduled to fight, who claimed injury, was later seen helping another fighter. Such experiences have instilled in him, and his coach, a strong aversion to catchweights, viewing them as often leading to unfair advantages or complications.
The Ultimate Fighter 34, unlike many previous editions, features coaches Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier, both long-retired legends, who will not face each other at the conclusion of the season. Instead, the focus remains squarely on the aspiring fighters. The finalists of the bantamweight and strawweight tournaments will compete for coveted six-figure UFC contracts in live finale bouts, the dates for which are yet to be announced.
The next episode promises another compelling quarterfinal grudge match, with Team Cormier’s Sean Mora taking on Team Bisping’s Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu in a bantamweight clash.
Current Quarterfinal Results and Advancements:
- Melissa Amaya def. Anna Melisano via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1) – Amaya advances.
- Christian Strong def. Marlon Jones via decision – Strong advances.
- GiGi Canuto def. Anita Karim via TKO (strikes) (R1) – Canuto advances.
- Mehemmedeli Osmanli def. Artem Belakh via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1) – Osmani advances.
- Tina Black def. Natalia Alves via TKO (strikes) (R2) – Black advances.
Advancing to semifinals: Melissa Amaya, Christian Strong, GiGi Canuto, Mehemmedeli Osmanli, Tina Black.
Eliminated: Anna Melisano, Marlon Jones, Anita Karim, Artem Belakh, Natalia Alves.
The Ultimate Fighter 34 streams exclusively on Paramount+, with new episodes available every Tuesday. Xavier Franklin, a cast member on the show, serves as a guest contributor to MMA Fighting and also provides informal English accent translation for Michael Bisping on the program.
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