The biggest problem with The Ultimate Fighter 34, debuting on Sunday, might be its opening, featuring highlights of classic seasons when the show was still relevant and produced some of the UFC’s biggest stars. That 90 second series recap, transitioning into the 2026 edition, The Ultimate Fighter 34: Team Cormier vs. Team Bisping, almost works against it.
With much of the talent on the regional MMA circuit funneled through Dana White’s Contender Series, the success of champions from more recent TUF seasons has been uneven at best. As has interest in the series, if we’re being honest.
Still, the return of TUF is something for hardcore fans to take note of, and media outlets were given an advanced copy of the season opener this week. With a new broadcast home in Paramount+, it’s clear the promotion wants this season to hit, and they’ve wisely chosen the women’s strawweight division, with plenty of talent on the market, and men’s bantamweights to compete on TUF 34.
Dana White claims from the outset of episode one that “more people will watch this season than any other season in the history of The Ultimate Fighter. Many, many people will know who you are.” Of course, that depends on whether they tune in (not to mention that White calling Paramount+ the biggest platform ever is dubious at best, given it’s in 79 million homes, while ESPN+ peaked at 100 million homes, and had the advantage of having ESPN’s cable network as well).
Two former UFC champions coach TUF 34 in Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier. While Cormier came into the UFC through the Strikeforce acquisition, Bisping is a product of the show itself. Both seem to relish being back in the coaching role; both have coached on the show previously.
“F*ck the water, gloves on. You should have been hydrated before you got here,” Bisping exclaims during tryouts, where he and Cormier get to view the talent. Four fighters will also be cut, Cormier notes, so it’s a true tryout.
Well-known women’s strawweight Mackenzie Stiller is in the mix. So is Tina Black, another hot strawweight prospect and Invicta FC veteran. Then bantamweight Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu gets hit, following what appeared to be an accidental, but clear, headbutt. His partner, Sean Mora, throws a proper punch: all this in wrestling practice. An unquestionably dirty move. Cormier questions Mora, the aggressor. “Why would you do that?” He tells Bisping he doesn’t want Mora on his team.
Mora, later, explains that “when you go at me like this [with a headbutt], you can end up cutting me. I figured that if he did that to cut me, I could do it to him too.”
“I don’t like the Sean did that, but I do like the dog in him. I do like the nastiness,” Bisping says, taking the devil’s advocate role perhaps.
Michael Bisping wins the coin toss, chooses to pick the first fighter rather than fight, and selects Xavier Franklin first overall. Cormier takes Artem Belakh as his first pick. The first strawweight picked, Anna Melisano, goes to Team Bisping; Cormier takes Tina Black. The teams, in the end, break down as follows:
Team Bisping
- Xavier Franklin (BW)
- Mehemmedeli Osmanli (BW)
- Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu (BW)
- Marlon Jones (BW)
- Anna Melisano (SW)
- Gigi Canuto (SW)
- Mackenzie Stiller (SW)
- Natalia Alves (SW)
Team Cormier
- Artem Belakh (BW)
- Micaias Urena (BW)
- Sean Mora (BW)
- Christian Strong (BW)
- Tina Black (SW)
- Delphine Benouaich (SW)
- Melissa Amaya (SW)
- Anita Karim (SW)
Yes, after initially saying he didn’t want him, Cormier took Sean Mora.
China’s Hailai Wushamo, who wasn’t picked, speaks to the camera, saying she’s heartbroken to have traveled so far and not been picked. Camila Reynoso is proud, if clearly disappointed, to have come this far. All four fighters who were not picked, which also includes Rodrigo Vera and Abdul Hussein, are The Ultimate Fighter 34 alternates. Dana White tells them to stay in shape and stay close to fight weight.
Then it’s off to the TUF house. This year, there’s bunkbeds, and the men and women of TUF 34 have to figure out sleeping arrangements. Some may be co-ed. Plus they’re one bed down, after someone flops onto it and it breaks.
“I’m prepared. More than usual with the commentary,” Cormier jokes during the fight picks, saying what a lot of fans have been thinking. Anna Melisano vs. Melissa Amaya is the first fight picked, as chosen by Cormier. It turns out to be the fight Bisping wanted anyway. Cormier explains he chose the bout because he wanted to take out Bisping’s #1 strawweight pick.
Turns out, the girls get along swimmingly; Amaya has a military husband, while Melisano’s father and brother are in the same branch.
Nothing much has changed in the TUF format in season 34, so not surprisingly, it’s a training clips up next. No surprise there, but Michael Bisping has a surprise guest for his team: UFC women’s strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern.
Both fighters make weight, and then it’s off to the fights. “Kick her ass. I know you like her, I know she’s nice, but I want you to kick her ass. Kick her ass. I want you to drown her,” Cormier tells his fighter. “I want you to drown her. Drown her.”
Face-to-Face 😤
Melissa Amaya vs Anna Melisano
STREAM #TUF34 NOW on @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/7rkmdC5fqG
— The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) June 14, 2026
Anna Melisano vs. Melissa Amaya
With ref Mike Beltran overseeing the action, Amaya and Melisano got right to work in the debut episode of The Ultimate Fighter 34. Amaya had some success with a leg kick; Melisano fired one to the body, and Amaya made contact with an overhand right.
The pair were scrappy in the opening 90 seconds of round one. Both fired head kicks that were blocked; Amaya exploded forward, punching her way in. Amaya showed excellent accuracy, and Melisano lost her mouthpiece. Beltran collected that and returned it; shortly after the restart, Amaya landed a front kick to the body that sent Melisano to her back. Amaya went to the ground with her, took the back, wrapped up the rear-naked choke and forced the tap! A big upset to start the season, with Team Bisping’s #1 pick at strawweight eliminated already.
“It was a perfect performance from Melissa Amaya,” exclaimed Cormier. “I have coached this thing three times. That was one of the more gratifying wins, because it was Michael’s first pick.”
Melisano says she felt like she was moving in slow motion. “Right now I’m just heartbroken.” Melisano has never lost as a pro, and this loss won’t count on her professional record, but it’s clear she’s still struggling with it, and being eliminated from the show.
Next TUF 34 Fight
Cormier gets to pick the next fight, and admits his team is torn. Bisping quips that it’s because there’s too many cooks in the kitchen, Cormier jokes that British food sucks. Either way, Cormier’s team wants Sean Mora vs. Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu, to capitalize on their earlier incident. Cormier doesn’t want to reward that behavior, and instead chooses British bantamweight Marlon Jones from Team Bisping to face American wrestler Christian Strong.
“In my opinion, that was a massive mistake, because Marlon is going to run right through this guy,” states Bisping.
The rest of The Ultimate Fighter 34 streams Tuesday nights on Paramount+. It’s not going to look drastically different from previous TUF seasons. There’s not going to be a fight between coaches at season’s end like in the early days of The Ultimate Fighter, given Bisping and Cormier are retired and fought in different weight classes (they did both compete at light heavyweight, though at different times). The show is what it is at this point, but if there’s a reason to be excited, it’s because of names like Melissa Amaya, Tina Black, Natalia Alves and others who could be strong additions to the strawweight division.
