Las Vegas — It’s a full circle moment for Melissa Amaya as she heads into her TUF 34 strawweight finale with Valesca Macahado at UFC Vegas 121 this Saturday.
“I’ve been cornering Juliana Miller for so long, and to be on this side of the table is insane,” Amaya (8-0) told media outlets including Cageside Press during media day this week.
Amaya also took some inspiration from teammate Jaden Ortega fighting on the Contender Series this past Tuesday. “I think seeing Jaden go through a war and not give up, and just seeing that dog in him, just kind of reignited whatever I felt against Gigi [Canuto] when I almost got finished God knows how many times.”
“It just kind of made me feel like alright, I’m next, it’s in our team, it’s in our blood. We’re just dogs, and it’s time to perform on Saturday.”
Outside of fighting, Amaya is a nurse currently working with a dental clinic. “They’ve been extremely flexible with this,” she noted, after telling the clinic during her interview that as an aspiring fighter she’d need “a random week off three times a year.”
“And they still hired me. So I was like ‘okay, this is insane. This is unheard of.’ They’re super-supportive. Actually the surgeon I work for, he’s going to be coming and watching me.”
Amaya knows that TUF 34 finale opponent Valesca Machado is “dangerous everywhere,” adding that “it’s going to be a tough fight, but I’m excited to test myself against her. And hopefully I get to surprise people too. I’ve surprised people since the first fight on The Ultimate Fighter. Everybody thought I was just a grappler, and I out-striked a striker. Hopefully I can come with some surprises.”
One of the big surprises on The Ultimate Fighter 34 was Amaya refusing to tap to a nasty Gigi Canuto arm-bar, one that appeared to have the limb snap. As to her thought process in the moment, she told Cageside Press “don’t cry over spilt milk. It’s already happening.” Amaya admits she felt her arm going, but “there was never any question about ‘I’m done.’”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 121 media day with TUF 34 finalist Melissa Amaya above.