Spokane’s Melissa Amaya scores upset in season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 34

June 16, 2026 Updated Wed., June 17, 2026 at 10:01 p.m.

By Geoff Grammer Tribune News Service

Spokane’s undefeated mixed martial artist Melissa Amaya won her strawweight fight against Anna Melisano in Sunday’s debut episode of the Ultimate Fighter 34.

Amaya, 31, who is on the team coached by former UFC champion Daniel Cormier, submitted Melisano, who was the No. 1 ranked women’s strawweight fighter on Michael Bisping’s team.

“The one that impressed me the most is Melissa Amaya,” Cormier said in an interview released on social media Monday by the show. “She fought Michael’s No. 1 pick and she submitted her in the first round. She beat her in the stand up, beat her in the grappling. Melissa Amaya is the real deal. She’s going to be hard to beat.”

Amaya, a full-time nurse in Spokane, is 8-0 as a professional fighter. While the TUF fights don’t count on her professional record, the winner gets a six-figure UFC contract.

After Sunday’s premiere, the 12-show season releases new episodes each Tuesday on Paramount+. The entire season has already been filmed and the fighters aren’t allowed to discuss who won.

Spokane’s Julianna Peña (2013) and Michael Chiesa (2012) are previous TUF winners.

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Spokane’s Melissa Amaya scores upset in season premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 34

Jesse Tinsley

Jim Meehan

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