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The Ultimate Insider: Behind the scenes of The Ultimate Fighter 34’s wild celebration, contestant’s drunken antics

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1 month ago

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The Ultimate Insider: Behind the scenes of The Ultimate Fighter 34’s wild celebration, contestant’s drunken antics

The Ultimate Fighter 34 strawweight final is set following another episode featuring friends facing off, as well as some classic reality television shenanigans of which the viewers only got a glimpse of.

Before we discuss how Michael Bisping treating his team to a night out devolved into chaos, let's look at this week's fight, which saw Tina Black earn a hard-fought decision win over fellow Team Daniel Cormier fighter Delphine Benouaich to book her spot at the finale against Melissa Amaya at UFC Vegas 121 on Sept. 26.

Black out-struck Benouaich for three rounds, surviving a few hairy exchanges and Benouaich taking her back in Round 1, en route to a convincing decision win. Beyond the obvious stakes, the matchup was an emotional one due to the close relationship Benouaich and Black formed in the house.

Benouaich was shown not only wishing Black a happy birthday in the house, but also arranging a Team Cormier surprise for the former Invicta FC star.

According to bantamweight contestant Xavier Franklin, MMA Fighting's guest blogger this season, as friendly as Benouaich and Black were, it didn't look like Black held back when it came time to throw down.

Xavier: They got more in-depth with them, which was nice, you know, but Tina, it's like Tina and Melissa [Amaya], like they were friends, but both of them, you could just tell they're just like, “I'm going to kill this b*tch.†I could just tell, and then when they were fighting, I'm like, Tina was punching her like they weren't friends.

When I was fighting Ilimbek [Akylbek Uulu], I was just fighting him for sport. It wasn't like I was trying to genuinely hurt Ilimbek because like I was fighting him, and he leaned over after I hit him with that right hand, I was gonna throw a head kick, but I was like, he's my friend. I'm not gonna do that to my friend. I said, it's just a fight, that's it. Anybody else, I would have head kicked him right there in that moment, I wouldn't have waited for Herb Dean. It literally crossed my mind, but I'm like, I'm not doing that. It's my friend. No, I'm not doing that.

F*cking Tina. F*cking elbows, knees. I'm like, “Holy shit.†I said, yeah, I don't know if that's friends or not.

There was tension on Team Bisping as well heading into the semifinal fights. According to Franklin, a rift had developed between the bantamweights and strawweights on his team, but everything was patched up when Bisping took them out for a ritzy steak dinner in Las Vegas.

Franklin said the steak lived up to the hype, but because the dinner happened just days before his fight with Akylbek Uulu, he had to resist overindulging. Bisping was not helpful in this regard.

Xavier: I'm going to go. I'm not going to just sit in the house and be miserable. I might as well just go out. I'm not going to eat anything crazy. I'm pretty disciplined. That was bullshit.

I was out there smelling the food. I didn't eat too crazy. I was just eating some and then everybody started getting drunk and then Bisping was like ordering desserts and all this. I can't have desserts. So he ordered some Oreo ice cream and he was like, “Xavier, you have to try.â€

I said, “I can't.â€

He said, “Mate, you're going to f*cking make weight, just try it.†So he grabs the spoon, he puts it in my face. I eat it and I'm like, “Oh, this is amazing.†And then we just start going crazy.

In the end, it wasn't Franklin the crew needed to worry about. Teammate Marlon Jones lost to Christian Strong in the first bantamweight bout of the season, giving the Englishman plenty of idle time, and on the night of the dinner, he decided to let out plenty of pent-up energy.

Xavier: Marlon ended up double-legging Bisping in the restaurant and picked him up. Marlon got so drunk, it was so crazy. He made friends with our waiter, gave the waiter his Instagram, was like, “You're my f*cking lad,†just going crazy.

So then we leave the restaurant—Everybody's hammered, by the way. Everybody's hammered.—We can't listen to music, anything, whatever, so we get on the bus and everybody's like, “Just play some music.†Bisping's like, “Play some f*cking music for him on the way home,†all this shit, “ They've been working their ass off.†So they play music, we're all just on the bus dancing, going crazy, everybody's yelling. We're like, “Team Bisping Bus!†Then we carry this all the way to the house. We get out the van screaming all this.

We literally kick the door down in the house and we're like, “Team Bisping's back. F*ck DC!†All this shit.

Back at home, several fighters jumped in the pool, clothes and all, giving the production team plenty of work to do on one of the final nights of filming. No one caused more of a commotion than Jones, though.

Xavier: The producers are going crazy, like, “Oh my God, Marlon's drunk. He's diving headfirst into the pool. He like hops out of the pool, he's like, “Tina, I f*cking love you.†Tina's laughing, we're all laughing. Anna [Melisano's] getting out of the pool, Gigi [Canuto] puts clothes on her, she gets dry again, Marlon runs by and throws her back in the pool.

Everybody goes inside, Marlon's running around the house, f*cking wet, just running around. They're like, “Get him,†because me and Marlon were together a lot, so they're just like, “You're pretty much watching him.†So he's running around the house and I'm trying to grab him.

Mind you, Marlon's out of the tournament. He's been out of the tournament for a while, so he's weighing like 170. He's, like, 175. He's f*cking huge and he's strong, but he's also drunk. So I'm trying to grab him and then he starts wrestling me. He's like, “Get off me. Get off me, mate.†He's running and I'm like, “I'm not f*cking chasing you, bro.â€

With his semifinal fight looming, Franklin had enough of being Jones's handler. Or so he thought.

Xavier: I'm like, “Marlon, I'm f*cking going to bed,†because I literally had to fight Ilimbek in, like, two days or something like that. I was cutting and I was like, “I'm going to bed, bro.†I have to sleep. I have to fight my friend. This is all f*cked up. I can't deal with another friend being drunk.

So then he's downstairs for a little bit. I go lay down, but I'm kind of listening out for him just in case he does something too crazy and I have to go down there and grab him. And then he's running, coming up the stairs, and he's being so loud, it's so funny. And he goes in the closet, he's trying to get in the closet, he's trying to change. I don't know what he does, he's taking his pants off and he spinning kicks the closet door, and the closet door falls. It's like a closet mirror door. It falls in the middle of the night.

Mind you, Delphine, Melissa, Christian, [Mehemmedeli Osmanli], they're all trying to sleep, this is like, 12 in the morning. I'm just crying, laughing in my bed, and he just starts crying, laughing, and it all gets settled and then he finally went to bed, but that shit was crazy.

Given how out-of-control Jones was, it's understandable viewers got the most PG-version of what sounded like a wild night. Still, Franklin is surprised that so much of Team Bisping's last hurrah was left on the cutting room floor.

Last week, much of the episode's airtime was taken up by the events surrounding Franklin's controversial loss to his friend and teammate Akylbek Uulu. In the closing seconds of a tense contest, referee Herb Dean controversially paused the contest when Akylbek Uulu complained of an eye poke, with Franklin seemingly winning the fight via stoppage, only for Dean to call for a replay and subsequent restart to the action. Akylbek Uulu went on to win a decision.

In the aftermath of the controversy, Franklin has seen plenty of support—and shared frustration.

Xavier: Dude, so many people, yesterday, one of my teammates fought and I was at one of the local shows, people were coming up to me like, “You got f*cked so bad. That shit's so crazy.†Everybody was like, “I was literally screaming at my TV.†One dude said, “Yeah, I literally broke my TV because I threw the remote at it.

My dad was f*cking pissed. He was pissed. Everybody's pretty pissed, to be honest.â€

Franklin's team has gone as far as to speak to the commission, but he doesn't expect anything to come of the complaint.

Xavier: My manager is talking to the Nevada athletic commission, so it's weird because they're saying like, it wasn't like a traditional hand wave-off, but he did say that, but then at the same time, it's like, why were the stools and doctors in there? They were just like, “Well, that's the UFC's fault.â€

I think it's just one of those situations where it's like, he f*cked up so bad, everybody's just like, “We're not taking the blame for it, we're just going to point to everybody else.†It's shitty.

The Ultimate Fighter 34 streams exclusively on Paramount+ with new episodes every Tuesday.

Unlike most editions of TUF, coaches Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier will not fight at the conclusion of the season, as both are long retired.

The finalists of the TUF 34 bantamweight and strawweight tournaments will compete for a six-figure UFC contract in the show's live finale fights, which are set to take place at UFC Vegas 121 on Sept. 26.

See The Ultimate Fighter 34 teams below.

  1. Xavier Franklin (6-1-1, 1 NC), U.S.
  2. Mehemmedeli Osmanli (11-1), Azerbaijan
  3. Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu (9-3), Kyrgyzstan
  4. Marlon Jones (5-0), U.K.
  1. Anna Melisano (6-1), U.S.
  2. GiGi Canuto (7-1), Brazil
  3. Mackenzie Stiller (6-1), U.S.
  4. Natalia Alves (8-0), Brazil
  1. Artem Belakh (11-2), Kazakhstan
  2. Micaias Urena (12-4), Dominican Republic
  3. Sean Mora (7-1), Cuba
  4. Christian Strong (9-1), U.S.
  1. Tina Black (15-4, 1 NC), Brazil
  2. Delphine Benouaich (7-2), France
  3. Melissa Amaya (8-0), U.S.
  4. Anita Karim (6-2), Pakistan

Here are the finals matchups:

Melissa Amaya vs. Tina Black

Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu vs. TBD

Here are the semifinal results and pending matchups:

Melissa Amaya def. GiGi Canuto via TKO (strikes) (R2)

Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu def. Xavier Franklin via decision

Tina Black def. Delphine Benouaich via decision

Mehemmedeli Osmanli vs. Christian Strong

Here are the quarterfinal results:

Melissa Amaya def. Anna Melisano via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1)

Christian Strong def. Marlon Jones via decision

GiGi Canuto def. Anita Karim via TKO (strikes) (R1)

Mehemmedeli Osmanli def. Artem Belakh via submission (rear-naked choke) (R1)

Tina Black def. Natalia Alves via TKO (strikes) (R2)

Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu def. Sean Mora via decision

Delphine Benouaich def. Mackenzie Stiller via decision

Xavier Franklin def. Micaias Urena via TKO (strikes) (R1)

Advancing to finals: Amaya, Akylbek Uulu, Black

Advancing to semifinals: Amaya, Strong, Canuto, Osmanli, Black, Akylbek Uulu, Benouaich, Franklin

Eliminated: Melisano, Jones, Karim, Belakh, Alves, Mora, Stiller, Urena

Xavier Franklin is a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 34 and a guest contributor to MMA Fighting. He also served as Michael Bisping's unofficial English accent translator on the show.

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Charles Oliveira-Diego Lopes BMF title fight headlines UFC 335

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6 hours ago

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October 4, 2026

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Charles Oliveira-Diego Lopes BMF title fight headlines UFC 335
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has a stacked year-ender taking
shape in Las Vegas.

Charles Oliveira will defend his BMF title against Diego Lopes
at UFC 335 in Las Vegas

During Saturday’s UFC
332 card, the UFC announced that Charles
Oliveira will make his Octagon return against Diego Lopes
with the honorific “BMF†championship on the line in the UFC
335 headliner. Oliveira (37-11, 1 NC; 25-11, 1 NC UFC) claimed
the BMF crown at UFC 326 after upending Max
Holloway on all scorecards. Prior to that, “do Bronxs†forced
Mateusz
Gamrot to tap to a face crank in their UFC Fight Night 261
encounter in October 2025.

Lopes (28-8, 7-3 UFC) had to weather the storm against Steve
Garcia in their UFC White House encounter, but he ultimately
scored a second-round knockout victory. The Lobo Gym MMA
representative bounced back after losing a one-sided decision to
Alexander
Volkanovski in their rematch at UFC 325.

On the same card, former two-division titleholder Alex
Pereira (13-4, 10-3 UFC) will try to score his first win at
heavyweight when he faces Sergei
Pavlovich. Pereira failed to become a three-division champion
when he lost to Ciryl Gane
in the UFC White House co-main event in June. Pavlovich (21-3, 9-3
UFC) smashed Tallison
Teixeira 39 seconds into the UFC Macau co-headliner. The winner
could be close to a shot at the divisional championship.

UFC 335 will take place in Las Vegas on Dec. 12. The card will also
feature a middleweight tilt between rising contenders Joe Pyfer and
Bo
Nickal.

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UFC 332: 'Silva vs. Wang' Live Results and Highlights

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9 hours ago

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October 3, 2026

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UFC 332: 'Silva vs. Wang' Live Results and Highlights
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Ciryl Gane shares first words since Tom Aspinall vacated UFC heavyweight title amid latest eye setback

The Octagon returns to Salt Lake City for tonight's UFC 332 event, a 14-bout fight card headlined by Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong.

Silva and Cong will be competing for the vacant women's flyweight title, this after longtime champion Valentina Shevchenko was forced to vacate the belt due to injury.

Natalia Silva (20-5-1 MMA) will enter the contest sporting a 14-fight winning streak, with her most recent Octagon victory coming over Rose Namajunas this past January at UFC 324. The 29-year-old Brazilian has not tasted defeat since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Marina Rodriguez way back in December of 2017.

Meanwhile, Wang Cong (10-1 MMA) currently boasts a four-fight winning streak, with her most recent victory coming over Tracy Cortez this past July at UFC 329. ‘The Joker' suffered her lone career loss to Gabriella Fernandes via technical submission back in November of 2024.

UFC 332 is co-headlined by a men's bantamweight matchup featuring Deiveson Figueiredo taking on Payton Talbott.

Image via: samcasttroo on Instagram

Figueiredo (25-7-1 MMA) will enter the bout with hopes of snapping a two-fight losing skid. The former flyweight kingpin is coming off losses to Umar Nurmagomedov and Song Yadong in his most recent efforts. ‘Figgy' has gone just 1-4 over his past five Octagon appearances overall.

Meanwhile, Payton Talbott (11-1 MMA) will be returning to action for the first time since scoring a unanimous decision win over former bantamweight champion Henry Cejudo at UFC 323. The 28-year-old has gone 4-1 over his past five fights, with his lone loss in that time coming by way of decision to Raoni Barcelos.

Also featured on tonight's UFC 332 main card lineup is a lightweight bout between King Green and Esteban Ribovics.

Green (36-17-1 MMA) will enter the contest on a four-fight winning streak, this after scoring three straight finishes over Daniel Zellhuber, Jeremy Stephens and Terrance McKinney (see that here). The longtime veteran has gone 7-3 over his past 10 Octagon apperances overall.

Meanwhile, Esteban Ribovics (16-3 MMA) was most previously seen in action this past August at UFC 330, where he scored a second-round TKO victory over Edson Barboza. ‘El Gringo' has gone 3-2 over his past five fights overall.

Get all of tonight's live results and highlights below (refresh for updates):

UFC 332 Main Card (Paramount+, 8 p.m. ET)

Natalia Silva (125) vs. Wang Cong (124.5) – Silva def. Cong by unanimous decision (48-47 x2, 49-46)

Deiveson Figueiredo (135) vs. Payton Talbott (135.5) – Talbott vs. Figueiredo via TKO (punches) at 2:09 of Round 1

King Green (155.5) vs. Esteban Ribovics (156.5)* – Ribovics def. Green via TKO (punches) at 4:08 of Round 1

Khaos Williams (170) vs. Roberto Soldic (170) – Soldić def. Williams by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27 x2)

Ateba Gautier (184) vs. Roman Kopylov (185) – Kopylov def. Gautier via TKO (punches) at 3:12 of Round 1

UFC 332 Prelims (Paramount+, 6 p.m. ET)

Imanol Rodriguez (126) vs. Alden Coria (126) – Rodriguez def. Coria via TKO (front kick to the body and punches) at 3:11 of Round 1

Damian Pinas (185) vs. Andrey Pulyaev (185.5) – Pinas def. Pulyaev via KO (punch) at 1:15 of Round 1

Marcus McGhee (144.5) vs. Anthony Romero (145) – McGhee def. Romero via TKO (punches) at 4:58 of Round 1

Anthony Wint (236) vs. Lucas Armand (263) – Wint def. Armand via TKO (punches) at 0:23 of Round 1

UFC 332 Early Prelims (Paramount+, 4 p.m. ET)

Johnny Walker (242) vs. Mick Parkin (265) – Walker def. Parkin via KO (knee) at 3:35 of Round 1

Rafael dos Anjos (155.5) vs. Alexander Hernandez (155) – Hernandez def. Dos Anjos via TKO (punches) at 3:12 of Round 2

Marvin Vettori (185.5) vs. Ismail Naurdiev (184.5) – Naurdiev def. Vettori by unanimous decision (29-28 x3)

Jacobe Smith (171) vs. Bruce Whitehead (170) – Smith def. Whitehead via KO (punches) at 1:32 of Round 1

Court McGee (170) vs. Eric Nolan (170) – Nolan def. McGee via KO (punch) at 3:26 of Round 3

Who are you picking to win tonight's women's flyweight title fight between Natalia Silva and Wang Cong? Share your predictions in the comment section PENN Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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UFC 332 Results: Natalia Silva defeats Wang Cong (Highlights)

Published

9 hours ago

on

October 3, 2026

By

UFC 332 Results: Natalia Silva defeats Wang Cong (Highlights)
Trending:

Darren Till gets honest about his performance in win over Yoel Romero

We have you covered for all of tonight's UFC 332 results, including the women's flyweight title fight between Natalia Silva and Wang Cong.

Silva and Cong will be competing for the vacant women's flyweight title, this after longtime champion Valentina Shevchenko was forced to vacate the belt due to injury.

Natalia Silva (20-5-1 MMA) will enter the contest sporting a 14-fight winning streak, with her most recent Octagon victory coming over Rose Namajunas this past January at UFC 324. The 29-year-old Brazilian has not tasted defeat since suffering a unanimous decision loss to Marina Rodriguez way back in December of 2017.

Meanwhile, Wang Cong (10-1 MMA) currently boasts a four-fight winning streak, with her most recent victory coming over Tracy Cortez this past July at UFC 329. ‘The Joker' suffered her lone career loss to Gabriella Fernandes via technical submission back in November of 2024.

Round one of the UFC 332 main event begins and Natalia Silva opens with a nice low kick. Now a jab. Another low kick from the Brazilian. Wang Cong answers with a body kick. The fighters come together and trade blows. Silva lands a solid right on the exit. A nice jab from Cong is answered by a big left hook from Silva. Another left hook finds a home. Natalia Silva appears to have a significant speed advantage. The Brazilian lands a body kick. Cong looks to answer but her kick is caught and she's tripped to the floor. Wang Cong quickly scrambles back up, but Silva has her in the clinch and pressed against the cage. Some good knees from Natalia Silva. Now an elbow over the top as Cong finally breaks free to distance. 25 seconds remain. Wang comes forward with a combination. Silva lands a hard straight right. Now a body kick. The horn sounds to end the opening round.

Round two of the UFC 322 main event begins and Wang Cong lands a hard low. She follows up with a combination but neither punch lands flush. The ladies trade kicks in the pocket. Cong with a left over the top. Natalia Silva with a solid low kick. She lands another. Cong didn't like those. Another low kick from Silva. This time Cong answers with one of her own. The crowd is growing restless; they've been spoiled with finishes. Silva with a high kick and Cong goes down. The Chinese standout quickly scrambles up to her feet. Silva forces the clinch and then drops down and proceeds to score a takedown. She's working from half guard position. 90 seconds remain in the round. Wang Cong looks to scramble. She gets up but Silva still has her back. Natalia Silva takes the fight to the floor again but only for a second. Cong is back up and now breaks free to range. Silva misses with a spinning wheel kick. Cong with a low kick and then a left hand. The horn sounds to end round two.

The third round of the UFC 332 main event begins and Natalia Silva lands a nice combination to get things started. Wang Cong looks to find a way inside. A front kick to the body from Silva sends her down to the canvas for a brief second. The fighters trade jabs. Silva with a nice knee up the middle. Cong is looking to brawl, but Silva continues to keep her range and pick her apart. Wang Cong with a solid right hand. She lands a low kick. 90-seconds remain. The Chinese fighter with two good left hooks. She's starting to come alive here. Natalia Silva misses with a high kick. The ladies trade hard low kicks. Wang Cong with a good right hand and now a left hook. Silva with a nice counter. The horn sounds to end the round.

The fourth round of the UFC 332 headliner begins and Natalia Silva lands a nice 1-2. Now a good calf kick. Wang Cong looking to find a way inside. Silva is using a lot of movement. Both ladies land kicks. Cong with another. She's pressuring a lot more now. Another good low kick from Cong. The Brazilian answers with a nice combination. Wang Cong steps in with a hook. She forces the clinch after landing a right over the top. Under three minutes remain in the round. Cong looking to keep Silva pinned. It doesn't work. Silva breaks free but eats a front kick to the body in the process. A nice right over the top by Cong. She's able to force the clinch once again. This is a much better round for the Chinese fighter. 90 seconds remain in this fourth round. Cong with a spinning back kick that partially connects. Silva gets in on a takedown attempt. She completes the takedown, but Cong is back to her feet almost instantly. Silva with a nice hook and now a spinning kick. Wang with a left hook. A good left and now a low kick from Cong. The horn sounds.

The fifth and final round begins and Natalia Silva comes out with a pair of body shots. Wang Cong with a left hand and now a low kick. Another nice left from the Chinese fighter. Now a low kick. Cong forces the clinch. Silva with a knee, but she's pressed against the cage. Cong with a knee of her own. Silva with an elbow on the break. Wang Cong cracks her with a counter right. Silva with a nice jab. Cong just eats it and comes forward swinging punches. A good left hook lands for Silva. Wang is back inside and forces the clinch. Midway through the final round now. Cong with a left hook. That appeared to stun Silva. Now a body kick. Silva is backing up. This is Cong's chance. She comes in with a flurry. 90-seconds remain. Another big shot from Wang Cong. The Brazilian is exhausted now. She looks for a takedown, but it is nowhere near close. Cong forces Natalia Silva against the cage. She needs to separate and throw. Silva gets free. Both ladies with big shots. Cong lands a right. She's throwing bombs but not landing. The horn sounds to end the contest. Good fight.

Official UFC 332 Results: Natalia Silva def. Wang Cong by unanimous decision (48-47 x2, 49-46)

Who would you like to see Silva fight next following her title-earning victory over Cong this evening in Salt Lake City? Share your thoughts in the comment section Penn Nation!

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM

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