TUF 34 semifinals see injuries and intense battles unfold

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - APRIL 14: (L-R) Daniel Cormier, UFC President and CEO Dana White, and Michael Bisping speak to the fighters during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter at Meta APEX on April 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC) As The Ultimate Fighter 34 approaches its finale, with Melissa Amaya locked in to one of the strawweight spots after surviving having her arm nearly ripped off, it was anything but smooth sailing for the cast’s final days in the house. Ahead of her semifinal bout against GiGi Canuto, Amaya suffered a back injury during training that rendered her temporarily unable to move. Fortunately, the UFC Performance Institute medical team worked its magic and she went on to fight and defeat Canuto. Season 34 bantamweight contestant and guest blogger Xavier Franklin told MMA Fighting that Canuto was also banged up going into the bout, and that wasn’t the only bad luck Team Michael Bisping had to deal with. Xavier: I was like, holy shit, I didn’t know it was that bad, but I’ve seen the cupping on [Amaya], so I was like, “Hm, this is interesting,” but she’s trying not to show it, but I’m just like, “Hm.” I didn’t know it was that f*cking bad. And then I see the episode, I’m like, “Oh, it was bad.” But another crazy thing that you probably don’t know, but I think it was [Canuto’s] finger? I think it was her finger or toe, she dislocated, broke it in training. It was crazy, and we were all like, “Oh shit.” It was one of those times when we told the coaches, “I don’t know if we should be sparring like this,” like, hard and all this, and then some shit happened with GiGi and I’m pretty sure she f*cked her shit up, and then we called it right then and there. It was a recipe for fucking disaster. A lot of bad shit that started happening after that. All four semifinal fights were filmed on the same day, so Franklin didn’t actually get to watch Amaya and Canuto’s action-packed battle, but when the contestants gathered later to celebrate the conclusion of the show, he got an idea of just how brutal their duel was. Xavier: F*cking Melissa looks like she’s seen somebody kill her fucking family. GiGi was just like, “Yeah, it’s a banger.” I’m like, what happened in there that I missed? Everybody said it was really good and then watching it, I’m like, damn. But that also lets me know, when I was talking to Melissa, I’m like, “She’s a psychopath.” So y’all hearing her say, “She’s going to have to kill me and do all this and take it from me,” I knew if Gigi doesn’t put her to sleep, she’s not going beat her with a submission. She didn’t care if you broke her arm, broke her leg, you’d have to really put somebody like Melissa to sleep. She’s too tough and she’s too crazy. She’s a sociopath, I’m telling you. I told her she is and she started dying laughing. I said, “Exactly. You’re laughing so hard, you know I’m right.” UNBREAKABLE 😤 Melissa Amaya shows that she won’t quit as she earns the TKO victory on #TUF34! STREAM NOW on @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/mtU8QNaeaO — The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) August 5, 2026 Franklin has frequently praised his housemates, whether they’re Team Bisping or Team Daniel Cormier, not just for the entertaining efforts they’ve put on, but also for how they’ve carried themselves in the house. Asked how everyone managed to avoid some of the more dramatic pitfalls that have befallen past seasons, Franklin chalked it up to maturity and keeping an eye on the prize. Xavier: It’s different because we grew up seeing that, but at the same time they want you to be professional, because, like, you’re going to blow your opportunity. So yeah, you can get crazy and do this in the house, but at what cost? Beause everybody’s like, “Yeah, do this!” but the UFC is not signing you because you just got in a fight on the show. Now you have to go fight four or five more fights to even get back in that good light for them to see you, you know what I mean? Yeah, we have social media, you can do all this, but there’s no guarantee. TUF is still not guaranteed, but you’re on the show, you’re in the house, so why am I going to risk that for people’s entertainment? Y’all ain’t gonna care if I say I fight somebody in the house, I beat them up, and then I go on a losing streak. Then it’s like,’Well, he gave us a moment, but it’s like y’all don’t care, y’all aren’t talking about the “Let Me Bang, Bro” guy. Nobody cares about him. You just care about that moment. … There’s other people that got in fights and stuff that people don’t know. They just remember that moment. Nobody’s like, “I want to go look into his career and follow up.” They don’t give a shit. We live in that microwave moment where we heat it up, watch it right then and there, and then it’s gone. If there’s been any antics on the show, it’s mostly been between coaches Bisping and Cormier. The UFC Hall of Famers have gleefully taken shots at each other and worked through a few tense moments, and finally got their opportunity to go head to head with this season’s coaching challenge: Fencing. En Garde 🤺@DC_MMA and @Bisping go head-to-head in fencing to see who will win the Coach’s Challenge! STREAM #TUF34 NOW on @ParamountPlus! pic.twitter.com/NfDNrB1rCX — The Ultimate Fighter (@UltimateFighter) August 4, 2026 Xavier: That shit was crazy. I was actually happy. I didn’t know what it was going to be, but I knew DC messed his knee up. I think he messed it up wrestling or something, like one of his kids, helping train them. So I was like, OK, we’re good. If it’s anything athletic, we’re good. I think Bisping’s got him. He was training with us and stuff. So when we seen fencing, I was like, “Oh we got it. We’re good.” Despite his knee injury, Cormier jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. Fortunately for Team Bisping, who each received $1500 in cash for the win, their coach authored a comeback, surging to a 15-10 victory. Xavier: We were all just like, “It’s over, we’re fucked.” But then Bisping, if you know Bisping, he’s a competitor. That’s why I was so glad he was our coach. He hates losing. He’s like me, he hates losing. So he literally just tapped into that side that he has in him and then he just went on a streak. It was crazy. Franklin advanced to the semifinals with a first-round knockout of Micaias Urena. With three Team Bisping bantamweights advancing, he and friend Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu drew the short straw and have to fight each other for a chance to compete in the finals. Franklin has frequently mentioned how close he and Akylbek Uulu became during TUF 34 filming, and he’s ready for the world to see just how much the semifinal pairing messed with both of them. Xavier: If they do it right, it’s going to play with the audience’s feelings. It played with my feelings, honestly. I can say this is the first time in a fight where I didn’t want to hurt somebody. Where I genuinely did not want to hurt him because we built an actual real bond. So for me, I was just like, “Damn. This is some fucked up shit y’all are doing here.” Then I knew this is what they want. They want that reality TV show, that’s sick, that’s what I told you a long time ago, like Game of Thrones, this is what I meant. This is the Game of Thrones moment. 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. A date for those bouts is yet to be announced. See The Ultimate Fighter 34 teams below. Team Bisping Bantamweights Xavier Franklin (6-1-1, 1 NC), U.S. Mehemmedeli Osmanli (11-1), Azerbaijan Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu (9-3), Kyrgyzstan Marlon Jones (5-0), U.K. Strawweights Anna Melisano (6-1), U.S. GiGi Canuto (7-1), Brazil Mackenzie Stiller (6-1), U.S. Natalia Alves (8-0), Brazil Team Cormier Bantamweights Artem Belakh (11-2), Kazakhstan Micaias Urena (12-4), Dominican Republic Sean Mora (7-1), Cuba Christian Strong (9-1), U.S. Strawweights Tina Black (15-4, 1 NC), Brazil Delphine Benouaich (7-2), France Melissa Amaya (8-0), U.S. Anita Karim (6-2), Pakistan Here are the semifinal results and pending matchups: Melissa Amaya def. GiGi Canuto via TKO (strikes) (R2) Xavier Franklin vs. Ilimbek Akylbek Uulu Delphine Benouaich vs. Tina Black 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 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.