MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
The proverbial lights were brighter, and it was the most adversity that Torrez Finney says that he has faced in his professional MMA career.
“I had a really bad first round. It was the worst one I have had in my career, but I made adjustments and turned it around,” Finney said.
But despite all of that, the former Greyhound two-sport star, with an ESPN+ audience watching, got the win last Tuesday night in Las Vegas as part of the Dana White’s Contender Series event, getting a win at 2:43 of the second round against Yuri Panferov.
This fight was different for Finney before it began. Unlike the previous bouts, this time he was the first fighter in the ring, something that he says actually helped as he waited for Panferov to make his way into the cage.
“Feeling the cage out, that allowed me to settle in,” Finney said. “I really didn’t have any nerves. I was really prepared for anything that he threw at me.”
Finney took full control in that second round, landing two headshots and getting a takedown within the first minute to help move towards the win. The tactic in that round for Finney was simple – sticking to the plan.
“My coach reiterated the game plan in the corner. He was telling me, ‘You have to make him respect your hand.’
I felt with how much stronger I was and better of a grappler that I was; my goal was to get into a dominant position,” Finney said. “I knew that once I did that, I could finish him. In the second round, I went back to the game plan, adjusted and got everything corrected.
It was good to have that experience and go through that adversity.”
As satisfying as the win was for Finney, it was bittersweet. Despite his victory, he was not offered a UFC contract.
But that could also be a silver lining, as the exposure drew even more attention from other fight promoters.
“It was a little bittersweet, to win how I did.
Lots of people online and on social media were shocking, but it didn’t deter me,” Finney said.
“We’ve actually gotten calls from some other big-time promotions.
We’ve had calls to my agent, and I’ve been offered some big fight deals with other promotions. It allows me to have flexibility.”
