By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

When Torrez Finney Jr. was a dominant defensive lineman, at maybe 5 foot 8, at Jones County, he was a beast during competition, and all smiles afterward.

When he was a dominant wrestler, going undefeated as a senior in the 195-pound class, at maybe 5 foot 8, he was a monster during competition, and all smiles afterward.

*Photos/videos: Michael A. Lough/Central Georgia Sports Report*

Owner of supreme strength, Finney was a technician in both sports, able to win the match or play with power or brains, but usually with both.

Finney was no normal athlete way back when at Jones County, and not a normal teenager. An excellent student, Finney was outgoing and personable, able to hold an adult conversation with ease and enjoy those conversations.

Not a big body, but a huge smile.

And now he’s The Punisher.

Finney’s life has ventured down some unexpected roads since he graduated in 2016. He certainly didn’t expect to be where he is now, now being in Las Vegas as a fan favorite making his full-fledged UFC debut.

Finey will take on Robert Valentin at UFC Vegas 105 in Las Vegas at the UFC Apex complex.

The 13-bout card begins at 6 p.m., with the main card – including Finney vs. Valentin – at 9 p.m., on ESPN/ESPN+.

Finney was the focus of a celebration of that hard-fought UFC contract back in October at the Tubman Museum in Macon, surrounded by 100 or so family and friends and supporters, and a few former Jones County teammates.

His mother and father spoke briefly at the gathering, after which Finney, well, smiled and signed autographs and took pictures and hugged, hugged, hugged.

“I am proud of my son,” Erical Finney said. “This is my first-born. He’s always been a good child. Anybody that knows him knows he’s nonchalant, calm, spirited. I love you son, and I’m proud of you.”
Torrez Finney Sr. remembered when his son was little.

“I put him in football,” Finney Sr. said. “He excelled when he was about five years old, how he’s grown to become the man he’s become. He just amazes me.

“He trains so hard. He’s got the mind, he’s got the will. He’s gonna be champion. I know my boy. He will be champion.”

All the while, Finney sat humbly at a table.

“It was really awesome to see a lot of people,” Finney said. “See people that used to support me when I was in high school for wrestling and football. It was really cool to see that, and I'm really excited for all the support that people have been bringing up to me.”

Scores will be converging somewhere Saturday night to support him from afar.

The work ethic that led then-wrestling coach Jay Crook at Jones County to work at slowing the impatient-to-succeed Finney down in workouts has him achieving a dream he never thought about a half-dozen years ago.

He was a 195-pounder when he stormed through Class 5A competition as a senior wrestler, en route to his second straight state title, going along with All-State football honors.

A physical specimen and outstanding two-sport athlete, yes, but at maybe 5-8, what did the next level look like?

Finney signed with Chattanooga for football, maintaining an eye toward wrestling. He redshirted in 2016, and played in 21 games the next two seasons, and started mixing in wrestling to go with a college career of honor roll achievements, including the Dean’s list in 2020-21 as a senior, with a 4.0 in the fall.

Finney sat out his junior football year with an ACL, still making the school and Southern Conference honor roll as his football career unofficially began coming to an end.

But before that, Finney began two-timing football with mixed martial arts. COVID hit and disrupted football, leaving open a door to training.

“I still was going to practice, doing everything that we had,” he said. “But I was going to football practice in the morning and then I would go to MMA training, jujitsu training, at noon and the afternoon.

“So, everybody was calling me crazy. It was like, ‘there's no way you're doing football and MMA training,’ but I was.”

That craziness paid off immediately.

Chattanooga had a 60-play scrimmage, and head coach Rusty Wright wasn’t happy with it, and the Mocs ran 10 100-yard sprints. Finney was eyeing the clock. He had a bout scheduled that day.

“My coaches didn't know, because it was also the rule of we shouldn't be going anywhere because of COVID,” Finney said. “So another thing I was sneaking out of my dorm and to go and train.”

Finney ran the sprints, ran to the locker room, ran to the car, and he and his training coach drove to Knoxville.

“I'm in the back, I'm tired,” he said. “I was like, ‘Uh it's going to be rough. I got to get him out of here.’”

Finney took on Antonio Holt, and took out Antonio Holt, in 11 seconds in his UFC/MMA debut.

That was on Oct. 3, 2020, four years to the day Finney visited Macon for the celebration at the Tubman. A month later, he was offered a bout for an amateur lighty heavyweight title against a competitor who was 3-0 with first-round knockouts, a bigger test.

Indeed, Finney struggled in that Feb. 2021 outing. Took him 50 seconds into the third round.

“The lift over the cage, the slam, the epic slam a lot of people remember,” he said of the win over Tristan Scarborough. “And I said to myself, ‘This guy that's only been training MMA, myself, for 5 months, to come in and win a championship on regional scene against a guy that been winning fights for a very long time, I think I can do this, big time.’”

Indeed.

Less than two months later, a unanimous decision. A little more than three months later, a round-one win in 65 seconds on a head and arm choke. Five amateur bouts, five wins.

He won in his pro debut, on Feb. 19, 2022, with a knockout/TKO of Wesley McCracken 4:32 into the second round of three. Finney kept on winning, and got the attention of UFC boss Dana White, and an invite to the Contender Series.

That’s where up and comers try to get a full-fledged UFC contract. But winning, as a frustrated Finney found out, guarantees nothing.

He took out Tyson Yuri Panfervoc in the second round. No contract.

A unanimous decision over Cam Rowston followed 10 months later. No contract.

Even worse, White put him on blast after the second bout.

“I’m always brutally honest with this stuff,” White said. “You get absolutely decimated in the UFC with the performance that you put on tonight.”

Finney, who turns 27 on Oct. 24, on a podcast later said it didn’t affect him, in part because his career was only a few years old. But the confident Finney did feel a little more motivation. And then came invite No. 3 for a Contender Series bout.

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Finney vs. Valentin, scouting report 1
Finney vs. Valentin, scouting report 2, odds
Pre-fight interview

He accepted, against his mother’s wishes.

“I was going off on the phone when he called,” she said. “Even though I didn’t agree, I still supported him.”

No need for judges. He ground and pounded Abdellah Er-Ramy four minutes into the first round to become the first fighter to win three times in the Contender Series.

Finney’s statement wasn’t complete. Seconds after it was called, Finney strolled over to White, who already had a big smile, and asked what did he have to do to get that dang contract.

And then, with White grin of approval growing, he danced. Where in the world …

“So, let me tell you something,” Finney said on that October day in Macon, a twinkle in his eye at the epic memory. “In the shower. Yes. In the shower, I throw out all types of things.”

Like conducting post-fight interviews. With himself. In the shower.

White had the answer Finney had waited and fought for.

“He said. ‘You got it.’” Finney said. “I said, ‘Yeah, I'm going dance for you guys,’ and I started doing this, and I don't know, man, it just came into me in the moment. I felt like that was one of the best moments of my career. It was hard to stay calm.”

Finney carries a 10-0 pro record in Saturday’s battle against 10-4 Valentin, a Switzerland native who is about six inches taller than Finney.

Tapology has Finney as an 87-percent favorite.

This was nowhere near Finney’s mind almost a decade ago when he was climbing over offensive linemen to sack Jake Fromm, as he did one Friday night when Jones County and Houston County were in the same region.

Finney was part of the revitalization of Jones County’s program under then-head coach Justin Rogers. The Greyhounds went 19-5 in Finney’s final two seasons, and he led the state with 131 tackles as a junior in 2014.

He was the Macon Touchdown Club’s state lineman of the year as a senior, first-team All-Middle Georgia and All-State twice, also taking All-Middle Georgia wrestler of the year honors.

While being a pest to block in the fall, he converted to beast in the winter during wrestling season, going .44-4 as a junior and 40-0 as a senior, adding an 11th-place finish in a national tournament as a senior.

Little did he ever imagine that everything he excelled at on the field and mat in Gray would lead to Saturday night, but it does.

“The physicality into all of this really makes it the big point,: he said. “You had football, you had wrestling, the physicality from both sides of the sports. I think it's easier to be able to adapt to.

“I was really good at tackling, you know? I didn't miss rarely any tackle. So I was really good sacking quarterbacks and things of that nature, getting quick off the ball, some of those same attributes that you need for wrestling, being quick off the whistle for stand-ups, being quick on your double-leg.”

Endurance isn’t a problem, especially for somebody who went from a football practice and then sprints to his debut and won, thanks to a skillset that’s more than strength.

“Different mechanics, but a lot of mechanics, a lot of technique,” he said.”Yes, yes, a lot of technique. And then once you get the athlete to learn the technical side of it, man, it's going to be a hard person to stop.”

And Finney qualifies as hard to stop, since he hasn’t been stopped yet. But his biggest test on the biggest stage yet awaits.

“I feel like I’ve made this walk a good bit of times,” he said earlier this week at a press conference. “Same place, same hotel, the whole nine yards.

“I was really determined. I’m a guy that’s never taken ‘no’ for answer. When you doubt me, I work harder.”

The last time Finney was doubted publicly, he answered. And danced.

No doubt he’s ready for some new moves to debut on Saturday.