Torrez Finney will make his third attempt to secure a UFC contract when he faces Abdellah Er-Remy on the Contender Series on October 1, following two previous unsuccessful attempts and criticism from UFC CEO Dana White.
Torrez Finney is hoping the third time’s the charm for his UFC dreams.
On Thursday, MMA Fighting confirmed that "The Punisher" will face Abdellah Er-Remy on episode eight of Contender Series, set for Oct. 1, following an initial post from Finney.
BET.ON.YOURSELF.✊ We like making history so why be the first ever to 3-0 on the show! THIRD TIME IS THE CHARM OCTOBER 1ST WE COMING TO SMASH✊ pic.twitter.com/ypjWvGW0M0 — Torrez Finney (@punishertorrez) August 29, 2024
This marks Finney’s third appearance on the show and his second this season. In 2023, he secured a submission win over Yuri Panferov but didn’t get a contract offer.
Earlier this month, on the second episode of the current Contender Series season, he beat Cam Rowston by unanimous decision. Yet again, UFC CEO Dana White declined to extend an offer, criticizing Finney’s performance in a clip that made headlines for its harshness.
“Finney, now you were here last year and my recommendation to you was to go out and get some experience,” White said post-event. “You’re young, you’re obviously talented, you’re now 9-0, [but] you got one fight. You went out in one year and fought one fight."
“I’m always brutally honest with this stuff," White continued, "you’d get absolutely decimated in the UFC with the performance that you put on tonight. Your performance last year was better than this performance."
“You’re 25 years old, kid. You’re obviously a talented athlete. Go out and get three or four fights this year, then come back to us and talk about the UFC."
“You gassed out tonight," White added. "You had a tough time getting through three rounds. You’re not ready for the UFC. When I said go out and get some experience, I didn’t mean one fight. I meant get some fights. We’ll see you soon.”
After White’s rant, Finney explained part of why he didn’t compete more often after his first Contender Series attempt: he was supposed to join the latest season of The Ultimate Fighter. However, a series of events derailed those plans.
White addressed this during the most recent Contender Series episode, acknowledging he might’ve been too harsh on Finney.
“So what happened was, I guess he got picked to do The Ultimate Fighter, and then they told him he couldn’t fight for X amount of months," White said. "Then he ended up not getting picked. I didn’t know that until tonight. He had a rough year.”
Finney currently boasts a 9-0 record in his MMA career with seven stoppage wins. Er-Ramy stands at 7-1 and most recently competed at PFL Europe in 2023, securing a first-round TKO win.