Despite some backlash to his performance, Torrez Finney insists he accomplished the most important thing in his UFC debut — win.
The arrival of Finney was one of the most intriguing storylines heading into this past weekend’s UFC Fight Night inside the Apex. That was owing to the manner in which the undefeated middleweight secured a contract.
“The Punisher” required an unprecedented three victories on Dana White’s Contender Series to finally forge a path onto MMA’s biggest stage. His performances evidently didn’t impress the UFC CEO, who even predicted that Finney would get “decimated” in the Octagon.
While the 26-year-old avoided that fate Saturday night, he likely didn’t boost his stock in the eyes of White or the seemingly the fanbase after grinding out a low-activity, grappling control-heavy decision win over Robert Valentin.
During his appearance at the UFC Vegas 105 post-fight press conference, Finney addressed the criticism of his debut display.
I’d rather have an ugly ‘W’ than a good ‘L,'” Torrez Finney said. “One, we were really confident in my area, obviously, getting it to the ground. I felt like I was the better grappler, no question. He did some things better in situations than I expected, but also, there was a lot of missed opportunities for me on the ground, and I didn’t take advantage of it.
There’s a lot of things I got to grow on. I think I gave him too much confidence in areas, and I didn’t execute,” Finney concluded.
