The debut of Torrez Finney at UFC Vegas 105 proved to be a disaster in more ways than one. Though he scored a decision win, Finney's performance came under fire -- as did one judge's scorecard.
After a bit of sizing each other up, Finney went right in for a takedown. He managed to lift Valentin up and bring him down, but Valentin was up almost right away. In spite of Valentin's defenses, Finney took him down again and got to his back -- even when the fight returned to the feet. Finney scored another pair of takedowns before the end of round one.
Finney got back to the takedown right away as the fight entered round two. Valentin threw up his legs and attempted a triangle but was unable to get it. Finney seemed to trouble Valentin with a slam halfway through the second, but he didn't do much to warrant any notable damage. Valentin got back to his feet in the round's final minute and sought a kimura but couldn't get anything going.
Finney continued to press for the takedown in the third round, and while he controlled most of the round, he did little to no damage during those five minutes.
Finney still took the judges' decision. Judge Tony Weeks, a veteran judge - albeit one who has judged a lot more boxing than MMA - gave all three rounds to Valentin despite the The Ultimate Fighter alumnus being dominated with wrestling. The other two judges gave Finney the fight 29-28.
Torrez Finney Underwhelms In Debut, Ends In Baffling Split Decision Victory At UFC Vegas 105
Finney made three appearances on Dana White's Contender Series. His first appearance in 2023 -- a submission win over Yuri Panferov -- saw the UFC CEO blast his performance, claiming he wouldn't last in the UFC. Finney finally earned a contract after a decision win over Cam Rowston and a first-round finish of Abdellah Er-Ramy on the show.
Valentin competed on season 32 of The Ultimate Fighter and finished as the middleweight runner-up, defeating Giannis Bachar and Paddy McCorry on the show before losing in the final to Ryan Loder.