Undefeated fighter, Torrez Finney, was probably the most accomplished fighter in the eighth season of the Dana White Contender series. However, it seems like the UFC head honcho does not think the same about the 25-year-old. He fell short of making a mark on the second part of the series that gives fighters a chance to be signed into the UFC. Following a streak of impressive performances by Finney last year, White had advised him to gain more experience since he was too young to enter the UFC. Despite the fighter doing well in the past year, the CEO didn’t offer him a contract this time as well, earning fans’ wrath on social media. 

The second episode of the Contender Series in Las Vegas at the UFC APEX saw Dana White handing contracts to as many as four fighters, including the likes of Andreas Gustafsson, Rizvan Kuniev, Cortavious Romious, and Cody Haddon. Notably, White is well-aware of Torrez Finney being the fan-favorite and thus towards the end of the event, he spoke about the fighter and said that his performance in 2023 was better. His performance against Cameron Rowston did not match up to his previous prowess.

The UFC boss said, “Finney, now you were here last year and my recommendation to you was to go out and get some experience, you’re young, you’re obviously talented, you’re now 9-0, you got one fight, you went out in one year and fought one fight.” Despite being let down by the young rookie, the CEO didn’t close doors on his entry into the promotion.

“You know, I’m always brutally honest with this stuff, 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,” White added.

The explanation offered by Dana White regarding Finney did not go well with a lot of UFC fans as they took to the comment section of UFC’s official Instagram handle to blast White for ignoring the fighter having an impressive record of 9-0 and being partial.

UFC fans are not happy with Dana White

Several fighters achieved statement-making performances for season eight of the Dana White contender series. Four of the fighters secured a glamorous UFC contract. Cody Haddon got a first-round victory against Billy Brand. Cortavious Romious won against Michael Imperato and the head honcho was surprised that the fighter did not use submission when he could. Rizvan Kuniev, who is from Khabib Nurmagomedov’s promotion and knows Islam Makhachev, already has an impressive record and got signed into the promotion. However, the fans were still agitated because Finney was not selected.

One follower said, “Feel bad for the 1 dude who didn’t get signed tonight bro got roasted,” while another said, “Damn. I thought Finney should have got it tbh. How many times do you want him to win on Contenders.” The fighter from Tennessee had secured a submission win in the second round against Yuri Panferov in his first appearance. However, this time even when he won against much taller Cam Rowston via unanimous decision, Dana White was not impressed.

Instead of praising him, White said, “You’d get decimated in the UFC with the performance you put on tonight.” So this did not sit well with the fans, who also saw the fight along with the boss. On the same note, one follower wrote, “He didn’t have to do Finney like that Imao,” while another stated, “Danna is going to turn Finney into a beast.”

One UFC viewer, however, agreed with White and said, “Finney was terrible,” while one social media user stated, “Finney should’ve got signed.” He already has an impressive record of 9-0 and most of his pro career was under the IKON FC banner. Do you think the boss will select him in the future? Let us know your views in the comments below.