New UFC middleweight Torrez Finney is a big fan of The Rock.

Finney earned a contract after becoming the first fighter to earn three wins on Dana White’s Contender Series, picking up a first-round TKO of Abdellah Er-Ramy at DWCS Season 8, Week 8. Throughout his MMA career, the 25-year-old would sign off his post-fight interviews by paying homage to The Rock’s famous WWE tagline, “If you smell what The Rock is cooking,” by changing it too, “If you can smell what Torrez is cooking.”

Growing up playing pro wrestler on the back yard trampoline, it was meant to be.

“Well, I’m a big professional wrestling fan,” Finney told MMA Fighting. “I’m big into WWE, obviously, even AEW. I’ve watched those things. Now I don’t watch them as religiously as I used to growing up. But growing up, man, with all my cousins, we used to get on the trampoline. If anybody knows anything about [that], the trampoline is the WWE ring for a lot of kids. And when they tell you not to do those things at home, we surely did not listen.

“So we did all of that stuff at home and we’re there on the trampoline jumping up and down. We do all WWE moves, and I think that’s a part of, a little bit, what helps me be able to speak in that promo type way. We used to do that. We used to have our toy mic and we’re like, ‘Man, I’m coming on your birthday, and I’m coming to take that belt — when I have that belt with me and all my cousins and we were playing like that.”

Finney was a baby when The Rock, real name Dwayne Johnson, was making his initial run in the sports entertainment juggernaut. But with multiple returns to WWE, Finney got to experience the confidence and star-power Johnson would exude on the microphone.

So when it came to fighting for his first MMA amateur title, Finney knew exactly what to do once he got the opportunity.

“I’m a big fan of The Rock now, my favorite wrestler is The Undertaker,” Finney said. “I’m a big Undertaker fan, but I love The Rock. I love his promo cutting and I would just sit there and watch that and I used to do some of that type of stuff in high school. … But when I was getting into fighting, I said, ‘Man, I need to think of something [to say],’ and it was my second amateur fight. I won the title and one of my friends was like, what you gonna say after the fight? And I said, ‘I got something. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to do this.’

“[After] my second amateur fight, I said, ‘I’ve been wanting to do this my entire life,’ and I go ‘If you can smell,’ and I said, ‘what the champ is cooking,’ because I was a champion at that time.”

Since then, “The Punisher” has gone on to win all 10 of his pro bouts, including his first two outings on Contender Series. After finishing Yuri Panerov in October 2023, Dana White elected not to award Finney a contract, asking him to get more experience first. Finney returned in August to win a decision against Cam Rowston, where White ripped Finney saying that he would get “absolutely decimated” in the UFC.

Finney has always remained true to himself. As the wins kept piling him, so was the excitement for his post-fight interviews. When he makes his eventual octagon debut, Finney may have the chance to say his signature after the biggest moment of his professional life.

“I just kept it rolling because kids and people was like, ‘Man, I’ve been looking forward to that,’” Finney explained. ”They look forward to that, ‘If you can smell.’ I even have fans, they look forward to that, ‘If you can smell what Torrez is cooking.’

“So it’s really cool man. And yeah, it’s funny like how the stuff you would do as a kid is now being gravitated and translated to what you do as an adult now.”

Manchester United prepare a move for Randal Kolo Muani, Real Madrid are targeting Arsenal’s William Saliba, while Chelsea remain interested in Victor Osimhen.

Manchester United have prepared a £58.6m offer for Paris St-Germain’s 25-year-old France forward Randal Kolo Muani. (Fichajes, via Teamtalk), external

Real Madrid want to sign Arsenal and France defender William Saliba as a “top priority” in 2025, with Los Blancos already in contact with the 23-year-old. (Le 10 Sport – in French), external

Galatasaray will look to make Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen’s loan move from Napoli permanent, while Chelsea remain interested. However, the 25-year-old will cost £68m in January or £63m next summer. (Corriere dello Sport – in Italian), external

Manchester City are considering Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, 25, as a replacement for Ederson, but the Portugal stopper will cost £63m. (Caught Offside), external

Manchester United have made Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell, 27, a top target for January. (Teamtalk, external)

Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi has reiterated his desire to stay at Real Sociedad despite speculation of interest from Manchester City. (Mirror), external

Crystal Palace will step up their pursuit of Hammarby’s 18-year-old Ivorian forward Bazoumana Toure, who is also of interest to Manchester United and Celtic. (Give Me Sport) , external

Arsenal will still target a striker in the January transfer window, despite the promising start to the season made by Germany forward Kai Havertz, 25. (Football Insider), external

Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, 33, is next in line for a new contract after the club secured the long-term future of France centre-back Ibrahima Konate, 25. (Teamtalk, external)

Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle United are all interested in Aston Villa’s 23-year-old England youth midfielder Jacob Ramsey. (Give Me Sport), external

Newcastle might sell England striker Callum Wilson, 32, in January to facilitate a move for a new forward. (Football Insider), external

Marseille are in advanced talks to sign France midfielder Paul Pogba, 31, who can play again from March after a four-year ban for a doping offence was reduced to 18 months. (Mirror), external

Pogba will have his Juventus contract terminated following his doping ban. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Former Sheffield United defender George Baldock has died at the age of 31.

The England-born Greece international was found dead in the swimming pool of his house in Glyfada, southern Athens.

Baldock had joined Greek side Panathinaikos in the summer after seven years at the Blades.

Sheffield United expressed their shock at the news, saying: “The defender left the club in the summer after seven years at Bramall Lane and was extremely popular with supporters, staff and team-mates who pulled on a red and white shirt alongside him.

“The sincere condolences of everyone associated with Sheffield United are extended to George’s family and friends.”

Baldock had made four appearances for Panathinaikos and started in their goalless draw with Olympiakos on Sunday.

The Greek Super League said: “The entire Super League football family expresses its deep sorrow for the untimely loss of Panathinaikos and our national team footballer, George Baldock, and extends its deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.”

Baldock, who had been capped 12 times for Greece, started his career at MK Dons on 2009 and played more than 100 times for them.

He had loan spells with several clubs including Northampton and Oxford United, before joining Sheffield United in 2017.

He made 219 appearances in all competitions for the club, helping them to promotion to the Premier League in 2019 and again in 2023.

Baldock was born in Buckingham but qualified for Greece through his grandmother and was called up for the national team for the first time in May 2022 by manager Gus Poyet.

He made his debut for the country the following month in a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in Belfast.

The social media accounts of Panathinaikos and the Greece national team blackened their profile pictures on Wednesday evening.

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, who started his career at Sheffield United, posted a picture of Baldock with a broken heart emoji and the letters RIP.

Northampton Town tweeted: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former loanee George Baldock at the tragically young age of 31. Sending our sincerest condolences to George’s family and friends.”

LAS VEGAS – Brandon Royval always seems to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that was the case again one week prior to his UFC Fight Night 244 main event.

Ahead of Saturday’s flyweight headliner against Tatsuro Taira (16-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas (ESPN+), former title challenger Royval (16-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC) attended UFC 307 in Salt Lake City to help corner his good friend and teammate Alexander Hernandez, who defeated Austin Hubbard by unanimous decision in a short-notice affair.

Following his victory, Hernandez revealed to reporters backstage that his day had been traumatic. He was taking a fight-morning walk with his team and they encountered a dangerous situation in the form of a fatal shooting. According to a Salt Lake City Police Department report, the suspect, since arrested and identified as 49-year-old Farshad Hassan-Puori, allegedly shot and killed 30-year-old Gage Barrow.

Royval was part of the group with Hernandez when the incident unfolded, and according to Hernandez, it was Royval who actually ran toward the danger and “chased down the shooter,” but to no avail.

A week later, Royval said he’s not overly keen to relive the experience. However, he admits it was a lot to endure, and he’s particularly proud of Hernandez for being able to compartmentalize and still go into the octagon and win at UFC 307 that same day.

“I don’t really care to talk about it too much because someone died, but at the end of the day, there was a shooting that happened in Utah,” Royval told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “It happened pretty much right in front of us. I guess the only thing that matters at the end of the day is we’ve seen some crazy sh*t. Alex had locked in. Won his fight. Kudos to him on that, and it’s a lot to deal with first thing in the morning. It was like 11 a.m. My boy had to report a couple hours later and pretty much anything that could go wrong on that walk, did go wrong.”

Considering he is a professional fighter, Royval isn’t exactly in the business of self-preservation. He said danger and drama seem to be routine occurrences in his life, and that’s the only explanation he could give about deciding to run toward the shooter and crime scene rather than flee for safety.

“I can’t really speak to anybody or speak to anybody else, but I felt like I’ve found myself in a lot of sh*tty situations, and I’ve been around a lot of sh*t that happens,” Royval said. “I feel like I’m a little bit of a sh*t magnet. So I’m not really unfamiliar with some weird sh*t like that. But not necessarily a shooting like that, but I did CPR like a week before on another dude in a car accident. So it’s been a crazy month. I would stay as far away from me as possible to be completely honest. It’s been a crazy month. I’ve been threatened by crackheads, done CPR, been in a car accident, and the f*cking shooting and seeing someone die. Anyways. Probably stay away from me this week.”

One person who won’t be able to stay away from Royval all week is Taira, because they will be locked in the octagon for five scheduled rounds with significant title stakes in the 125-pound division. Royval is ready for it and prepared for a grueling, brutal battle.

“When it’s fight time, we’re actually going to go for it,” Royval said. “You’re going to see two killers try to kill.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 244.

JOHN STONES believes Lee Carsley has got England playing like Manchester City.

The Three Lions star sees parallels with how interim boss Carsley and City chief Pep Guardiola set up their teams to play attacking football.

3

3

Advertisement

England face Greece at a sold-out Wembley in the Nations League ON Thursday, with skipper Harry Kane a big doubt following injury.

It will be Carsley’s third game since replacing Gareth Southgate on a temporary basis.

And defender Stones said: “There are a lot of similarities between Lee and Pep in how they see the game and how they want us to play.

“We saw that last month when we played the two games and got we played the two games and got positive results.

“It’s been great for me with the likenesses of how we play.

“They do a lot of research on us as players, see how we play at our clubs and then try to bring that in.

“That makes it as easy as possible for us, as players, to gel together.”

Stones skippers the Three Lions from the start of a match for the first time on his 82nd cap.

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

He said: “To be asked to captain England was everything I could have dreamed of as a kid.

“For my family to see me walk out as captain is going to be such a memorable moment.

“I was speechless when Lee asked me. It was just an incredible moment.

“To walk out with the armband is an honour I will cherish forever.”

England beat Ireland and Finland 2-0 last month and Stones feels the squad have got used to a new regime after Gareth Southgate and No 2 Steve Holland led them at four major finals.

Stones added: “We have bedded in now. I mentioned before how it was a strange feeling after being with Steve, Gareth, all the team.

“And I’ve not had many managers throughout my career.

“So it was a strange transition period with new faces and new challenges — and I think we have now settled in.

“It has been a seamless transition, which is just a credit to them and not easy to do.”

Striker Kane, 31, was unable to train properly this week after suffering groin and ankle issues playing for German giants Bayern Munich.

And Ollie Watkins looks set to start in his place, while Tottenham new-boy Dominic Solanke is likely to feature at some stage.

The Three Lions were hit by Morgan Gibbs-White, Ezri Konsa and Kobbie Mainoo pulling out of the squad after picking up injuries during last weekend’s Prem games.

Carsley called up Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones and Newcastle defender Tino Livramento.

At the back, Stones is set to partner Levi Colwill, while in-form Chelsea star Cole Palmer is also expected to start.

And Carsley explained: “Kane is nursing an injury — a small knock — and it’s something we won’t take a chance with.

“We are not ruling out Harry from being on the bench but he won’t start against Greece.

“Hopefully he will be in contention for Sunday in Finland, time will tell.

“It was a great chat to have with John on Tuesday night — to have the chance to ask him to captain the team.

“It’s a brilliant achievement and it’s something that he deserves, with the experience he has and his professionalism.

“He just shows a great example to the younger players.”

City winger Jack Grealish is unlikely to feature against Greece.

Carsley added: “Jack will be assessed later but he had a slight knock in training on Wednesday.

“We wouldn’t gamble with any of the players — it’s important we put them first.”

3

Brandon Royval got an offer to face Kai Asakura at UFC 305 in Perth, but he ultimately turned it down.

Now, Royval will face Tatsuro Taira in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 98 fight card at the UFC APEX. “Raw Dawg” says the fight with the former RIZIN bantamweight champion excited him, but if he was going to make the 10,000-mile trek, it needed to be worth his while.

“They offered me that fight in Australia,” Royval told MMA Fighting. “I asked them for more money, I asked for a handful of stuff, and they said no. And then I asked them for one of any of those things, and they said no. And I was like, all right, well, then I’m not gonna go f*cking fight some dude, not in the UFC, for not much money, all the way across the [world] where I’m not getting any sleep. I’m not getting any of this, I’m not getting a guaranteed title shot, I’m not getting any more money.

“I got to bring my whole team out there if I’m going to go out there because I need to get my Arcadian rhythm in cycle. So it’s like I got to fly out my whole team and guys that look like Kai Asakura. So it was one of those [things where] financially [it] doesn’t make sense to me. And then it also, like, the risk doesn’t [exceed] the reward. If I go out there and lose, I just lost somebody without a ranking, and if I go out there and win, they’re not guaranteeing me a title shot or anything. So there was really no reward in that.”

The 32-year-old Royval is set to make his 10th octagon appearance, and does so in his second consecutive Fight Night headliner. In December Royval came up short in his first opportunity at UFC gold, losing a unanimous decision to Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 296. With his future unknown following the loss, Royval jumped on the opportunity to face past opponent Brandon Moreno on short notice in the main event of UFC Mexico City, and went on to get the victory via split decision.

With well over four years in the promotion, and being the UFC’s current top-ranked 125-pounder, Royval has learned, and understood, that when you’re in that position, the juice needs to be worth the squeeze — even for a fan-friendly fight against Asakura.

“Dude, I think of myself like, bro, I’m a prostitute for sure,” Royval explained. “I put my body on the line for money. But it’s at this point [that] I f*cking earned my No. 1 spot. I fought my ass off. I’m No. 1 in the world. So I’m an expensive prostitute. I’m not a cheap ass prostitute anymore. I’m not just selling my body to anybody who we’ll take it.

“I f*cking I got a price on me, and I’m not just f*cking anybody, you know what I’m saying? I still believe in my heart of hearts I’m the most exciting fighter in the flyweight division. Anytime my fights haven’t been exciting, It wasn’t because of me.”

Asakura signed with the UFC earlier this year following a stoppage win over former Bellator champ Juan Archuleta at RIZIN 45 this past New Year’s Eve. The 30-year-old has still yet to make his promotional debut.

Should he defeat Taira on Saturday, Royval would love to get his chance to avenge the loss to the champion. But if not, he would love to face Asakura, and maybe do so if the UFC returns to Japan in 2025.

“I don’t know, I really don’t know,” Royval said. “I want to fight for a belt. But that being said is like, if they’re not gonna give me a belt and it’s like, I think I have a win over the whole top five of the division, I don’t know what else you guys want, motherf*cker.

“But damn, yeah, I kinda wanna fight Kai Asakura in Japan. Japan is a dream. Kai Asakura is sick. That gets me out of bed, and I want to fight for a f*cking belt. If they want to hype Kai, then I want to take that.”