In the summer of 2024, Cam Rowston got the call to fight for Dana White’s Contender Series. His opponent – American middleweight Torrez Finney, who had been flying through the regional scene in Tennessee. While Rowston outstruck Finney, ten takedowns swayed the judges the otherway.
Although many might be devestated by the lost opportunity, Rowston did not take it all that hard – largely thanks to his opinion of Finney.
“My mentality wasn’t discouraged. It was a little bit more encouraged,” Rowston said. “I knew that, me and my coaches were like Torrez [Finney] can do this basically all the way until the top 5. Some of us are saying like this guy could do this against guys who are in the top 10, top 15, maybe even guys in the top 5. So we were not discouraged at all. I certainly wasn’t.”
Shortly after that fight, his team’s thoughts were confirmed. Finney proceeded to run through two more Contender Series fights and then handled business in his UFC debut as well.
“Watching him go on that same season, like maybe like four or five weeks later and go and get a finish in the first round, just absolutely dominate the guy,” he said. “Then go and fight [Robert] Valentin, Ultimate Fighter runner-up, and just do the same thing again, and maybe causing a little bit more damage in that fight as well. It was like, okay, like I’m at that level.”
Now having changed his own fortune with a subsequent fight on Contender Series, Rowston is looking to make similar noise in the UFC. After picking up a debut win over Andre Petroski, he got the call to fight Cody Brundage this weekend at UFC 325. That’s a fight that brings both name value and, according to him, a great style matchup.
“I like it because he forces quite a high-paced fight. He’s willing to come forward and he doesn’t hesitate that much from the film that I’ve watched,” Rowston explained. “He’s just an absolute goer that works in well to my style as well.”
You can catch his bout with Cody Brundage as part of the prelims of UFC 325. The fight card begins at 5pm EST and is available on Paramount+.
