George Staines could be the next star out of Liverpool’s famous Next Generation MMA gym.
The Hull native recently relocated to Merseyside so he could train daily with Paddy Pimblett, Molly McCann, Shem Rock, Luke Riley and Nathan Fletcher.
Staines is one of the most exciting prospects in UK MMAOKTAGON
Staines is just 2-0 as a professional MMA fighter after making his debut last November – but he’s got a ton of experience through years of fighting as an elite amateur.
The 23-year-old is moving quickly through the ranks and his next opponent will be Jakub Tichota, who boasts a 5-2 record and is a two-time world title challenger.
They’ll clash at OKTAGON 61 in Brno, Czech Republic on Saturday night.
Ahead of his biggest fight yet, Staines broke down his fighting style, which he compares to the one Khabib Nurmagomedov used to beat Conor McGregor, Dustin Poirier and many more UFC stars.
“I’m like a ‘Wish’ version of Khabib,” he said with a chuckle during an interview with talkSPORT MMA.
“I have very heavy wrestling, grappling style. I’ve got good striking, I just haven’t shown it yet. I’ve had 21 fights and about three minutes of combined striking time.
“I’m not a boring grappler, though. I strike a lot from the floor. I takedown and try and punch. I won’t hold on. I’m a heavy grappler, but with a lot of ground and pound, so I’m not boring.”
Tichota is stepping up in weight for his fight with Staines. The 25-year-old hasn’t competed since breaking his collarbone during an interim featherweight title loss against Losene Keita in April 2023.
The Czech fighter is listed as 6ft tall, but Staines felt like he was much bigger than him when they came face-to-face.
Staines added: “Jakub is very good.”
Khabib is arguably the best wrestler in UFC historyGetty Images – Getty
Staines joked with talkSPORT MMA about being a knock-off version of NurmagomedovtalkSPORT MMA
“Like, he’s fought for two titles but lost both titles [fights]. I could fight for a title in the fight after this, doesn’t mean I’m going to win it.
“He’s small. Like, he’s coming up a weight to fight me and I’m quite big. I’m tall for a lightweight. I’m 6ft 1in. I’m not exactly a short human, he’s very short.
“We stood in a lift together and I remember thinking to myself, ‘If I could make featherweight, I could smash you off size alone’ because I was so much bigger than him.
“18 months later, I’m fighting him. It’s mad really.”
Staines insists size won’t be the only factor when he moves to 3-0 in MMA.
‘Star Killer’ believes he also has superior skills after training regularly with Pimblett, who recently cracked the UFC lightweight top 15 by choking Bobby ‘King’ Green out cold.
“It’s horrible sparring him, but it’s inspiring,” Staines said about ‘The Baddy’.
Staines is hoping to follow in the footsteps of PimblettGetty
“At home, I’ve trained with Marc Diakiese, who was in the UFC. When I first started training with him it was like, ‘Woah! This is next level’. I trained with him, and we were having closer and closer rounds.
“Whereas, when I’m with Paddy, he blows you out of the water. It drives me to be better because I wanna be on that same platform, that same level and I wanna be that good.
“It’s great to have that type of person in the gym.”
Staines believes he is about a year away from headlining an OKTAGON show and challenging for a world title.
Only when he has achieved everything he wants to with the European powerhouse promotion will he attempt to replicate that success on MMA’s biggest stage.
“Ultimately, I wanna be in the UFC,” Staines concluded “I wanna be the best in the UFC and I wanna be the world champion in the UFC.
“That’s what I’ve envisaged all my life, and I will make it happen.”
