Hull-born fighter George Staines wins birthday clash and puts 'division on notice'

The Hull-born fighter celebrated his 24th birthday and his third professional victory over the weekend.

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11:12, 24 SEP 2024
Updated23:05, 24 SEP 2024

George Staines celebrates his third professional victory.

Hull-born fighter George Staines celebrated his 24th birthday with his third professional MMA victory on Saturday night—a victory the Hull native believes will make the rest of the lightweight division step up and take notice of him.

However, Staines also has his feet on the ground. Staying humble, he knows where he's at, and he wants 'realistic step-up fights' before pushing for the Top-15 and a title opportunity.

Taking part in OKTAGON 61, Staines produced a dominant and controlled performance to defeat two-time title challenger Jakub Tichota in Brno, Czech Republic. Staines was relentless in dismantling the Czech star, showing his character in front of a partisan home crowd.

"It puts the rest of the division on alert, without a shadow of a doubt," Staines said on his victory. "He’s only lost to Mate Sanikidze and Losene Keita, both championship fights and two of the best in the world. I outstruck Tichota, and I beat him up on the ground, which neither of those two fighters were able to do.

"I’m known as a wrestler, but after that performance, I think everyone in the lightweight division will know who I am. However, I don’t want to move too quickly in my career. Jakub was a great step up, but he was rushed in his career. I don’t want to kick him when he is down, but he won five fights and got two title shots and is now on a three-fight skid.

"I want realistic step-up fights; I don’t want to be in the Top 15 because I am 3-0. I don’t deserve to be in the Top 15 yet. Don’t get me wrong, I know I am really good, but I don’t personally believe I deserve to be in that ranking yet.

"It is going to come, but I don’t need to rush myself because I am only just 24 years old. I’ve got so much time in this game. If I rush, then I will make mistakes."

Winning his first two fights, the second over Tomáš Cigánik in Birmingham back in April, Staines is happy with his progress, with development there to see in his discipline and control. He also believes a UFC referee would have stopped Saturday's fight, with Staines winning on a decision.

"I was disappointed with how I fought in Birmingham because I didn’t show the developments that I wanted to show in my game," he continued. "Whereas tonight, even though it was five months apart, I felt as though you could see a massive improvement in my game.

"In the fights against Denis and then against Tomas, I was quite undisciplined, rushing into takedowns because that is what I do best. Tonight, I felt as though my striking felt really good and smooth, especially in the last round when I landed a teep kick that was straight out of 300—this is Sparta!

"I thought I had hurt him there, I heard the wind leave his body as my foot dug into his solar plexus, but he was really tough, and he never gave up. I landed 20 or 30 unanswered shots on him at times; Cage Warriors or UFC would definitely stop the fight, but the referees over here don’t give you anything—you really have to wait."

And as for the sentiment of winning on his birthday, Staines added: "It feels good to get a win on my birthday, even though I had to get up at 6am just to start my weight cut. I got to eat a fair amount after I weighed in after that though.

"I’ve never been to the Czech Republic at all before, so that was really cool to experience. Getting the win on top of that was just the cherry on top that made it all worth it."