George Staines earns UFC contract with 61-second finish against Loai Abushaar

George Staines earned a UFC contract after stopping Loai Abushaar 61 seconds into their lightweight bout at Dana White’s Contender Series in Las Vegas on Tuesday, 29 September. The British fighter’s first-round finish closed a four-fight card on which every winner received a contract, according to BBC Sport and MMA Fighting.

How George Staines finished Loai Abushaar

MMA Fighting recorded the result as a technical knockout by slam at 1:01 of the first round. Its account says Staines pressed forward, secured a body lock and lifted Abushaar while one of Abushaar’s arms was pinned. Staines slammed him to the mat and landed follow-up punches before the referee intervened. That sequence brought the main event to an abrupt end and secured Staines the contract.

MMA Fighting described it as the first slam knockout in Contender Series history. DraftKings Network also reported a first-round knockout at 1:01 and said Staines had pushed Abushaar backward before the takedown and slam. The two accounts agree on the decisive action and the timing, while MMA Fighting’s result listing uses the more specific classification of TKO by slam.

The result ended Abushaar’s attempt to earn a contract from the same bout. DraftKings Network reported that it was his first defeat since August 2023. Staines, meanwhile, left the event with an immediate place on the list of new UFC contract recipients. The cited reports establish the contract award, but give no date or opponent for his first UFC appearance.

Staines’s route from Hull to the Contender Series

Pimblett and fellow UFC fighter Luke Riley were at the event supporting Staines, according to the BBC. Their presence connected the Liverpool training circle to the moment Staines won his contract, but the result rested on what happened in the cage: a finish just over a minute into his fight with Abushaar.

After the bout, UFC president Dana White told Staines, according to BBC Sport: ‘George, you were up against a massive guy at 155lb and you absolutely destroyed him.’ White congratulated Staines and welcomed him to the UFC. His remarks followed the contract decision; they did not include an announcement of Staines’s debut date or next opponent in the cited report.

Four winners received UFC contracts in Las Vegas

Staines was one of four fighters awarded contracts from the Week 8 event. MMA Fighting named the other recipients as Adama Diop, Ian Escuza and Aieza Bertolso. Staines fought last, after each of the other three winners had secured a finish. The card took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Tuesday night.

Diop stopped Zaurbek Sabanov with punches at 2:13 of the second round, according to MMA Fighting’s results. Escuza stopped Luca Borando with knees 32 seconds into the first round. Bertolso submitted Camila Reynoso with an inverted D’Arce choke at 3:02 of the opening round. Those results explain why four fighters received contracts despite a card that featured only four contests.

The event had been due to include a featherweight bout between Ilias Bulaid and Erick Visconde. MMA Fighting reported that it was pulled after Bulaid became ill and rescheduled for Week 10. Week 8 proceeded with four fights, all won by finish and all followed by contract awards for the winners.

What is known about Staines’s UFC debut

The confirmed next step is Staines’s UFC contract. BBC Sport, MMA Fighting and DraftKings Network report the award, but their cited coverage does not name an opponent or specify a debut date. A contract earned on Contender Series establishes that Staines has been welcomed into the promotion; it does not, by itself, identify when he will next fight.