Georges St-Pierre, 41, of Montreal, Quebec, Canada is one of the best mixed martial artists to ever grace the Ultimate Fighting Champion‘s Octagon. He is an inspiration to many young mixed martial artists including Zaki Kayyali, 17, of Jordan.

St-Pierre is a 3rd dan black belt in Kyokushin Karate and 1st degree black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu. Kayyali is a blue belt in jiujitsu.

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Aside from being a legendary MMA fighter, St-Pierre is also the founder of GSP Foundation, which aims to reduce bullying and encourage youth participation in sports. Kayyali told CONAN Daily, “In my opinion, the greatest MMA fighter of all time Georges St-Pierre.”

When St-Pierre was a young boy, he was inspired by Jean-Claude Van Damme, 61, of Brussels, Belgium. In 2016, the two co-starred in the martial arts film along with Gina Carano, 40, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, Dave Bautista, 53, of Washington, D.C., USA and Alain Moussi, 41, of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

Kayyali was one of the four athletes who represented Jordan at the 2022 International Mixed Martial Arts Federation Youth World Championships, which was held at the Jiu Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from August 17-20, 2022. A total of 498 athletes from 41 countries and territories registered to compete in the tournament.

It was not the first time Kayyali was in Abu Dhabi. He has competed several times in the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, which is organized by the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF).

“Both Mom and Dad and my brothers played a major role in my preparation (for this tournament),” Kayyali told CONAN Daily before the 2022 IMMAF Youth World Championships. “So did my coach Ashraf Shishani and my teammates in Team Kayyali.”

At the 2022 IMMAF Youth World Championships, Kayyali competed in the male Youth A (16 to 17-year-olds) featherweight division. In one of the matches, he defeated Teoman Akarcay of Turkey.

In this category, Islom Saidov of Tajikistan won gold and Samat Tulegenov of Kazakhstan won silver. Both Aminjon Saivaliev of Tajikistan and Elias Kaohu-Wachi of the U.S. won bronze.