Most mixed martial arts fans have probably never heard of Zach George (Pictures), but that's OK: he soon will be a well-known commodity in the fight game.

While George hasn't been in against the upper tier of the lightweight division, in time -- especially with how he fights -- some of the world's best at 155 pounds could start looking in their rear-view mirrors.

The native Norman, Oklahoman knows how far he has come and how far he yet has to go before being mentioned in the same breath as B.J. Penn (Pictures), Sean Sherk (Pictures), Takanori Gomi (Pictures) and even Joe Stevenson (Pictures).

That's not to say that George is opposed to fighting such fistic luminaries, but he knows his current limitations.

"I'm a couple of fights away from competing with the elite guys," he told Sherdog.com. "But right now I know I won't go in there and make a fool of myself. As far as competing with the guys at the top of my weight class, I still need a few fights to do that. But I'm not going to go in there and just embarrass myself. I know where I stand."

"I definitely enjoy where I'm at right now," George continued. "I have a 12-1 record and it looks good but I don't have any world-class victories yet. That's something I obviously have to build up before I move on but I feel like I can get in there and mixed it up with anybody."

Currently, he's fighting alongside a roster of mixed martial artists in one of the sport's newest organizations, the IFO-promoted Steele Cage. The company debuted a few months back in Las Vegas and this Saturday it returns with George fighting on one of the featured attractions at the Riviera Hotel and Casino.

Novice matchmakers and promoters are notorious for putting together terrible fight cards that couldn't be run worse if a pack of chimps were in charge. But that means little to George, who knows he has one thing to worry about when it comes to fight night.

"As long as I get to go out there and fight, that's what I'm focused on," he said. "I'm not a matchmaker or anything like that. My job is to show up and put on a good show and the company will hopefully hire another guy to fight me and do the same thing."

"Everything about the first IFO card was above acceptable; it was very good," he added. "The fighters they brought in were exciting, for the most part. There were a couple of stoppages that weren't pleasing to the fans -- like mine, for example. But overall I thought the card was really good. It was a big step for them being their first show."

George fought to a No Contest when he inadvertently landed a fierce knee to Ryan Roberts' groin. After a five-minute delay, Roberts was deemed unfit to continue and the fight was halted, which was a shame because George's fight was without question the best of the undercard bouts, and probably would have been the highlight of the evening had it continued.

Fans and media sitting ringside were clamoring for a rematch between George and Roberts, but for now the fight world will have to settle for George squaring off against Chris Mickle.

Boasting more experience than George, Mickle has fought some pretty impressive names thus far in his career: Cole Miller (Pictures), Rich Clementi (Pictures) and Clay Guida (Pictures), though George admits that he doesn't know too much about his opponent.

"I believe he's a Miletich guy," George mused slightly. "He's 22-9 and he's a good submission fighter so it should be a lot of fun."

Without knowing much about his opponent, George wasn't about to predict what he was going to do once the bell rung, but he said sometimes that's a good thing because if he were to train for a specific fighter and his skill capacity, what would happen if that opponent was switched or fought an entirely different fight?

"I like to know at least a little about my opponents, like if he comes from a wrestling background, jiu-jitsu background, striking background or stuff like that," he said. "I like to know a little about what to expect but today, though, guys are more well-rounded so they're pretty dangerous in all aspects. So, really, it doesn't matter because you have to train to fight a mixed martial artist instead of just a wrestler or boxer. You don't want to focus too much on what the guy supposedly is, just try to focus on your game and then impose your will on him (when you fight)."

George claims that he's been training his butt off and promises that this fight will be just as exciting as his last, but expects it not to end so anticlimactically. Not one to make loud statements or trash talk opponents in the days leading up to the fight, George instead opted to focus on himself and his training. He's a confident young fighter with a reservoir of talent who fights as if his livelihood rests solely on the outcome of the battle. Stylistically that has translated into success.

"All of my wins but one came from stoppage: either knockout or submission," he concluded. "I think it's an equal split. I'm an exciting fighter. I have finished all of my opponents in the first or second round with only one decision. I always try to go out there and bang and if goes to the ground, I try to bang him out from there, too."