UFC star from Valleys went from training in dingy pub cellar to selling out shows

Jack Shore has explained exactly how he went from training kickboxing in a dingy pub cellar to fighting the world's best mixed martial artists in packed-out arenas worldwide.

The 29-year-old has put his hometown of Abertillery on the map since making his way to the UFC in 2019, racking up a record of six wins and just two losses with the promotion over the last five years. With an overall mixed martial arts record of 17-2 at the time of writing, Shore takes on his toughest test yet this Saturday when he travels to Edmonton, Canada to take on a highly-exciting Youssef Zalal at featherweight.

But just how did Shore fall into a career with mixed martial arts, and end up fighting for the world's leading MMA promotion in the UFC - rubbing shoulders with greatness while seeking a coveted legacy of his own? He recently sat down to chew the fat ahead of this weekend's bout - touching on his career path from its early days.

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When probed on what made the man with the moniker 'Tank' take up MMA in the first place, Shore responded: "I got into kickboxing originally, I was six years old. I think my dad probably took me to burn off some energy and to get me out the house a little bit - give him a bit of a break.

"My dad actually started training then at the same gym a few months later. They had an adult Jiu Jitsu class and a very early form of MMA. Obviously we’re talking back in 2001/2002 here so it was a long time ago. Fast forward a couple of years, he actually opened up his own gym - Shore MMA. And that was when I first started doing a bit of Jiu Jitsu and again, doing a little bit of MMA and grappling and stuff like that and it just took off."

Shore also admitted that he first began training MMA with his father, Richard, in a dingy pub cellar - but his business venture has since grown into a widely-respected facility which houses some of the UK's toughest combatants. He explained: "Been under him ever since, the gym has obviously grown from training in a little pub cellar to obviously we’ve got a massive facility now down in Wales.

"But yeah, just started as a youngster basically, trying to get fit. Probably a little bit of self-defence and the only real sport that I had a knack for. I wasn’t much of an athlete, I wasn’t the most athletically gifted or anything but I tended to pick everything up in terms of kickboxing and Jiu Jitsu really fast. Faster than most other sports.

"And yeah just took off from there. Started out of passion and ended up becoming my job." Like many other fighters who have transitioned into the elite tiers of the sport, Shore began his career back in 2012 at amateur level, finishing Jordan Garnett at Unfinished Business 8 on the regional scene via a first-round triangle choke in his debut.

The scrapper competed 12 times in total at amateur level, besting every opponent put in front of him before making the transition to professional in 2016. Shore won his pro debut bout against Tyler John Thomas at Pain Pit Fight Night 15 via a first-round rear-naked choke, before being called up to leading European promotion Cage Warriors later the very same year.

Shore enjoyed ten fights with Cage Warriors, even winning the promotion's bantamweight title just two years later courtesy of a third-round TKO over Mike Ekundayo. He successfully defended his title against Scott Malone the following year, before it was announced that he had been signed to the UFC with a record of 11-0 at the time.

Speaking on the step up in terms of competition since making the move to the US-based promotion, Shore admitted: "I don’t mean this in a disrespectful way but I think when I was with Cage Warriors it felt like it was a little bit different to what it is now. And what I mean by that is when I was the champion or fighting for the belt it was the European elite.

"So if you were fighting for the Cage Warriors belt or you were defending it, you knew that the boys you were fighting were the top of the UK or the top in Europe. Whereas now, you still have some of the European top guys there, but a lot of it now they’re building guys up from scratch.

"From 1-0, 2-0, building them up and then putting them in for a title. So it was an alright level don’t get me wrong, but then immediately when I jumped to the UFC I could just feel the difference. You fight on Cage Warriors you might get a really good grappler but you could out strike him.

"You could get a really good striker and you could take him down. Whereas in the UFC it just felt like every fight I had, everyone was good everywhere. Obviously people have their strengths and weaknesses but it’s true what they say. There are no easy fights in the UFC, there are no gimmes. Every fight is a 50/50."

Since signing for the UFC Shore has achieved six wins over high-level opponents like Timur Valiev, Hunter Azure, and Makwan Amirkhani. The first loss of his career came against a highly-rated Ricky Simon in 2022 via an arm triangle choke, while his second came in far more controversial fashion when his bout with Joanderson Brito was cut short due to a cut on his leg at UFC 301 earlier this year.

Determined to get back on a winning streak, Shore is set to face 15-5-1 Zalal come Saturday evening - and never one to look past his opponents, he has noted just how tough the challenge will be. He explained: "[He's a] very good guy. Very good kickboxer but his last few wins have come by submission.

"He’s obviously good everywhere, got a good style. Yeah not a lot else to say, he’s very good everywhere and he’s a tough, tough fight. But he’s going in there very confidently and I feel as though my style matches up well with his, I’m sure he feels the same way. We’ll see on Saturday night when we clash who’s got the better skillset."

Jack Shore takes on Youseff Zalal at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada, come November 2. You can watch the bout live through the UFC Fight Pass.