Jack “The Tank” Shore announced that he is officially moving up to the featherweight division after doctors advised against the bantamweight cut.
Background
Jack Shore made his pro mma debut at featherweight and had no issues dishing out dominant performances. Winning all his fights at 145lbs and subsequently at 135lbs (up until July this year). Shore has seemingly had no issues in the past with his bantamweight cuts. His cage warrior days displayed his elite grappling skills and impressive finish rates. After winning the bantamweight title, he then made his move into the UFC.
Jack Shore UFC Career
Jack Shore made his UFC debut in 2019, where he faced Nohelin Hernandez, gaining his first UFC win via rear naked choke in the third round. Just under a year later, in 2020, he gained a second UFC win over Aaron Phillips, again via rear naked choke. Shore then faced a challenge in Hunter Azure, where he walked away with a split-decision victory. The winning momentum continued for the Welshman as he secured two back-to-back unanimous decision wins in 2021 and 2022. Jack went on to break the top 15 rankings, becoming the first Welsh-ranked UFC fighter since Brett Johns. In July of this year, Shore would go on to face his toughest test to date in Ricky Simon, where he took his first-ever career loss. This came after being submitted via an arm triangle. Jack took this loss better than most, thanking fans for their support and promising to come back stronger.
Recent Activity
Jack was recently scheduled to fight Kyler Phillips on November 19th in the UFC Apex. However, he withdrew from the bout just a few weeks after the announcement. It has since come to light that Shore has been dealing with a knee injury. Jack stated the following: “Unfortunately, I am out of my upcoming fight due to a serious knee injury. Gonna be side-lined for likely the rest of the year as this one is gonna take a bit of time to get right! I’ll go into more detail about the specifics on my next podcast to save the long post. As always, thank you all for your support!”. Jack has still been training over the past few months and even brought in a new strength and conditioning coach, who has worked with the likes of Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann.
Announcement
After a few weeks of quiet on social media, Jack told fans to watch for a “huge announcement”. In a recent Youtube video, he stated that he had been undergoing various medical examinations, such as DEXA scans and BMR tests. He stated: “After speaking to doctors and scientists at the University of Liverpool, bantamweight just isn’t doable anymore”. This may not come as a shock to some fans, as his last few weight cuts have been visibly difficult to watch. With Jack making his UFC featherweight debut, he will likely face off against an unranked fighter. After this, he plans to attack a stacked top 15 set of fighters. It is an exciting time to be following Jack Shore as he flies the flag for Wales in the UFC. Updates will follow soon as far as potential matchups, so stay tuned!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
