Jack Shore is done with fighting.
In November, at UFC Edmonton, Shore was submitted by Youssef Zalal, his second loss in a row. That was the final fight on Shore’s UFC contract and rather than re-sign with the promotion, on Wednesday the 29-year-old Welsh fighter announced via social media that he’s hanging up his gloves.
“Hello guys, been quiet for a while enjoying time with my friends and family.
“As what may come as a surprise to a few I’ve decided to hang up the gloves on my professional fighting career. After fighting out my contract and taking some time to think about what’s next it’s clear to me that my time with professional fighting is done. Although I had the chance to re-sign with UFC, I’ve decided my times done. I want to thank the UFC for letting me live out my childhood dream of fighting for the worlds biggest organization and against some of the best in the world, I’ve enjoyed every minute!
“From what started as a kid with a dream, led me to amateur titles, world titles and living out my dream of fighting in the UFC. I can truly say for every single fight I gave the training and the fights my all, never said no, never asked questions, just kept my head down, stayed true to myself and achieved more than I ever thought possible.
“For the entirety of my 20’s, fighting and training was my life and sole focus; however, the last few weeks/months have showed this is no longer the case. And I always promised myself when I was mentality checked out I would retire from the sport rather than the sport retire me. Injures have caught up with me after a lifetime in the sport. I’m leaving with my mental in check, good health, financially stable and am fully ready to move onto the future.
“There are so many people who have played a part in my career from the start. My beautiful fiancé Kaydie who has support and backed every decision I ever made, whether it be right or wrong, my son Fraser for being my reason why, my mother for always doing everything for me and always putting me first over everyone and everything (sorry for the stress I’ve caused over the years mam ❤️), my sister for always having my back and also being an unpaid PA for 10 years .
“My SMMA family for the years of training & support on the mats and making me the fighter I am today!
“Every bit of success I’ve had inside the cage I owe to my incredible coaches. Hehm and Gary for all their knowledge, Paul Reed for everything he’s added the last few years. Of course Coach Carl Parker who for the last 10 years has constantly improved my game and reminded me of who i truly am even when I didn’t always believe it myself, the man who calms when you need calming and rises the intensity when you need it, never afraid to tell you what you don’t want to hear, and a man who has dedicated the last 10 years of his life making me a better fighter.
“And of course my dad, who made a chubby 12 year old believe in himself and convinced him to always chase his dreams, work hard, and be proud of who I am. The world class coaching he has giving me for over 20 years has helped me reach things in this sport than people only dream of. But most importantly he always remained my dad first and has always been there for and loved his son as well as his fighter. I would not be who I am or achieved a fraction of what I had if it wasn’t for this man. From the arena cellar to arenas around the world, we started as a pair and like I always said we would finish as a pair. There is no better man out there to have as my role model/mentor/ coach . There’s no Tank without Shakes.
“I’m a martial artist for life and will never not be involved in the sport I love, but the love for the game just isn’t there like it was and for that reason I know it’s time to step away.
“What a journey. For once, I can finally say I’m proud of what I’ve achieved and always did my best. Hopefully when people think of Welsh MMA they’ll always think of Tank Shore. Big Love to you all ❤️
“Tank out ”
Shore began his MMA career in 2016, and quickly moved to Cage Warriors where “Tank” rattled off 10 wins, claiming the promotion’s bantamweight championship and defending it once before signing with the UFC in 2019. Shore remained undefeated through the first five fights of his UFC career, but suffered his first defeat to Ricky Simon at UFC New York in 2022.
Following the loss, Shore moved back up to featherweight where he submitted Makwan Amirkhani in 2023. However, 2024 saw Shore lose back-to-back fights for the first, and now only, time in his career, as he suffered a doctor’s stoppage TKO to Joanderson Brito due to a gruesome gash on his leg, before getting submitted by Zalal last month.
Shore ends his MMA career with an overall record of 17-3.
