Nine-fight UFC veteran Jack Shore retires from MMA at 29

Jack Shore has made the surprising decision to retire from MMA.

The nine-fight UFC veteran, who went 6-3 inside the octagon following his promotional debut in September 2019, announced on Wednesday that he has come to the conclusion his time as an active fight is over.

Shore revealed the news on social media with a lengthy explanation about the retirement (via Instagram):

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 organisation and against some of the best in the world, I’ve enjoyed every minute!

From what started as a kid with a dream lead 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 10years .

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, who is one of a handful of Welsh fighters to compete under the UFC banner, started his UFC run as an undefeated bantamweight after being signed as Cage Warriors champion. He suffered his first career blemish against Ricky Simon in July 2022, which prompted a move up to the featherweight division.

The results didn’t improve there, however. Shore would win his divisional debut against Makwan Amirkhani then suffered back-to-back losses against Joanderson Brito and, most recently, Youssef Zalal at UFC Fight Night 246 in November.