Young UFC fighter surprisingly announces his retirement

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

The UFC veteran, who fought nine fights and went 6-3 in the Octagon after making his promotional debut in September 2019, announced Wednesday that he has come to the conclusion that his time as an active fighter is over.

Shore posted the news on social media with a lengthy statement about the resignation (via Instagram):

Hi guys, I’ve been quiet for a while and enjoyed time with my friends and family.

In what may come as a surprise to some, I have decided to give up my career as a professional fighter. After fighting through my contract and taking some time to think about what’s next, it’s clear to me that my time fighting professionally is over. Although I had the chance to re-sign with UFC, I have decided that my days are over. I want to thank the UFC for allowing me to realize my childhood dream of fighting for the greatest organization in the world and against some of the best in the world. I enjoyed every minute!

What started as a dream as a child led me to amateur titles, world titles and the realization of my dream of fighting in the UFC. I can truly say that I did my best in every single fight in training and fights, never said no, never asked questions, just kept my head down, stayed true to myself and achieved more than I ever could would have thought possible.

Throughout my 20s, fighting and training was my life and my sole focus, but the last few weeks/months have shown that this is no longer the case. And when my mentality was checked, I always resolved that I would rather retire from the sport than let the sport send me into retirement. Injuries caught up with me after a lifetime of sports. I leave mentally in control, in good health, financially stable and fully ready to face the future.

There are so many people who have played a role in my career from the beginning. My beautiful fiancée Kaydie who has supported and supported every decision I have ever made no matter if it was right or wrong, my son Fraser who was my reason for it, my mother who has always done everything for me and me always put it first (sorry). for the stress I have caused over the years, Mom🤣❤️), my sister for always having my back and also being an unpaid assistant for 10 years 🤣.

To my SMMA family for the years of training and support on the mats that have made me the fighter I am today!

I owe all the success I’ve had in the cage to my incredible coaches. Hehm and Gary for all their knowledge, Paul Reed for everything he has added over the last few years. Of course coach Carl Parker, who over the last 10 years has constantly improved my game and reminded me of who I really am, even if I didn’t always believe it myself, the man who calms down when you need rest and the intensity boosts when you need it. He’s not afraid to tell you what you don’t want to hear, and he’s a man who has spent the last ten 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 provided me for over 20 years has helped me achieve things in this sport that people only dream of. Above all, he always remained my father first and was always there for and loved his son and his fighter. Without this man I would not be who I am and would have achieved even a fraction of what I had. From the arena basement to arenas around the world, we started as a couple and as I always said, we would end as a couple. There is no better man than my role model/mentor/coach. There is no tank without shakes.

I am a lifelong martial artist and will never give up the sport I love, but the love for the game just isn’t there like it used to be and for that reason I know it’s time to retire.

What a trip. This time I can finally say it’s me
Proud of what I have achieved and always doing my best. Hopefully when people think of Welsh MMA they always think of Tank Shore. Big love to you all ❤️

Fill up 👊🏻

One of the few Welsh fighters to compete under the UFC banner, Shore began his UFC run as an undefeated bantamweight after being signed as Cage Warriors champion. He suffered his first career loss in July 2022 against Ricky Simon, which resulted in a move up to featherweight.

However, the results there did not improve. Shore won his divisional debut against Makwan Amirkhani and then suffered back-to-back losses to Joanderson Brito and most recently Youssef Zalal at UFC Fight Night 246 in November.