Jack Shore happy to defend Cage Warriors crown again if UFC offer doesn’t come

MMAfighting.com

Jack Shore underlined his status as one of the best fighters outside the UFC with a successful title defense against Scott Malone on Saturday night at Cage Warriors 104, and now “Tank” wants to chance to mix it with the UFC’s bantamweights.

Ahead of the fight, Shore told Eurobash that he felt a win over Malone would prove that he is ready for his first walk to the Octagon. Speaking after the third-round submission victory, the Welsh fighter underlined his belief that he is ready to compete against the world’s best.

“Domestically, I’ve beaten everyone there is to beat,” Shore told Eurobash.

“Apart from me, Scott [Malone] and Mike [Ekundayo] would probably wipe out anyone else in the Cage Warriors bantamweight division, any of them would be in for a tough night’s work against either of those guys. That’s no disrespect to either of those guys, they’re both very high level fighters. I dealt with those guys, I didn’t take any damage doing it and I got the finishes. I think that it shows that I’m capable of calling for a shot at that top level. I’ve known it for a long time, but everyone else is seeing it now—the way I’m dealing with these guys shows that I need that step up and the chance to compete against some of the best in the world.”

Shorty after Shore had his hand raised, Cage Warriors tweeted an announcement regarding an Oct. 12 event in Cardiff, Wales. The announcement also declared that Shore would take to the cage for his second title defense on the night. The Tillery Combat frontrunner insists he will be happy to defend his title again if the UFC do not offer him a contract.

“I love fighting for Cage Warriors, and I love fighting in Wales. If the UFC doesn’t come, I’ll always head back to Wales to fight for Cage Warriors. The feeling of fighting in the Viola Arena is second to none; it’s a feeling that can’t be topped in the early stages of my career. If [the UFC] don’t come calling then I’ll happily defend my title again, or whatever they want me to do,” he said.

“Hopefully I’ll get the call-up and we can go from there and maybe get a different date or something. Either way you won’t hear me complaining.”

As for who he could compete against if he was to defend his strap again, Shore feels as though he’s running out of natural contenders.

“When I beat Mike, Scott called for a shot on the same night, and in all fairness, he had two big finishes. Especially after finishing Josh Reed the way he did, that’s not an easy thing to do. He was the standout guy and everyone thought, ‘He’s got to be next to get a shot’, and he did deserve to fight for that title,” stated Shore.

“At the minute, there are probably plenty of guys who would come forward and say they want to fight me, but there is no one that stands out who deserves it, in my opinion.”

Check out the latest episode of Eurobash. The Jack Shore interview beings at 1:06:00.