If you’re looking for the next possible breakout star from the United Kingdom, one need not look any further than Shore.
The undefeated 25-year-old from Wales fought a tough slate on the regional circuit, climbing the ranks in Cage Warriors, winning and successfully defending the bantamweight title before signing with the UFC and scoring a third-round submission win over Nohelin Hernandez in his promotional debut. A pro since 2016, Shore is 12-0 with 11 finishes, with former UFC fighter Vaughan Lee standing as the only man to make it to the scorecards against him.
What really makes “Tank” stand out as a prospect, however, is that in addition to racking up a dozen victories in as many pro appearances, he did the exact same thing as an amateur as well, wrapping his amateur run with four wins in three days at the 2015 IMMAF European Open Championships.
He has literally never tasted defeat in MMA competition and while that may end one day, Shore profiles as the kind of fighter who could very well maintain his unblemished record for a while longer.
This week, the UFC sophomore welcomes Aaron Phillips back to the Octagon. The 30-year-old Louisiana native went 0-2 in a pair of 2014 appearances inside the UFC cage, dropped his first fight back on the regional circuit to current UFC fighter Chris Gutierrez, but has rattled off five straight victories since to earn a return call to the biggest stage in the sport.
Phillips is the kind of experienced, powerful veteran the young Welshman needs to be testing himself against at this stage of his development, and their clash this week on Yas Island should provide further clarity on where Shore fits in the suddenly loaded bantamweight ranks.
