Introduction
Saturday, April 27th, Welsh bantamweight prospect Jack Shore will be in action in his home country, where he will be looking to continue his Cage Warriors championship reign against Scott Malone. He will be looking to score yet another win, as Shore looks to inch his way toward a UFC contract. Shore represents Tillery Combat MMA, an underrated camp out of Wales. Let’s take a closer look at this prospect as this week’s “Prospect Spotlight.”
Strengths
Ground Game: Every one of Jack Shore’s fights inevitably ends up with him trying to get his opponent on the ground. He does so with impunity. He uses simple striking combos to set up his takedowns. Either that, or he uses good timing to counter his opponent’s strikes with takedowns. His best takedowns are single legs and waist lock takedown from close quarters. When he gets his opponent to the ground, he is very good at advancing position on the mat, and does so quickly. He achieve this mostly because he mixes up volume striking and decoy moves on the mat. Finally, his grip strength when he slaps on a choke is very good, as he quickly can sleep somebody or secure a tap.
Finisher: Shore does not like to visit the judges. In fact, all but one of his pro bouts have come by knockout or submission. His only decision came against UFC veteran Vaughan Lee. All but two of his finishes came before round three, so he generally takes care of business early. Five of his finishes come by way of submission, while four come by TKO. He’s aggressive in searching for the finish, and when he smells blood, he doesn’t hesitate to put the finishing touches on quickly.
Needs Improvement
Striking: While Shore’s biggest strength is when the fight hits the mat, he certainly needs to work more on his kickboxing. While he does have on-the-feet knockouts (see Mattia Galbiati fight), there is much for him to work on. First off, his footwork needs to be addressed. He can get flat footed and needs to stay on his bicycle more often, especially when his opponent takes the center of the cage. Also, he needs to throw more meaningful combos than just throwing one or two strikes. That will make his takedowns even easier because he will be even harder to read for opponents. Lastly, his punches can get sloppy at times and open him up to counterstrikes. That could open him up to getting rocked, which could end with Shore on the losing end.
Outlook
Brett Johns 2.0: At just 24 years old, Shore has a long time left in this game. At his pace, he’s no doubt a big show lock. He reminds me a lot of his fellow countryman Brett Johns. They have very similar games and ceilings. Both have the potential to be main card mainstays in their division (both are BWs) and could be contenders. Will either ever challenge for the title? Not sure yet. However, they have the talent to hang at the top of the division for a long time to come.
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