Jack Shore Launches Stand and Bang Fight Night to Shake Up Welsh MMA Scene

Jack Shore is not teasing a comeback. He is not chasing one last run. And he is not one of those retired fighters still staring through the window at the sport they left behind.

The former UFC fighter and Cage Warriors Champion is doing something that feels far more settled and, in his own way, far more ambitious. He is coaching, managing talent, raising a young family, and now launching Stand and Bang Fight Night, a new hybrid striking promotion in Wales built around action, atmosphere, and the kind of live experience Shore believes fans still crave.

For anyone who expected his “big news” to be a return to the cage, Shore had a different answer. Retirement, by the sound of it, suits him just fine.

From Retirement to Reinvention

Shore stepped away from competition in December 2024 after a professional career that took him from the Welsh regional scene to the UFC, where he built a 17-3 record and earned a reputation as one of the sharpest fighters to come out of Wales in recent years.

He has since shifted into coaching full-time while staying closely involved in the sport.
That move, he says, happened naturally.

“Coaching’s going really well. I kind of just naturally fell into it. I helped with the younger lads and the juniors in the team. So, obviously, when I retired, it just kind of naturally filled the void.”

That does not mean the switch has been easy. Shore is honest about the pressure that comes with looking after fighters rather than only worrying about himself.

“It can be stressful, mind you, at times. When you’re fighting, it’s one thing, but now I’ve got 20 boys that I’ve got to coach and make sure they’re all training and dieting and not skipping training.”
Still, there is a real purpose in it for him now.

“It’s very fulfilling as well. We had a show on the weekend, and I felt just as gutted for the boys that lost as when I lost, and just as happy for the guys who won as when I would win a fight.”

That line says a lot. Plenty of retired fighters stay close to the sport because they miss the noise. Shore sounds like someone who stayed because he still loves the work.

The Idea Behind Stand and Bang Fight Night

The idea had been circling for a while, but retirement gave it shape.

Shore said he first started thinking seriously about launching a promotion not long after stepping away from fighting.

He knew he did not want to compete directly with the established shows already running in Wales, including the long-running Samurai Fight Night, with which his father, Richard Shore, is closely associated. Instead, he looked for a gap in the market.

That gap, in his eyes, was simple: creating a ruleset built for action.

“I wanted to do something a little bit different. I’m never going to compete with his show in terms of MMA in Wales.”

“I wanted to find a bit of a niche market.”

The influence is obvious.

“I’m a massive fan of ONE FC. I watch the Friday Night Fights most Fridays.”

“I always find that with ONE FC, I don’t know a lot of the guys on there, but I’ll sit down and watch because it’s so exciting.”

And then came the brutally honest bit, which probably tells you just as much about casual fans as it does about Shore’s business instincts.

“All my mates always used to say to me, ‘We’re not going to come if you weren’t fighting him, because we find the grappling boring.’”

So he made a call.

“I was like, right, well, let’s take away that.”

That is the hook behind Stand and Bang Fight Night. Shore is betting that if you give fans fast-paced, striking play, a lively venue, and the feeling that anything can happen, they will show up.

A Ruleset Built for Action

This is where Shore’s idea starts to separate itself from a standard regional card.
Rather than running straight MMA or traditional Muay Thai, Stand and Bang will use multiple rule classes, beginning with junior bouts and moving up through amateur and pro formats.

The structure is designed to create progression while maintaining a consistent event identity.
The event will feature juniors, Amateur C, Amateur B, Amateur A, and pro contests, each with different equipment and allowances.
Here is the shape of it:

• Juniors (16 to 18): 14-ounce gloves, head guards, shin guards, knees to the body, no elbows
• Amateur C: 12-ounce gloves, shin guards, no head guards, knees to the body, no elbows
• Amateur B: 8-ounce MMA gloves, shin guards, knees to the body, no elbows, Muay Thai clinch rules
• Amateur A: 8-ounce gloves, no shin guards, elbows allowed with elbow pads, knees to the body, Muay Thai clinch rules
• Pro fights: 4-ounce MMA gloves, full Muay Thai rules, five three-minute rounds

“Pretty much what you see on ONE FC every Friday night is what’s going to be our pro rule set.”

That makes the promotion easier to understand straight away. It also gives it a visual identity: small gloves, ring-based striking, clinch work, elbows at the top end. You can honestly say it’s structured striking action at its best.

Ring First, With Room to Evolve

For now, Shore is sticking with a ring.

“It’s going to be in a ring.”

That choice is not random. It fits the show’s striking-first identity and leaves the door open for future experimentation.

“I’m open to the idea of a cage in the future, but I’m also keen on the idea of doing some Pride rules MMA down the line as well.”

He is clearly thinking beyond one event, but he also sounds careful not to get ahead of himself.

“I want to get off the ground. I want to lay the foundations so that, after two or three shows, people understand the rules of the show before I start playing about.”

That is probably the smartest part of this whole thing. Shore is not trying to build ten versions of the product at once. He is trying to get one version right.

Building From Home in Ebbw Vale

The first event is set for August 22 in Ebbw Vale at the Ledger Centre, with Shore initially targeting a crowd of around 600 to 700 people. He said Wales is the natural place to begin because he already understands the gyms, venues, and rhythm of the local scene.

“For now we’re going to stick to Wales.”

“I know the gyms, I know the markets in Wales, I know the venues.”

“We’re just going to stick to Ebbw Vale for now.”

That local knowledge matters more than people think. Regional promotions do not survive on poster graphics alone. They survive on relationships, matchmaking, timing, and knowing whether a town will actually come out for a card.

Shore has lived in that world for years, thanks to his father.

Prioritising Atmosphere Over Streaming

Shore’s thinking is refreshingly straightforward here. He does not want people sampling the event from their sofa when he is trying to establish it as something fans need to experience in the room.

“For the first one, we’re not going to do a live stream.”

“I think the ruleset will make for some really exciting fights, and I feel like those are best experienced in person.”

He also knows what a half-full venue can do to the mood of a new promotion.

“No one wants to fight in an empty arena.”

So the message is clear: if you want to see the first one, buy a ticket and be there.

Experience Without Interference

Shore is clear that this is his project, but he is not pretending he is doing it in a vacuum.
His father’s experience matters, especially in the early stages, and Shore said he will lean on that knowledge where needed. At the same time, he wants this to become something he can grow in his own way.

“I’m doing it solo, so to speak. But obviously, he’s got a lot of experience running shows.”

“If I need help or have a question, he’s the right person to go to.”

“I want to steer my own path, but I’m also very open to advice.”

That balance comes through strongly with us. There is confidence there, but not ego.
“I’m not an egomaniac.”

In a sport full of people trying to make everything sound bigger than it is, that sort of honesty lands well.

Contentment Beyond the Cage

This might be the most interesting part of the whole conversation, especially for anyone who still assumes retirement in combat sports always comes with regret. Shore sounds content. More than that, he sounds relieved to have reached a point where life is not built around the next camp, the next cut, or the next performance.

“I’m loving retirement.”

“It’s nice to be a little bit more present and around the house.”

But don’t assume Jack has gone soft. He’s still training, still going to the gym, and still taking rounds when needed. But the emotional tone is different now.

“There’s no urge to come back just yet. I obviously never say never, but yeah, I’m very happy, very content.”

And then the line that probably sums up this whole chapter best:

“I think, in retirement, I’ve opened my eyes a little bit to what makes you happy in life.”
“It’s not always about chasing the big paycheck, the fame, the Instagram followers, or fighting in arenas.”

“I’m very happy, or if not happier now than I was when I was fighting.”

For a former UFC fighter still in his early thirties, that’s true contentment.

A Potential New Lane for Welsh Combat Sports

It is too early to call it a game-changer. That would be lazy. But it does feel like something worth watching.

Wales has long produced tough, skilled fighters, and Shore is one of the better-known names to come through that system. Now he is trying to build a show that blends Muay Thai-style violence, regional accessibility, and a live-event experience that leans into excitement rather than sprawl.

If he gets the matchmaking right, and if the local audience buys into it, Stand and Bang Fight Night could carve out a real place in the Welsh calendar.

And that seems to be exactly how Shore is approaching it: not as a vanity project, not as a quick cash grab, but as something he wants to make sustainable.

“It’s not about making money to start. It’s about building something I can make sustainable.”

That is usually a better place to begin.

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