Jack Shore made quite an impression in his featherweight debut at UFC 286.
The Welsh fighter had to battle through some adversity early but he took over in the second round after securing a takedown to put Makwan Amirkhani on his back and from there he was just looking for the finish. The end came after Shore latched onto a rear-naked choke and it didn’t take long until Amirkhani had no choice but to tap out or go to sleep.
The official finish came at 4:27 in the second round.
“Everything I thought would be done,” Shore said about his first fight at 145 pounds. “I wanted that gas tank to push on in the second and third round and it paid off. To be honest, I felt like I was a better wrestler. I knew as soon as I got him tired, I’d be able to take him down.”
When the fight got going Amirkhani came blazing out of the gates as he displayed strong striking and a good grappling game but his biggest detriment came back to haunt him again after the first round is over.
Amirkhani is a notoriously fast starter who always tends to fade after the first round and like clockwork that’s exactly what happened on Saturday.
With his opponent facing, Shore started connecting with solid combinations on the feet including a stiff jab that was snapping Amirkhani’s head back. Shore then decided to take the fight to the ground and he was dominant there as well while advancing his position and looking to end Amirkhani’s night.
Shore made a nice transition to take the back and immediately lock his arm under the chin to secure the rear naked choke. Amirkhani attempted to slip free momentarily but he couldn’t get any room to breathe and he was forced to tap out seconds later.
Long considered a prospect to watch in the future, Shore looked great in his featherweight debut after suffering the first loss of his career in his previous outing. He now moves to 17-1 overall while Amirkhani drops to 1-5 in his past six fights.
