Jack Shore launches Stand and Bang promotion with 23-bout card at Ebbw Vale on August 22

Jack Shore is promoting his first Stand and Bang fight night at Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre on Saturday, 22 August, marking his move into event promotion nearly two years after he retired from professional mixed martial arts in December 2024. The card will feature 23 bouts contested under striking-only rules inside a 20-foot boxing ring.

Shore, a former UFC fighter from Abertillery, stayed involved in the sport as a coach after stepping away from competition at 29 and finished his professional career with a 17-3 record. He rose into the top 15 of the UFC’s bantamweight division before moving to featherweight and is described in the source as a 31-year-old who is happy in retirement. The promoter is billing Stand and Bang as a different offering from an MMA or Muay Thai show.

The event will permit only striking with no takedowns or grappling, and most bouts will be fought in MMA gloves, Shore said, explaining the format in part came from fan feedback. He told BBC Sport Wales: "It was always going to be hard to jump into an MMA or pure Thai show. "I thought, 'what's a little niche in the market that I can kind of go after?' "I'm a big fan of ONE Championship and I don't always know the guys fighting but I'll always put it on because it's exciting."

Shore said the format responds to friends and casual fans who found grappling hard to follow. He said: "All my mates used to say that if I wasn't fighting, they wouldn't come because they didn't understand the grappling and it was a bit boring. "To the untrained eye it is, what's more fan friendly than essentially an MMA fight but with no grappling and no wrestling? "That's what we're trying to do, stand-up fights. Most of them are going to be in MMA gloves so it should make for an entertaining night."

On scoring, Shore said judges will be directed to emphasise damage to help spectators track who is ahead. He said: "If one guy is inflicting more damage, the average Joe can look at that and say, 'well, that guy's winning'. "Don't get me wrong, ring control scores and good defence scores. I daresay a flashy move will score a little bit higher than maybe a jab. "But ultimately the judges are being told that we're scoring on damage."

Describing his aims as a promoter, Shore said he wants to prioritise fighters' interests and has been adjusting to the organisational challenges of running a show. He said: "I know what it's like coming up as an amateur or as a new pro and to have promoters think they're better than you and almost look at you just as if you're funding their pocket. "As much as I'm running this show to help make a bit of a living, I also want to put the fighters first. "If I've got to sacrifice a bit of money to make sure this guy is well looked after or make this guy get a fight on short notice, then I've always been more than prepared to do so. "Being a fighter who has gone into promotion is a big thing because you know what it's like to be on the other side of the coin." The week before the event Shore said: "In my eyes, it's already a success because we've got to the fight week. "The fact the show is going to go ahead, and I can say that I've promoted my own show, is brilliant. "It's not even about breaking even or making money or losing money. A success for me will be to just put on a show that the crowd enjoys. "If it is a success, I promise to just get bigger and better every time."

Shore remains active in the gym and has resisted offers to return to competition, saying he still enjoys sparring but that his mind is largely made up about retirement. He said: "I'm in the gym every day with the boys and I do like the sparring. "I'm still young enough to compete with the lads and a lot of my coaching style is sparring with them. "I'm still competing with the top lads in the gym comfortably, and that's not a knock on anyone. "It's not like I'm a 45-year-old man and I've been retired for two years. "I'll spar on a Wednesday night and I'll wake up Thursday morning and think that the last thing I want to do now is go to the gym." On offers since retiring he said: "I've had fight offers - boxing, kickboxing, grappling - and I've got good people around me. "My missus is my main influence if I want advice on something. I usually go to her first, then I'll go to my dad. "She tells me that if I am going to do it, go back and do it properly in the UFC. "The reality is that I don't want to do that. I'm not going to go and do some circus show just to feed my ego. "Mentally, I've checked out, even though now and then the demons are creeping. Never say never, I suppose, let's push it to 99% [retired]. "But it would take a lot of money and a massive opportunity to pull 'The Tank' back in."

Stand and Bang will run its first card at Ebbw Vale Leisure Centre on Saturday, 22 August with 23 striking-only bouts inside a 20-foot boxing ring; Shore has said a successful opening night will be measured by crowd enjoyment and could lead to larger future events.