JACK Shore improved his unbeaten professional MMA record to 7-0 when he beat Ayton De Paepe by rear-naked choke in front of a capacity crowd at Cage Warriors 89 in Antwerp, Belgium, writes Jason Batty.

Just six weeks after a three-round demolition and spectacular knockout of Italy’s Mattia Galbiati, Abertillery’s Shore made easy work of fellow unbeaten prospect De Paepe in his own back yard.

This was Shore’s first pro fight outside Wales and the highly-talented 22-year-old was clearly unfazed by the occasion.

South Wales Argus:

As both fighters met in the centre of the octagon, it was the Belgian fighter, known as ‘The Hitman’, who initiated a takedown early on, but that was easily rebuffed by a confident Shore (pictured above celebrating his win).

Seconds later both men tied up in a clinch where Shore walked his opponent to the fence, only to then sweep the leg of De Paepe and land in top position on the canvas.

Demonstrating complete control over his opponent, Shore did not give his rival an inch to manoeuvre as he frustrated him before taking his back.

In the same sequence, the Welshman locked on a body triangle around the mid-section of De Paepe, restricting his breathing as he looked for a finish – and the submission became a formality.

Shore loosened the resolve of his opponent and created an opening by clubbing his head with a several elbows, forcing him to protect himself, in turn leaving a gap to capitalise on.

To follow was a deep rear-naked choke just over halfway through the first round, making the hometown fighter tap out in front of his own fans.

It also sealed a fifth submission victory in seven professional fights for Shore.

After the fight, an unscathed Shore announced his decision to drop a weight as well as his desire for a world title shot at Cage Warriors 92.

“I had a pretty easy weight cut to featherweight,” he said. “Next year I’m going to drop down to bantamweight.”

The Cage Warriors promotion is currently in the process of creating a marquee event for March, with four title fights in one night at London’s O2 Indigo planned.

The current bantamweight world champion is the capital’s own Nathaniel Wood, a highly-skilled fighter who edged a win over of Shore’s teammate Josh Reed in one of the fights of the year back in September.

South Wales Argus:

“I know that they are looking for a title contender in March for Super Saturday,” added Shore (pictured above).

“The champion is probably the best outside of the UFC at bantamweight, but it would be an honour to go up and challenge him.”