JACK Shore is on fire, writes Jason Batty.

In front of a packed Viola Arena crowd in Cardiff on April 27, the 24-year-old from Abertillery defended his bantamweight world title in typical no-nonsense fashion, collecting his 11th consecutive win along the way.

It has been a whirlwind six months for Shore, seeing him go from hot prospect to world champion.

Shore’s fighting style and cult following hasn’t gone unnoticed either, meaning a call from the UFC should be imminent.

His latest fight wasn't the walkover his following are used to seeing from their champion.

But, having faced adversity in the first round against a worthy opponent in British and Commonwealth judo champion Scott Malone, Shore dug deep to claim the win with a third-round submission.

“In the first round I was faced with adversity,” he said.

“I was happy with the way I kept calm and stuck to the game plan, and I was pleased to show my defensive wrestling to get back up from the floor.

“I knew he was going to come out strong, but I weathered the storm.

“But with a minute or so left in the second I hit him with a big kick and saw him wince, so I followed up with a couple of big shots.

“When he came out for the third, you could see he was still hurt from it.

“He wasn’t throwing as much, he was backing up which he hadn’t done in the first two rounds.

“Then I put him on the back foot and it was the beginning of the end, I could feel he had a lot less in him.”

Having found his rhythm in the third, Shore took Malone to the floor, where he has finished nearly all of his opponents.

As soon as Shore took mount, he secured the neck of Malone and the finish was a formality.

Shore has finished all bar one of his 11 opponents inside the distance and remains unbeaten as a professional.

He is also the number one-ranked bantamweight outside the UFC.

“I don’t feel like there’s anyone left in the division, there’s no real stand up challenger,” he added.

“Ekundayo and Scott are two of the very best in Europe, so we’re at that stage where there isn’t another challenger for me.”

As soon as the fight was won, Shore made a ‘call me’ gesture to the cameras, a signal to UFC president Dana White to offer him a deal.

The Cage Warriors promotion has been a ticket to the biggest MMA platform, with more than 80 fighters entering the UFC through their doors, some going on to become champions.

“Nothing’s set in stone,” said Tillery Combat star Shore.

“I’ll have a day or two off, switch off from it all and let my old man (coach Richard) speak to Graham (Cage Warriors president) and see what happens from there.

“You know, they go on about the UFC, and having a good following and a good personality means I tick all the boxes that they seem to want, so fingers crossed it’ll come through this time.

“I see Cage Warriors advertised the next Wales show for October.

“I’d be happy to do the main event on that. But the phone line’s open!”