JACK Shore is looking forward to not being the centre of attention when he makes his much-anticipated UFC debut in Denmark next month, writes Jason Batty.

The 24-year-old from Abertillery squares off against American Nohelin Hernandez at UFC Copenhagen on September 28.

Fighting in the UFC is a dream come true for Shore, who has worked towards his goal from an early age.

The unbeaten bantamweight vacated his Cage Warriors belt in May, hanging up the famous yellow gloves to begin focusing on the next chapter of his fighting career on the biggest stage around.

“It’s going nice to try on the UFC gloves and shorts on for the first time,” he said.

“Fighting in the UFC is something I have wanted to do since I was 10 years old, so to think I’m now a month away from living that dream is a great feeling.

“I have always dreamed of having that official UFC poster. It was a bit of a surreal feeling seeing it. It has set it in stone now and it makes it feel a little bit more real.”

Shore was a poster boy for his former employers Cage Warriors and before signing to the UFC he was in high demand, regularly headlining events supported by thousands of fans and fulfilling endless media obligations.

UFC Copenhagen sees him take his bow on the prelims, a slot he is no longer accustomed to, but he sees its benefits and is looking forward to focusing purely on the job in hand.

He added: “Fight week is always easier when you are in a hotel.

“When you are at home with all your family, girlfriend and friends are around you, everybody else is eating and not worrying about having a fight on Saturday.

“It’s going to be nice to just go over and not be the main event, and I haven’t got to push promotion and do loads of media like my last couple of fights.

“I’ll go over, keep my head down, get that first one under my belt and not worry too much about all the eyes being on me.

“Away from home, you are surrounded by fighters cutting weight and the anticipation of the fight is coming from everybody.

“l like that atmosphere where everybody around you is working towards the same thing.”

Standing opposite Shore in the octagon is Hernandez (10-3), who fights out of Team AKA in California.

His teammates include current UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and former champions Daniel Cormier and Cain Velasquez.

Despite the gym being home to world-class wrestlers, Shore sees his opponent’s main threat as his striking.

But the confident Tillery Combat ace has been working tirelessly on that aspect of his game with coach and dad Richard and remains confident in his ability.

“I see it being a tough fight, but I have watched him and, as good as he is, I think I’m better in every area,” he said.

“He’s good level and a dangerous opponent, but we are at the stage now, and I have been at this stage for a while, where we don’t get easy fights anymore. There are no gimmes.”

Collecting numerous amateur and professional titles over the years, Shore has acquired a taste for gold belts.

It might be a different promotion, but the goal is the same – he wants to be the champion and put Wales on map.

However, he is under no illusions as to the task before him.

“I am the newbie, a small fish in a big pond,” he said. “I want to move up that ladder sooner rather than later.

“It’s nice to go straight in at the deep end and show that a young boy form Abertillery in the valleys can compete and beat boys from some of the best gyms in the world.

“I just want to work my way up those rankings and show I can beat the top guys.

“Who’s to say in five years’ time we can’t have a UFC show in Wales and I’ll be fighting for the belt – that’s the ultimate goal.”