JACK Shore will follow in the footsteps of fellow Gwent mixed martial arts star Jack Marshman tomorrow night when he makes his eagerly anticipated UFC debut in Copenhagen, writes Jason Batty.

Unbeaten Tillery Combat ace Shore goes up against American Nohelin “Suave” Hernandez at a sold-out Royal Arena, the venue for UFC Fight Night 160.

The Abertillery bantamweight was no stranger to capacity crowds in his Cage Warriors days, and a large, loud Welsh contingent is expected to make the trip for his UFC bow in Denmark.

It is a dream come true for “Tank” Shore, who has worked tirelessly towards his goal of fighting at the highest level since he was a young boy – and he has his sights set on reaching the top of the Premier League of MMA.

Standing in front of unbeaten Shore is the tough and experienced striker Hernandez, who rode a three-fight win streak before making his UFC debut in July against top-ranked contender Marlon Vera in a fight taken on short notice.

Hernandez demonstrated his high-level skillset before being choked out by Vera in the second round.

The AKA fighter comes from the same team as world-class mixed martial artists including lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomdeov and former double champion Daniel Cormier.

However, that will hold no bearing for Shore, who will go into the fight full of confidence and, as usual, looking to finish his opponent.

Despite making his UFC debut, Shore enters the cage as the bookmakers’ favourite, largely because his killer instinct has seen him dispatch 10 of his 11 rivals inside the distance, collecting domestic and European titles along the way.

The Copenhagen card boasts some of the best fighters from Europe.

Headlining is Shore’s former Cage Warriors colleague Jack Hermansson, who has propelled himself to top-five status following a four-fight win streak in the UFC, including an impressive underdog victory against Ronaldo Souza.

Hermansson faces American Jared Cannonier, whose last fight was a win against legend Anderson Silva.

Meanwhile, Abergavenny’s Marshman will face middleweight rival Markus Perez at UFC Fight Night 164 in Brazil on November 16.

The 29-year-old has been going through something of a sticky patch, losing his last fight in July after submitting to undefeated Edmen Shahbazyan in the first round of their UFC 239 clash in Las Vegas.

For former paratrooper Marshman, the contest sees his return to the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, scene of a defeat to Antonio Carlos Junior at UFC Fight Night in October 2017.

Home favourite Perez, 29, beat Anthony Hernandez in his last outing at UFC Fight Night 144 in February thanks to a second-round choke submission.