LONDON – Jack Shore is confident wherever the fight goes against Makwan Amirkhani at UFC 286.
Shore (16-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) meets Amirkhani (17-8 MMA, 7-6 UFC) in a featherweight bout in Saturday’s featured prelim at The O2 in London. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.
Amirkhani has lost four of his past five, and while Shore thinks he’ll beat him everywhere, he knows not to let his guard down against the submission specialist.
“I expect him to bring what he always brings,” Shore said at Wednesday’s UFC 286 media day. “If you let him in the fight and give him an opportunity, he’ll take it and put you away. He’s a dangerous guy in areas, but as long as I go out there and perform how I know I can to kind of outclass him in all areas, (I’ll win). I’m not underestimating him. I know he’s coming off a loss, but I’ve seen him be down two rounds and pull out a choke out of nowhere.
“He’s got a decent little boxing style on the feet. But I think in terms variety of tools, I think I outmatch him there. I’m a lot more well-rounded in terms of striking IQ.”
Shore will move up to featherweight for the first time since 2017. Although he’s never missed the bantamweight mark, Shore says the cut down had been taking a toll on him.
“The last probably three or four weight cuts have been really tough,” Shore said. “It’s no secret: I always look like death on the scale. My old man and my other coaches have probably been at me for the past 12-18 months to consider the move, and it’s easy to forget about a tough weight cut when you’re winning all the time.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 286.
Jack Shore expects to outclass Makwan Amirkhani ‘in all areas’ at UFC 286