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Youssef Zalal on Jack Shore's retirement from the UFC - ‘An honor to share the cage’

Originally posted on MMA on SI | By Chris De Santiago | Last updated Feb 3, 2025 2:21 PM ET

Youssef Zalal sent the 29-year-old Jack Shore to an early retirement recently.

Once a 16-0 prospect, Shore's struggled to stay in the win column since losing his undefeated record in 2022. 1-3 in his last four fights, Shore was submitted by Zalal at UFC Edmonton in November, announcing his retirement from the sport a month later.

Shore's career didn't pan out the way he wanted it to, but there's still hope for his final opponent Zalal, who popped back up in the UFC with a six-fight win streak and is pitted against the ranked Calvin Kattar next.

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Zalal Comments On Shore's Retirement

Looking back on what'd be the Welsh fighter's last fight, Zalal says he has a ton of respect for Shore following his decision to walk away.

"It's an honor to share the cage," Zalal told MMA Knockout. "I don't know what, what that man is going through or what he has going on. I feel like a lot of fighters were like, oh my god, like, why did he retire, blah, blah, blah... I'm like, we don't know his life. I don't know what's going on. He could have bad things or maybe he's not motivated to go train, or maybe it's not there. You don't wanna do it anymore...

"I don't know, because this sport is brutal, man. You gotta like sacrifice so much every single day and not seeing your family, not spending time with your kids. I completely understand."

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Zalal Says It Was An 'Honor' To Fight Shore

Whatever the reason, Shore retired from MMA with a 6-3 record in the UFC and perfect 9-0 record in Cage Warriors where he reigned as bantamweight champion. Shore defeated fighters such as Makwan Amirkhani, Timur Valiev, Hunter Azure, and Aaron Phillips.

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"It's an honor just to share the cage with him and such a high-level guy, too," Zalal said of Shore. "To even be there and to say I fought Jack Shore, that's an honor to me. I'm like grateful to even have that opportunity."

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The victory over Jack Shore would award Youssef Zalal the biggest opportunity of his career, with potential entry into the featherweight Top 10 in his upcoming fight against Calvin Kattar on February 15.