A large driving force for stepping into the cage was raising money for the Stroke Association, after the impact of his mother’s stroke.
“She didn’t get anywhere near enough help. With her being a single parent, we all had to get separated,” Shaw said.
“My younger brother and sister went into foster care and I ended up in residential care because I was being naughty, so I was classed as high risk.”
Seven years later, Shaw said his mother had still not fully recovered.
“There’s still an issue with her one leg and her arm,” he said.
“She really lost her confidence and it was difficult to build herself back up.
“There just isn’t enough readily available care, and I do not want other families to have to go through this, so I wanted to do something small to help and raise some funds for them.”
Ultra Events has so far raised £43m for charity, with the next Ultra MMA event taking place in Stoke-on-Trent on Saturday 18 July.
Participants are given eight weeks of free professional training before a showcase event in front of spectators.
Training began this week at Stoke Combat Academy in Hanley.