Tag: Cage Warriors 128

Cage Warriors 128 results: Paul Hughes claims interim belt in classic with Morgan Charriere

Paul Hughes’ superior grappling was the difference in claiming interim featherweight gold against Morgan Charriere at Cage Warriors 128.

[autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag]’ superior grappling was the difference in claiming interim featherweight gold against [autotag]Morgan Charriere[/autotag] in Friday’s Cage Warriors 128 main event.

The second headliner of Cage Warriors’ three-event weekend saw Hughes (8-1) put his pressure fighting and grappling to work to rack up points over the course of five rounds and net a majority decision over Charriere (17-9-1) by scores of 48-46, 47-47 and 49-45

Cage Warriors 128 took place at York Hall in London. The entire event streamed on UFC Fight Pass.

The first round was high intensity as both men came out throwing big strikes and exchanging grappling positions against the clinch and briefly on the ground.

Things picked up right where they left off in the second frame, with Charriere charging after Hughes and looking to take the fight to the ground. Hw ent for a submission attempt that left him in bottom position, but found his way up and fought from there.

The momentum started to swing significantly in the favor of Hughes in the third round. He landed a hard punch and subsequently found massive success in the grappling department, establishing top position and working to finish Charriere from the mount and back control. Charriere hung tough, though, and avoided a stoppage.

As the fight spilled over into the championship rounds, Charriere had bad swelling around his right eye. Hughes went hunting for it with head shots, but wasted no time trying to take the fight back to the ground, too. He spent the majority of the frame controlling from on top, securing another round in his favor.

With the fight seemingly in the bag for Hughes going into the final frame, Charriere showed some desperation in the form of some heavy strikes. He tagged Hughes with some of his best punches of the fight, but the pressure of Hughes caused him some issues until the final belt.

With the win, Hughes claimed interim 145-pound gold and put himself in position for a title unification contest with Jordan Vucenic (8-1).

Complete Cage Warriors 128 results include:

  • Paul Hughe def. Morgan Charriere via majority decision (48-46, 47-47, 49-45) – for interim featherweight title
  • [autotag]Jesse Urholin[/autotag] def. [autotag]Ioannis Palaiologos[/autotag] via TKO (strikes – Round 2, 3:36
  • [autotag]Michele Martignoni[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Adam Amarasinghe[/autotag] ruled a no contest (eye poke) – Round 2, 1:48
  • [autotag]Gerardo Fanny[/autotag] def. [autotag]Liam Gittins[/autotag] via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:32
  • [autotag]James Sheehan[/autotag] def. [autotag]Omeil Brown[/autotag] via split decision (29-28, 29-27, 28-29)
  • [autotag]Aidan James[/autotag] def. [autotag]Philippe Rouch[/autotag] via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 1:06
  • [autotag]Luke Riley[/autotag] def. [autotag]Kamil Wincenciak[/autotag] via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:39

Morgan Charriere vs. Paul Hughes interim featherweight title fight headlines Cage Warriors 128

An interim Cage Warriors title will be on the line this fall.

An interim Cage Warriors title will be on the line this fall.

With champion Jordan Vucenic still sidelined with an injury, [autotag]Paul Hughes[/autotag] (7-1) will take on former champ [autotag]Morgan Charriere[/autotag] (16-8-1) for the interim featherweight belt in the Cage Warriors 128 main event, the promotion announced Monday.

Cage Warriors 128 takes place Oct. 1 at York Hall in London. The card streams on UFC Fight Pass and will be the second night of the promotion’s latest “trilogy” series, in which it puts on cards on three straight nights.

“It’s a shame that Jordan Vucenic is still injured, but the division must move forward,” Cage Warriors president Graham Boylan stated. “Hughes vs Charriere will decide our interim champion, which works out perfectly, seeing as both men want to avenge losses to Vucenic in the future.”

The only loss of Hughes’ career came against Vucenic in December 2020 by split decision. Hughes had a perfect 6-0 start to his career with six finishes before the setback at Cage Warriors 119. Vucenic got a title shot against Charriere after the win and took the belt.

“I wasn’t impressed by (Charriere’s) performance against Jordan,” Hughes stated. “I called him boring for a reason. He was stalling a lot, and I wasn’t impressed by him at all. When it comes to our fight, there’ll be no stalling at all. I’ll be putting a pace on him and getting a finish in the fourth or fifth round.”

Charriere stopped Perry Andre Goodwin with a third-round TKO at Cage Warriors 119 to win the vacant featherweight belt. It gave him a three-fight winning streak. But against Vucenic in his first title defense at Cage Warriors 122 in March, he dropped a split call – and the belt along with it.

A rematch between Charriere and Vucenic for Cage Warriors 124 before Vucenic’s injury shut the fight down.

“This fight is the road back to my title,” Charriere stated. “I don’t care about the interim title, the opponent or anything. I’m just focusing on winning and putting on a performance.”