Paul Hughes’ superior grappling was the difference in claiming interim featherweight gold against Morgan Charriere 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.
🇮🇪 IRELAND RAISE THE FLAG.
Raw emotion from Paul Hughes, who is crowned Interim Featherweight Champion after one of the most electric title fights in Cage Warriors history.#CW128 pic.twitter.com/ok6hJ5Rvel
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 1, 2021
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
- Jesse Urholin def. Ioannis Palaiologos via TKO (strikes – Round 2, 3:36
- Michele Martignoni vs. Adam Amarasinghe ruled a no contest (eye poke) – Round 2, 1:48
- Gerardo Fanny def. Liam Gittins via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 4:32
- James Sheehan def. Omeil Brown via split decision (29-28, 29-27, 28-29)
- Aidan James def. Philippe Rouch via TKO (elbows) – Round 2, 1:06
- Luke Riley def. Kamil Wincenciak via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 3:39
