Whenever the UFC takes its traveling show to a foreign country, you can expect that, at the very least, the show will feature some talent from that country on a given night. It’s the same with any MMA promotion. On Saturday night, MMA’s No. 1 organization headed to Paris, France for its third annual visit to Accor Arena.
This edition of UFC Fight Night featured a total of nine fighters who call France their home on the card. All told, French fighters compiled a record of 6-3 throughout the evening.
Mathematically speaking, this accounts to (roughly) a .666 winning percentage for the show. Anytime that a promotion can trek internationally and put nine fighters on a card with six of those fighters getting their hands raised during the event, it’s good for the fans to see. Nobody wants to see their favorite competitor lose on home soil.
Charriere Puts Smiles on Spectators This Weekend
One of the competitors who set foot inside the Octagon in his home country on Saturday night was former Cage Warriors Featherweight Champion Morgan Charriere (20-10-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC,) who came into the weekend looking to get back in the win column after an April 6 defeat to Chepe Mariscal (17-6 MMA, 4-0 UFC) inside the UFC Apex in Enterprise, NV.
At the close of betting Saturday, the oddsmakers had Charriere listed as a -520 favorite on the money line, compared to the +320 odds that his opponent, Gabriel Miranda (17-7 MMA, 1-2 UFC) had been receiving. Although Saturday’s fight was Charriere’s third appearance since getting signed to Dana White’s promotion, one thing is clear:
Charriere is going to be a force to be reckoned with at 145 in the future in the UFC.
Miranda Didn’t Know What Hit Him on Saturday
All you really need to know about Morgan Charriere’s efforts during Saturday’s UFC Paris can be best summed up by watching the footage of the fight’s brief second round of a scheduled three. Not long after the command to fight was given in the middle round of the contest, Charriere checked a leg kick from his opponent before sending Miranda down with a single punch square and true.
Another ground and pound shot was added for good measure, but the contest was already over. Time of the stoppage: A blistering 27 seconds into the period.
He couldn’t have asked for a better way to cap his 20th career win in the sport. The fact that he scored victory number 20 in front of his countrymen had to make the win all the sweeter for Charriere and his camp.
Charriere’s Plan of Attack Worked Like a Charm
After the fight, Morgan Charriere was interviewed by UFC Hall of Fame inductee Michael “The Count” Bisping about his win.
“It was a bit of a difficult fight to take,” Charriere told Bisping and the crowd at Accor Arena. “I only had two weeks to prepare for him and he’s really dangerous, so the gameplan was just take the timing like last time. When I feel it, just beat the (expletive deleted) out of him.”
As Morgan Charriere mentioned during his post-fight interview on Saturday evening, Gabriel Miranda was booked to appear during UFC Paris on short notice. Initially, Charriere’s dance partner was supposed to have been AJ Cunningham (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC).
Prior to the show, Cunningham withdrew from UFC Paris due to an injury. Having to pivot from one fighter to another with only a few weeks to go before the contest is scheduled to occur can never be easy to do.
Charriere took this test and passed it with flying colors.
Charriere is One to Watch at Featherweight
Although Morgan Charriere is only three fights into his UFC tenure, he’s finished two of his three foes inside the distance, with both of his wins coming in his home country. Don’t be surprised to see this man get more high-profile assignments in the promotion as his career continues.
The most interesting part about this is that Morgan Charriere is still just 28 years of age and will not turn 29 years old until Oct. 26. If he stays healthy and rattles off an extended winning streak in the aftermath of this weekend’s card, within the next several years, Charriere will be among the best at featherweight in the UFC.
If he’s this good of a fighter now, consider how better this young man will be in the cage once he peaks athletically.
Final Thoughts
Keep an eye out for Morgan Charriere in the future. He’s going to go far in the UFC.
