Paul Hughes Edges Morgan Charriere, Seizes Interim Belt at CW 128

Unforgettable.

How did you score it?!#CW128 pic.twitter.com/NHH9HMwaFz

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 1, 2021

Proud Irish and French fans packed the York Hall in London for the second segment of this Cage Warriors Fighting Championship trilogy series.

The CW 128 headliner saw Paul Hughes (8-1, 5-1 CW) throw down with Morgan Charriere (16-9-1, 3-3 CW) in a barnburner for the interim featherweight championship. Both contenders shined brightly in the first stanza, but the Frenchman scored the more precise shots. Charriere intelligently protected himself from damage, and ended the round dramatically with a big judo throw shortly before the bell. The second round was very close, as the Australian-born fighter fought off a guillotine choke attempt and retaliated with crisp punches. Hughes gained momentum after wobbling “The Last Pirate” with a heavy combination in the third frame. The Fight Academy Ireland standout dragged his opponent to the canvas, taking his back and almost ending the fight with a rear-naked choke.

Charriere survived the attempt and made it to the fourth round, but it was Hughes who dragged the fight back down to the ground. Hughes’ ground-and-pound caused enough damage as the minutes ticked by, nearly closing the Frenchman’s right eye with strikes from on top. The final stanza saw Hughes trying to force a takedown, only to end up with his back on the mat after a wild scramble. After fighting back to the feet, Hughes ended the furiously paced fight by connecting with several elbows from short range. Ultimately, two of the three cageside judges scored it 49-45 and 48-46 in favor of Hughes, while the third saw a 47-47 draw, rewarding the fighter out of Northern Ireland with a majority decision victory and the interim strap.

One way traffic. Jesse Urholin is a PROBLEM!

Another dominating performance for the Finnish prospect in our Co-Main Event.

Is this the next big name at Welterweight?#CW128 pic.twitter.com/hOwturI9we

— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 1, 2021

The originally scheduled co-headliner between Jonathan Bosuku and Will Currie fell off the card after the Frenchman missed the middleweight division limit by 8.9 pounds. In the newly promoted co-main event, Jesse Urholin (8-0, 2-0 CW) collided with Ioannis Palaiologos (18-10-1, 0-1 CW) at welterweight. Urholin overwhelmed his opponent with his impressive grappling skills from the start and came close to finishing “Greek Emperor” with punches toward the end of the round. Palaiologos made it to the bell, and he came out to start the second frame with a powerful kick to the peninsula south of the equator. The Swede needed ample time to recover before continuing, but when the action resumed, he dominated Palaiologos with relentless grappling and ground-and-pound. Palaiologos threatened off his back with a kimura, but Urholin pushed through it and battered his foe from side control, landing a long series of hammerfists until the referee stopped the fight at 3:36 of Round 2.

Earlier on the card, the highly anticipated 125-pound showdown between Aurora MMA’s Michele Martignoni (6-1, 2 NC; 1-1, 1 NC CW) and Adam Amarasinghe (6-3, 1 NC; 4-3, 1 NC CW) ended anticlimactically when “Apex” landed an accidental eye poke that prevented Martignoni from continuing. The second-round no contest from referee Rich Mitchell was declared at 1:48.

Prior to the eye poke stoppage, Gerardo Fanny (11-2, 2-1 CW) went to battle with Liam Gittins (7-3, 3-3 CW) at 130 pounds, and Fanny wiped an exhausted “Nightmare” out with knees and punches with five seconds left in the second period; at welterweight, James Sheehan (3-2, 2-2 CW) edged Omeil Brown (2-1, 2-1 CW) by a narrow split decision with scores of 29-28, 29-27 and 28-29.

On the preliminary card, Brave Combat Federation alum Aidan James (5-2, 1-0 CW) hacked Philippe Rouch (7-5, 0-1 CW) up with elbows to prompt the 66-second finish in Round 2 at bantamweight; the night began as Luke Riley (1-0, 1-0 CW) succeeded in his MMA debut by stopping Kamil Wincenciak (0-1, 0-1 CW) with punches at the 3:39 mark of the first round in their bantamweight clash.