In His Return To Paris, Morgan Charriere Hopes To Replicate The Results From His UFC Debut A Year Ago

Ayear ago, “The Last Pirate” introduced himself to the UFC audience in style.

Morgan Charriere, a well-known presence to European MMA fans following his work under the Cage Warriors banner, made his first UFC walk at UFC Fight Night: Gane vs Spivac with high expectations and excitement buzzing around him. The 28-year-old delivered, scoring a first-round knockout win over Manolo Zecchini and lighting up Accor Arena. That night, Charriere admitted to feeling a lot of pressure around his fight.

Some fans felt like his UFC debut was long overdue, especially after he won the Cage Warriors featherweight title in December 2020. Nonetheless, it all came in good time, and Charriere hopes to do it all over again in his return to Paris at UFC Fight Night: Moicano vs Saint Denis against Gabriel Miranda.

Morgan Charriere of France reacts after defeating Manolo Zecchini of Italy in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at The Accor Arena on September 02, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

“I’m really more confident on my level and on my place here in the UFC,” Charriere told UFC.com. “I really deserve to be here, and I just want to fight and showcase my s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s to people. I’ve grown. I feel really more confident, more ready. I know what to expect from the crowd here in Paris, so it’s easier this time. I feel a lot less pressure right now than last year, so it will be easier for me to perform.”

Although the night was a memorable and milestone one for Charriere, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. He felt the expectations bearing down on him as he strutted to the Octagon, and he is excited to fight free of those first-time jitters on September 28.

“There was a lot of emotion, a lot of things (last year),” he said. “Everybody was really high on emotion around me. It was really something that you can feel on the fight week. It was hard to stay focused on everything. Right now, it’s more like, ‘Yeah, we’re used to it.’ We know what we’re going to do.”

Morgan Charriere of France punches Manolo Zecchini of Italy in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at The Accor Arena on September 02, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

Generally, that means an exciting fight. Of his 19 professional wins, Charriere collected 11 knockouts and three submissions. However, since his debut, Charriere made the walk just once more, losing to Chepe Mariscal via split decision at UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Curtis 2. The result was, naturally, disappointing despite earning a Fight of the Night bonus, but Charriere is no stranger to bouncing back from disappointments.

After all but one of his nine professional losses, he responded with a victory the next time out. The outlier came in 2021 when he lost a split decision followed with a majority decision.

“The fight is the fight,” he said. “After what the judges do, you cannot do nothing about it. I could have done better. So, we’ve worked on the mistakes that we’ve done that maybe cost the victory for us, but it was a great fight. I’ve learned from it.”

Morgan Charriere of France kicks Chepe Mariscal in a featherweight fight during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on April 06, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

The 28-year-old carries the kind of crazy confidence that aligns with his fighting style and general persona. It’s why people love to watch him fight and follow his journey in and out of the Octagon.

But, all the personality in the world won’t make up for the results in the Octagon, and Charriere is keen to keep his UFC record above .500 with a quality effort against Miranda.

“I’m really happy that all those things played out,” Charriere said. “Two great fights, and I think that the third one (will) be great, too. I’m really enjoying my time here in UFC and doing what I love: fighting.”