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.

With champion Jordan Vucenic still sidelined with an injury, Paul Hughes (7-1) will take on former champ Morgan Charriere (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.”