The inside story of Morgan Charriere’s unique journey to the UFC
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Exclusive interview: Even before reaching the UFC, Charriere had more followers than some champions in the promotion. The young Frenchman tells The Independent how he did it. As Manolo Zecchini clutched the dent where his abs used to be, trying desperately to haul his faltering frame from the canvas, Morgan Charriere took a slow step forward, his arms hanging casually by his side. He tensed, balanced himself, and propelled his right shin at the Italian.
![[Charriere during his run in Cage Warriors, where he briefly held the featherweight title]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/04/02/18/newFile-2.jpg)
The preceding kick, a front kick, had exhibited Charriere’s technique; this follow-up soccer kick showed a different side to the featherweight. This was spite and brutality distilled into one strike. It ended Zecchini, launching the tourist back to the fence, where he collapsed under punches from Paris’s hometown hero.
![[Charriere’s ability to connect with French fans caught the attention of the UFC]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/04/02/18/newFile-3.jpg)
With that, Charriere’s UFC debut – a fight years in the making – was over within four scintillating minutes. Around him in the Accor Arena, fans were engulfed in ecstasy. For some, this was an initiation into Charriere fandom; others had supported the “Last Pirate” for years, his following dwarfing many top UFC stars’.
![[The ‘Last Pirate’ captured the Cage Warriors featherweight title in 2020]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/04/02/18/newFile-5.jpg)
“When I reached 100,000 subscribers, I had more than some UFC champions,” Charriere tells The Independent ahead of his sophomore UFC outing, against Jose “Chepe” Mariscal on Saturday (6 April). “[Up to then], I was doing small jobs – deliveries, working in restaurants and supermarkets. It’s so hard alongside fighting, you’re so tired. But with social-media [success], I could stop fighting! Or, I could focus on fighting.”.
