French featherweight and former Cage Warriors standout Morgan Charriere faced off with Jose “Chepe” Mariscal on the main card of Saturday’s UFC Vegas 90.
It was a considerable boost in profile for both men, even with the Fight Night card unfolding in the shadow of next week’s behemoth, UFC 300.
Chepe opened the action with a leg kick that immediately drew a reaction from Charriere. From there, Mariscal went into a takedown attempt with Morgan defending via guillotine. An anaconda attempt followed, but Chepe Mariscal didn’t appear to be in any real danger. Instead, they moved back to the feet, still in a clinch, and wound up on the fence.
From there, the fight moved off the cage to center, then went back to the fence where Charriere dropped elbows as Mariscal pursued a takedown. Chepe refused to give up on the attempt, but “The Last Pirate” Charriere proved to have impressive takedown defense. And care of a bodylock, Charriere soon landed his own takedown, though Chepe didn’t stay down long enough for it to matter.
Back on the feet, Charriere blocked a head kick, and they would soon head to round two.
The second opened with a bit more in the way of trading at range. From a distance, Charriere was just a little more technical, a little more accurate. The pair had slowed, and Chepe was showing some damage around the eyes, while also enduring some low kicks. France’s Charriere also uncorked some front kicks to the body, which appeared to slow Chepe further. They would stay on the feet, Charriere picking his opponent apart, until the final minute of round two, when it was Morgan Charrriere landing not one but two takedowns, and nearly a third off a caught kick.
Mariscal came out in the third having clearly lost the previous round, with the first somewhat closer. Still, there was a sense of urgency in his corner, but it was Charierre putting a combo together early. Chepe then came back guns blazing, picking up the pace, walking forward firing lefts and rights while Charriere covered up! But Morgan slipped a punch, changed levels and landed a key takedown, halting the comeback train in its tracks.
With half a round still on the clock, Morgan Charriere settled into half guard. He’d eat just under a minute off the clock before they got back up; Charriere later dropped into an anaconda attempt to no avail. But with just a minute to go, Chepe Mariscal was on his knees, though he would manage to get on top! Charriere nearly swept to top, but Chepe adjusted, then found room for a few ground strikes. Mariscal made it a nail-biter, but they went to the final horn in one of the best fights of the evening.
Come the scorecards, there was far from a consensus. While two judges awarded Mariscal the win, the dissenting official had it 30-27 for Morgan Charriere.
Official Result: Chepe Mariscal def. Morgan Charriere by split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
