London — A battle of former Cage Warriors champions, Morgan Charriere and Nathaniel Wood, will play out at UFC London this Saturday, as the promotion returns once again to the O2 Arena in London, England.
While there are some big fights scheduled for the card, the featherweight affair might be the people’s Fight of the Night. For Charriere (20-10-1), he likes both the match-up, and the locale, even though he’s stepping into hostile territory.
“I was really happy to hear the news and the name, and to know that I’m fighting him in front of a crowd, and not in the Apex,” Charriere said during Thursday’s UFC London media day, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press.
Wood arrived in the UFC well ahead of the French featherweight, so Charriere got to see just how far he went. It also has him excited for their fight. “We have a great history because of Cage Warriors. He was bantamweight champion, I was the featherweight. I saw him succeed here in the UFC, and I know what he brings, what I bring. Exciting match-up.”
As far as any advantage in strength and size he might hold over the former bantamweight, “The Last Pirate” was dismissive. “I don’t really know, I think he had the time to adjust,” said Charriere, who noted that Wood has had a few years to acclimatize to 145 now (for what it’s worth, Wood himself said this week that he expects the French fighter will have a strength advantage, while the Brit himself will have the edge in speed). “I don’t know, I don’t bet on being the more physical guy. I just think that the most part of the game will be technical, and be ready to fight.”
If you noticed Charierre being excited to compete for a crowd, you’re not alone. And he expanded on that, asked if he’d rather not fight in the empty UFC Apex ever again. “I would not say never fight again, but I prefer when I have a crowd. I think I preform better, I think my style is better when I have a crowd. What I bring,” said Charriere. “So yeah, fighting in the Apex is something different.”
Watch the full UFC London media day appearance by Morgan Charriere above.
