Morgan Charriere ecstatic over UFC debut KO win in home country of France: 'I feel like a rock star'

PARIS – Morgan Charriere’s UFC debut was like few others.

The 27-year-old finally got to prove himself in the octagon this past Saturday on the main card of UFC Fight Night 226 and he did so in impressive fashion. Not only did he debut at home in France, and did so with a win, but he scored a highlight-reel first-round knockout. It was the perfect scenario for the Frenchman.

“I feel like a rock star,” Charriere said at the post-fight press conference. “Like for real, I was like come on. It’s something indescribable. I work so hard just to have the people who follow me and knowing they can see me, it’s just a dream come true. My UFC debut is in France, and they had never seen me fight, so for them, it was something they had waited for and I did an incredible performance. So I did everything perfect for them and for me, so I’m really happy that everything played out like this.”

Charriere (19-9-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) targeted the body of his opponent Manolo Zecchini (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with kicks. They eventually added up until the Italian fighter was badly hindered, and that’s when Charriere threw even more kicks.

This is something Charriere tells UFC fans they can expect moving forward.

“My kicks are really hard,” Charriere said. “I have really hard kicks that can hurt people and I know it. My coach take it a lot, and he takes about this, even with the gear. He’s like, ‘Come on, you hurt me so much,’ and I’m like, ‘Don’t worry, coach. I’m going to get him with it.’ I knew my kick was so powerful. Even if you put your hand, I break your hand, or I touch the liver. That’s what I did. I throw two or three more because he was already in pain. He couldn’t block, he couldn’t do nothing.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 226.