When Pennsylvania native Charlie Brenneman enters the UFC cage for the first time tonight, he will be doing so with the singular goal of maximizing his potential on the night, win or lose. Before signing with the UFC, Brenneman transitioned from a successful collegiate wrestling career, to a successful Junior High School teaching career, and finally to a successful cage fighting career, winning the first season of Pros vs. Joes on Spike TV in between. While Brenneman maintains that he is used to being in high-pressure situations, he admits that he doesn’t know exactly how he will react to his first fight on the big stage when he takes on highly regarded prospect Jason High in one of the opening bouts of UFC Fight Night 21.
Brenneman recently spoke with Tapology’s Steven Kelliher to discuss his MMA career to date, his experiences on Pros vs. Joes and how that could come into play before the action starts tonight, and his thoughts on moving forward now that he is in the premier mixed martial arts organization in the world.
UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Gomi kicks off tonight from Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina with the main card airing live on Spike TV beginning at 8pm EST/5pm PST.
Tapology: Some people know you as the winner of the first season of Pros vs. Joes on Spike TV. What was that experience like for you?
Brenneman: That’s been coming up a lot and I’m glad it’s been coming up. At the time I was a Junior High School Spanish teacher, so at the time that was a lot of excitement in my life, and it was cool for my students to see me in a different realm. The athletes were great to watch, the production was great, and I won so I got some cash and a new car, so overall it was a great experience.
Tapology: Which event has been more exciting for you: being invited to be on that show, or being invited to fight in the UFC?
Brenneman: At the time that was the coolest thing in my life that I had ever experienced, and shortly after that I got the itch to start competing in MMA. At one time I was sitting in my room, not really content with life, and I said to my friend, ‘You know what, I’m going to fight in the UFC someday.’ And from that point forward, my entire life was driven toward achieving that goal, so that was definitely the bigger of the two. It was a dream come true to be invited here.
Tapology: How did you become involved in MMA and did you have any previous experience with other martial arts?
Brenneman: I kind of have the typical college wrestler story. I finished my collegiate wrestling career on a high note—I finished in the top twelve in Division I—and immediately after I thought that it was great. No more weight cutting, no more hard workouts, but I think that lifestyle was ingrained in all of us. I wanted to compete and MMA seemed like the next step in the process.
Tapology: Have you been training at the AMA Fight Club since the beginning of your career?
Brenneman: I got with them about halfway through. I really floated around a lot from The Fight Factory in Philidelphia with Eddie Alvarez, training with Frankie Edgar, but I would get that in about once a week, and other than that I was just wrestling because I teach wrestling. Then I started consistently going to AMA.
Tapology: Do you think AMA has made a huge difference in your ability to combine your skills effectively for MMA competition?
Brenneman: Without a doubt. I was so raw—I guess I still am kind of raw—but when I first went over there they thought I had a lot of potential, so I have been morphing my wrestling into Jiu-Jitsu and making it efficient for MMA.
Tapology: You currently have an 11-1 professional record with the only loss coming to John Howard. Did you expect to have this level of success so early on into your career?
Brenneman: The Howard fight was very close—a lot of other people thought I won that fight—but in hindsight I’m glad it worked out the way it did, because I’m twice as good as I was then.
Tapology: How do you think you are going to handle all of the publicity and attention surrounding a live UFC event for the first time?
Brenneman: At Division I nationals, there are about 15-20k fans, and on Pros vs. Joes there was $20k on the line, so I’ve been in some pretty intense situations. I can rest easy because I know I train with some of the best fighters in the world, so that takes some of the nerves off.
Tapology: You’re fighting Dream and Affliction veteran Jason High on Wednesday night. What do you know about him and what do you expect come fight night?
Brenneman: I know enough to have a rough game plan in my head. I don’t want to study him too much because then I overanalyze and stop doing what I want to do. I know he’s a really tough guy, he’s built like a brick shithouse, so I expect him to be very strong, but my game plan with everyone is to go in, overpower them and take the fight out of them, and then once I break them really turn it on whether we’re on the feet or on the mat.
Tapology: What are your thoughts on going to the ground with High?
Brenneman: I don’t want to say I’m not worried, but I think I’d rather fight someone who has a wrestling base along with Jiu-Jitsu rather than just a straight Jiu-Jitsu guy. I’m exposed to a lot of great Jiu-Jitsu, so it’s not something that I’m overly worried about.
Tapology: Is it important to you to get the finish in this fight or will you be happy with a W no matter how it happens?
Brenneman: They are almost equally important, because it is a business and if you look at some of the mainstays in the UFC—someone like Clay Guida will be in the UFC forever based on his performances—so I look at it that way, but at the same time I’m looking to get one of those bonuses. If we can put on a great fight, win or lose, I’ve got to take some peace out of that.
Tapology: What are your intentions in this sport? Do you think this could be a lifelong career for you or are you just going to see how it goes?
Brenneman: My first goal was to make it to the UFC by the time I was 30, and my next goal is to make a comfortable living and to maximize my potential.
Tapology: What is it about you that will eventually allow you to compete with the upper echelon of the welterweight division and why will fans care about you?
Brenneman: My physical abilities and athleticism are right up there with the best of them. I also think fans like to see someone with intelligence fight. I’m bilingual—I speak Spanish—and I was on a TV show, so I think there are some pretty cool attributes that someone can cling onto and become a fan of me as a result.
Tapology: Thanks for the time Charlie and good luck on Wednesday night.
Brenneman: Thank you.
