Charlie “The Spaniard” Brenneman Looks to Capitalize off his Huge Victory in Pittsburgh 9-19-11
By John Wagner
It was just 3 months ago at UFC on Versus 4 in Pittsburgh when “The Spaniard” Charlie Brenneman took a co main event in his home state on only 24 hours notice. The opponent was a heavily favored and fast rising star in Rick “The Horror” Story. After the bell sounded in the 3rd round, Brenneman’s hand was raised as the clear victor and The Spaniard was firmly on the UFC welterweight map. Multiple interviews and promotional appearances followed. Charlie, a great down to Earth guy handled the new found fame well and returned home to Hollidaysburg, PA where he grew up. After a short couple weeks of relaxing and recovering he returned to his AMA Fight club in New Jersey to start preparing for his next fight which will undoubtedly have a big impact on his career.
This brings us to this week and a jam packed fight card Saturday night in Washington DC for UFC Live 6. Charlie found out in July who his next opponent will be, Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. Rumble Johnson is the largest welterweight in UFC history. They both will weigh in at 170 pounds on fight night but Johnson’s build has him looking more like a middleweight than a welterweight. This will surely be Brenneman’s toughest fight of his career but it will also be his most lucrative.” I’m very excited to be fighting Anthony.” said Brenneman “He’s been in the UFC for quite some time and he has the type of name that can really help my career”. If The Spaniard could find a way to get past Rumble Johnson, it would most certainly set him up for a top 5 fight. Johnson is coming in with a 9-3 mark and heavy fists. Brenneman is sporting an impressive 14-2 career record and is an excellent wrestler with great conditioning. This has the look of the classic wrestler versus puncher. The one that can impose their game plan the best has a good shot at victory. “I’m going to do my best to push him into deep waters.” said Brenneman “One thing is for sure, I will not stop for the full 15 minutes. I’ve been working on every aspect of my game and I am prepared to go wherever the fight takes me. I trust my team (AMA Fight Club) and my boxing coach Mark Henry along with my strength and conditioning coach Don Messing will have me well prepared for this”.
If the Spaniard can put on a performance In Washington DC the way he did in Pittsburgh, I believe his hand will be the one raised on Saturday night. Win or lose, the future looks bright for Charlie. A loss sets him back to the pack and outside the top 10 in the welterweight rankings however. A win this Saturday and you will surely be seeing Charlie competing in a top 5 Welterweight matchup with the verdict having possible title implications in the near future. I for one will be in DC this Saturday and hoping to see the Pennsylvania native come out on top just like he did in front of so many of his family and friends in the Steel City.