After suffering a TKO defeat at the hands of Johny Hendricks in their August 2010 meeting, conventional logic says that welterweight Charlie Brenneman (11-2 MMA, 1-1 UFC) needs to pick up a win in his next trip to the octagon.After all, UFC roster spots are at a premium right now, and two consecutive losses can easily mean a pink slip.
But if you expect the AMA Fight Club product to be feeling a bit of nerves heading into his UFC Fight Night 23 matchup with Amilcar Alves, you'd be sorely mistaken. After all, Brenneman is the kind of guy that takes vacations to the Bermuda Triangle.
"We were on [a cruise], and there was a little seminar thing, and the guy said that there was a huge tidal wave I don't know how many years ago, but it hit the ship," Brenneman told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com.radio). "Since they were in such deep, deep water, it was only a little blurb. How's that? They tell you if you were in shallower water, the cruise ship would have been demolished."
How's that? Well, for one, it would be enough to make some lesser men immediately consider renting a helicopter for a quick return to dry land. But for the 29-year-old Brenneman, a former high-school Spanish teacher and one-time winner of Spike TV's "Pros vs. Joes" reality competition series, fear isn't a normal consideration – whether it comes to mysterious geographical regions or looming roster cuts.
"I really don't get into that," Brenneman said. "I guess some people do. Some people say my career could end if I don't win this fight, etc. But you know what? I train my ass off. I'm ready to go. That's my focus.
"My focus is performing. I can't worry about any of those little side effects. I'm pretty faithful. God put me in this position. I've being doing everything I can control to perform. I just have to put those two variables together."
Brenneman's humble attitude is one that echoes that of his New Jersey-based teammates, including brothers Jim and Dan Miller, as well as Rafaello Oliveira.
"I guess we're kind of founded on Jim and Dan, and they just happen to be two normal, simple, nice guys," Brenneman said. "Whether other guys come into our camp and just kind of fit that mold because that's the norm or whether we're just naturally that way, I think we're just similar people. Similar people end up coming together."
Nevertheless, Brenneman's future would undoubtedly be served best by a win over Amilcar Alves (11-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in the the preliminary card matchup, which takes place Jan. 22 at "UFC Fight Night 23: UFC Fight for the Troops 2" at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
A Nova União product who was defeated in his August 2010 octagon debut by Mike Pierce, Alves is a black belt in both Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo. Brenneman said he's impressed with his 31-year-old opponent, even if he is winless in the octagon.
"He knows pretty much everything," Brenneman said. "Obviously, I watched his UFC fights, and he's got some stuff online from his other fights. People say, 'Oh, he's a BJJ guy.' I'm like, 'I guess, kind of, but he's also a pretty darn good striker. He's a judo player. He's got pretty much everything.'"
A former collegiate wrestler, Brenneman seems well-equipped to duplicate Pierce's ground-and-pound strategy against Alves, but "The Spaniard" isn't ready to publicly commit to that gameplan.
"That would be exactly what Mike Pierce did, so if I were to follow the gameplan of Mike Pierce, that is what I would do," Brenneman said. "I'm just going to literally take what he throws at me, but if I can do that, yeah, that's my specialty. I'll be more than happy to do that."
Despite losing against Hendricks for just the first time in seven overall trips to the cage, Brenneman's immediate UFC future could very well hang in the balance when he steps in the octagon against Alves. With the influx of WEC talent to the UFC, roster spots are tight in every division.
However, Brenneman is far from discouraged. Instead, he's hoping to feed off the drive his teammate, Jim Miller, has utilized on his current six-fight win streak.
"It's infectious," Brenneman said. "I see Jim. I see what he does. I see the results of what he does. I want that, too.
"I see first-hand the payoff – not just money, but career. I see the career payoff of what he's doing, and that's motivation right in front of my face."
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