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Wednesday, Jun 06, 2012

Charlie Brenneman Wants To “End The (Erick) Silva Hype Train”

Charlie "The Spaniard" Brenneman

By Michael Hatamoto

UFC welterweight Charlie Brenneman looks to ride momentum after a dominating performance against Daniel Roberts when he meets Erick Silva in the co-main event of UFC on FX 3.  Just days away from his co-main event showdown with Silva, Brenneman discussed his marriage, training, and his expectations for the fight on Friday.

In between training and preparing for the fight, Brenneman also got married in mid-May, but claims that didn’t disrupt his training efforts too much.

“It really didn’t prove to be that much of a problem.  Actual marriage is just one day, one afternoon, so I was able to schedule to train around it.  I trained the day of the marriage, took the next day off, and was back in training right after.”

Most fighters rely on a dedicated training camp ranging from eight weeks up to 12 weeks for a full camp, but Brenneman continues to take a different approach.  His focus is on continually training and working on his overall fight skills, while increasing workout intensity as a scheduled fight draws near.

“Even if I had to take three or four days off after the wedding, I started training hard two weeks after the last fight (in January).  I don’t have a real camp, but instead just keep on training hard all the time.”

Most recently, Brenneman bounced back from a TKO loss to Anthony Johnson at UFC Live: Cruz vs. Johnson, with a dominating performance against Daniel Roberts at UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller.

“They were two different fighters, I attacked them differently, and I was a lot smarter against Roberts than I was against Johnson.  I learned from my mistakes and am ready to continue moving on.”

Brenneman is a controlling wrestler and Silva is a slugger with BJJ skills, so the fight strategy for each fighter seems rather obvious.

“I want to go out and dominate – and end the Silva hype train.  I think if we were to have a kickboxing match, Silva would win — that’s why this is the UFC and not kickboxing.  I want to use my takedowns to take him down, or have him guessing up on the feet about what I’m going to do.”

Unlike fighters based in a single camp, Brenneman found himself commuting between AMA in New Jersey, Renzo Gracie’s BJJ gym in New York, and his local gym in Pennsylvania.  However, the long miles paid a physical and mental toll on the 31-year-old, and following his loss to Johnson, decided to try and make a change.

“To be honest, after my fight with Johnson, I cut down on traveling and time I spent on the road.  Almost 90 percent of MMA training was at AMA, but strength and training is still in PA.  Once a week, I traveled to New York City to Renzo Gracie’s for BJJ.  There was too much toll on my body, even though I was getting great training everywhere I went.”

With the physical aspect now done, The Spaniard is becoming increasingly excited about fighting in the co-main event of a card to be featured on FX for free.  Of note, Brenneman is excited about fighting in front of a bigger audience of casual MMA fans, and wants to put on a good display of his skills.

“It’s great to have this opportunity to be on TV, to be accessible to everyone: aunts, uncles, other family members.  It’s an excellent opportunity to perform in front of people not as likely to purchase a (UFC) pay-per-view fight card.”

The Spaniard will now satisfy mandatory UFC media obligations, stay focused, and pay attention to food and water intake prior to weigh-ins on Thursday and the fight on Friday.  Also, Brenneman invites fans to follow his Twitter and video blogs, as it’s an important part of his routine.

“It’s been important for me since day once; even since I started training.  I try to keep the fans entertained, and show what I actually do on a daily basis.  There is so much that goes into it that they don’t see, and it helps me get new fans and interact with them.”

posted by FCF Staff @ 8:00 am
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