Following his UFC 152 loss to Kyle Noke, Charlie Brenneman was released from the promotion. The loss was Brenneman’s third defeat in four fights with all three of those losses coming via first round stoppage. Being released from the largest mixed martial arts organization in the world would have many bemoaning their fate, but not the man that goes by the nickname of “The Spaniard.”
In June 2011 Brenneman surprised many when he stepped in to take a main-event bout against Rick Story with one day notice, winning the fight and ending Story’s six fight UFC winning streak. The win was a memorable upset as Story entered the cage that night as -500 favorite.
From there Brenneman dropped a fight to Anthony Johnson, defeated Daniel Roberts and then fell to Erick Silva and Kyle Noke. One could argue that the stoppages to Johnson and Noke were early, something that Brenneman did after each loss; however, a loss is a loss and Brenneman was afforded no leeway when the time came for the UFC to pare down the welterweight roster by one.
Instead of pitching a fit and taking a woe-is-me attitude, Brenneman was brutally honest in his self-assessment after his release, “My frikkin’ last fight really sealed the deal and that’s nobodies fault but my own,” he told TheScore.com. “And I’m not saying that to kiss up to the company, I’m being sincere. It’s a business and they want the best guys in the world and I wasn’t able to keep it together for that fight and I lost to a guy who I should have beat 10 out of 10 times so I can’t be angry at the boss for that decision.”
What he can do is get back at it and earn his way back into the UFC with solid performances outside the organization. There are some opportunities for Brenneman in new promotions such as Titan and the World Series of Fighting, and any smaller promotion would be more than happy to have a former UFC fighter join their ranks. In an interview with BloodyElbow, Brenneman briefly discussed these options, but said his ultimate goal is to rejoin the ranks of the UFC elite.
In a world of entitled athletes who feel that they are owed something, who tend to point fingers of blame, Brenneman’s candor is refreshing. Only days after his release from the UFC he has accepted his fate, however temporary it may be, and decided that he is going to concentrate his efforts on climbing the ladder back to the pinnacle of the MMA world.
Time will tell if Brenneman can get back to the UFC, but he is starting his journey with the correct attitude.
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