John Smallwood: Viva 'The Spaniard'

NICKNAMES are a time-honored tradition in combat sports.

And considering the pop culture influence of the movie "Gladiator," being nicknamed "The Spaniard" is pretty damn cool.

But Pennsylvania-bred mixed martial artist Charlie Brenneman quickly points out that his moniker is not connected to actor Russell Crowe's iconic character Maximus.

Brenneman is called "The Spaniard" because in his life before MMA he taught high school Spanish in his hometown of Hollidaysburg.

"[MMA] is as much business as it is fighting," said Brenneman, who is not fighting in tomorrow's UFC 133 at the Wells Fargo Center but is participating in the 2-day Octagon Nation Tour fanfest leading up to the event. "Anytime, you have something like a cool nickname or brand, it only helps.

"I'm just excited to be a part of this to meet our fans and help grow this sport."

Brenneman, 30, thought he had gotten it out of his system years ago.

He started wrestling when he was 8 years old and believed he had capped his career with a Top 12 finish competing for Lock Haven University at the 2004 NCAA Division I Championships.

"After college, I was relieved to be done with competition and wanted a normal kind of life," he said. "I got a great job doing something I loved.

"Still, I didn't feel whole."

In September 2005, Brenneman sent in an audition tape for the Spike TV reality show "Pros vs. Joes."

Not only did Brenneman get selected as a contestant for the show featuring competition between retired professional athletes and regular guys, he and his older brother, Ben, won the inaugural season.

Bolstered by victory over former pros, including Herschel Walker, Dominique Wilkins, Kevin Greene and Bill Goldberg, Brenneman regained his thirst for competition.

He decided he wanted a career in Mixed Martial Arts.

" 'Pros vs. Joes' is what sparked my commitment to competing again," said Brenneman, whose Twitter handle is @SpaniardMMA and website is Charlie-Brenneman.com. "The biggest thing I took from that was the mental aspect of knowing you are going to win."

Brenneman began training and joined Pennsylvania's amateur MMA circuit. After his first fight, he was hooked and ready to jump in full-time.

He left his teaching position in 2007, but the career change had one caveat.

"My mom straight up told me that if you are going to quit your job, you are getting your master's degree," said Brenneman, who obtained a master's in sports management from East Stroudsburg University. "I was actively training, but once grad school was over, I still had to substitute teach and coach wrestling to make ends meet."

Brenneman had his first professional MMA fight on July 28, 2007.

After compiling an impressive 10-1 record, he got his call up to the major leagues, making his UFC debut on March 31, 2010 - a unanimous decision win at UFC Fight Night 117.

He lost his second fight, but he is 2-0 in 2011.

"Originally, I just wanted to have an amateur fight and get it out of my system," said Brenneman, whose next fight is scheduled for Oct. 1 in Washington, D.C. "But I really enjoyed it.

"I didn't know what I was doing. I basically just wrestled."

Brenneman began training with Philadelphia mixed martial artist Teddy Alvarez and began to learn the craft.

"I started training with successful mixed martial artists," he said. "I did what they did in hopes that it would lead me here."

Teaching Spanish was an easier way of making a living.

"Generally in UFC, you fight three or four times a year," Brenneman said. "You win, you make more money. You lose, you make less.

"You lose twice, you're gone. It's really cutthroat, really tough. The stakes are high."

But that is no different from when Brenneman decided to leave his "normal life."

"If I had to stop right now, I'd be pretty darn happy," he said. "I've exceeded my initial goal.

"But when you do that, new goals come up. You're never satisfied, so I have new realm of goals that I want to meet.

"I'm looking to make a life off of mixed martial arts and my UFC career, whether that is fighting, coaching, teaching or who knows.

"I know that I'm doing everything I can to meet those goals so at the end of the day, the end of the night, the end of my career, I'll be able to rest at night."