UFC 117 Preview: The Prelims

Johny Hendricks vs. Charlie Brenneman

Anyone desperate for the collegiate wrestling season to kick into high gear can find some temporary sustenance in the welterweight tilt between Hendricks and Brenneman. Thankfully for “The Spaniard” this isn’t a pure folkstyle affair, as Hendricks is one of the very best Division 1 wrestlers to ever transition to MMA.

Assuming a difference in MMA wrestling ability based on collegiate, or even international, accolades is a logic pit, but Brenneman will be hard-pressed trying to get Hendricks on the floor. Reason being that Hendricks’ astute takedown defense and marked striking advantage present a two-pronged problem for the AMA Fight Club product’s limited offense. In Brenneman’s UFC debut against Jason High, he didn’t even have the striking to set up his shots, never mind win exchanges.

This is a huge disadvantage against the southpaw Hendricks, who has a nasty left uppercut and excels at getting inside on his opponents. Considering the orthodox Brenneman lacks a solid jab and often makes the mistake of pulling it back low, he’ll be open for Hendricks’ favored right hook, left uppercut combination. Brenneman just hasn’t improved his striking since his days in Ring of Combat and, if his fight with John Howard was any indication, he doesn’t take to getting hit very well.

This hasn’t been much of a problem for Brenneman thus far because he has never fought anyone who can resist his takedowns. That trends ends with Hendricks. When watching Brenneman work for takedowns, it becomes obvious that he lacks the athleticism to quickly transition from one technique to the next. While he does have an excellent single leg, Hendricks has shown a quick sprawl and is far more proven in the clinch.

I expect the clinch game is what this fight will come down to. If so, it’s Hendricks’ fight to lose. Not even so much because of any technical wrestling advantage, but because he has quietly become one of the best dirty boxers in the game today. One would be hard-pressed to find a fighter who uses the single collar tie better than Hendricks. His usage of uncommon wrestling techniques in MMA is a sight to see, a good example being how he uses the half nelson to set up ground-and-pound from back control.

In terms of offense, Brenneman simply pales in comparison and is very much an old-school top-control fighter. There aren’t many welterweights around who can out-wrestle Hendricks for three rounds, and Brenneman is far from being one of them. This leaves the likely scenario of Brenneman overpursuing takedowns and exposing himself to Hendricks’ nasty front headlock series.

Given the number of times Brenneman had to fight off deep guillotine chokes from High, he’ll probably get a taste of Hendricks’ nasty vice-grip sooner or later. That is just one way Hendricks can end this fight while Brenneman’s only hope is to win the wrestling battle for at least two rounds -- not hope I can believe in.