Twenty-five years after the Octagon first appeared inside McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, the UFC cage is back in “The Mile High City” to mark the occasion with a strong collection of fights featuring current contenders and a host of potential future stars.
On that first night — November 12, 1993 — 10 different fighters crossed the threshold into the eight-sided cage in hopes of proving themselves to be the “Ultimate Fighting Champion.” Now, a quarter century later, 13 sets of high-level athletes will make the walk this weekend, chasing the same dream.
While the top of the card features a host of familiar names, established contenders and former title challengers like Chan Sung Jung, Donald Cerrone, Joseph Benavidez, Ray Borg and Raquel Pennington, the real highlight of this event — for me — is the collection of up-and-coming talents poised to compete throughout the evening.