VIDEO | Road to the Octagon for UFC Denver: Shevchenko vs. Pena

https://youtu.be/aBFsGxDobxs

With Bellator 170 in the rear-view mirror, the MMA spotlight now shifts to UFC Denver, a stacked card that will air on Fox this Saturday, January 28.

This card will be headlined by a compelling women’s bantamweight showdown. In one corner, we’ll have dangerous Kyrgyzstani striker Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenko. In the other, we’ll have grappling specialist Julianna Pena, who is the first woman to ever win The Ultimate Fighter. 

UFC Denver’s co-main event, meanwhile, will see Colorado’s own Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone attempt to extend his welterweight win-streak to five. His opportunity to do so will come against the ever-dangerous Jorge Masvidal.

The next biggest fight on the UFC Denver main card, finally, will occur at heavyweight, where former champion Andrei Arlovski will look to correct a three-fight losing streak against hulking French prospect Francis Ngannou.

In advance of this anticipated Fox card, the UFC has released the latest instalment of its popular series Road to the Octagon. In this edition of the series, we’re given a window into the lives and training camps of Shevchenko, Pena, Cowboy, Masvidal, Arlovski and Ngannou.

Watch it in full at the top of this article!

Shevchenko will step onto the canvas in Denver having defeated former champion Holly Holm in her last bout. In her most recent bout before that, she gave up a close decision to current champ Amanda Nunes. Pena, meanwhile, will enter the Octagon on a four-fight win-streak, having defeated Jessica Rakoczy, Milana Dudieva, Jessica Eye and Cat Zingano since joining the UFC.

Cowboy will enter his co-main event battle with Masvidal on a four-fight streak, having stopped Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote, Rick Story and Matt Brown since moving up to welterweight. Masvidal, in contrast, will enter the fight on a two-fight streak, having decisioned Ross Pearson and TKO’d Jake Ellenberger in his last two fights.

Arlovski, finally, has been defeated in his last three bouts, having been stopped by Stipe Miocic, Alistair Overeem and Josh Barnett, while Ngannou has gone 4-0 since joining the UFC, finishing Luis Henrique, Curtis Blaydes, Bojan Mihajlovic and Anthony Hamilton.

Which fight on the UFC Denver lineup are you most excited for? Sound off, PENN Nation!

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 1/23/2017.