Las Vegas, Nevada – The fighters have weighed in for tomorrow’s UFC 150 card at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado, but the x-factor in each of the 10 fights is how will the fighters react to fighting at the Mile High City’s infamous altitude. Denver stands at 5280 feet (or 1609.344 meters) above sea level and the oxygen content is 17% less than UFC lightweight title challenger Frankie Edgar’s hometown of Tom’s River, NJ.
And unbeaten UFC heavyweight Travis Browne – who fought in Denver at last year’s UFC 135 card – believes the UFC 150 athletes who chose not to get into town early could suffer in the Octagon.
Browne said: “The biggest thing that you have to get over when you fight there is that your body doesn’t respond the same at the high altitude. You can’t catch your breath and your body fails a lot quicker. I think Benson and Donald will have advantages in their fights because they’ve been training at high altitudes for their entire camps. It’s not something that you can get used to in a short amount of time. You really have to spend a lot of time adjusting.”
In the main event UFC lightweight champion Benson “Smooth” Henderson and former UFC lightweight titleholder Frankie “The Answer” Edgar rematch to decide who is the best lightweight on Earth.
“I know what this air can do to your lungs,” said champion Henderson. “I’m from Colorado Springs, and you have to take this seriously. I’ve been here for three weeks already. You can feel it when you run, or spar. You body gives out earlier, you can’t recover as fast. I grew up here, and you can get used to it, but that doesn’t happen in a week or two weeks. That’s why I’ve been here for a while now.”
Likewise, in the co-main event, local fighter Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone arrived in Colorado as soon as the fight with Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard was signed, in order to get his lungs used to the rarified air of the Mile High City.
He explained: “I grew up in Colorado Springs and my family and friends are all from Denver and I got here a month ago. It takes that long to be able to push yourself at this altitude.”
