A day after joining MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) and starting his campaign, Mike Pierce has his fight.

UFC officials today confirmed Pierce (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) will meet fellow welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (16-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) in February at UFC 143.

Koscheck became available when his original opponent, Carlos Condit, was promoted to the main event to fill in for injured champ Georges St-Pierre against Nick Diaz.

UFC 143 takes place Feb. 4 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The event's main card, including Koscheck vs. Pierce, airs live on pay-per-view.

During his radio spot, Pierce told MMAjunkie.com Radio he nearly fought Koscheck once before.

"I had an opportunity to fight him earlier on in my UFC career, and I won't use the term ducked, but he kind of skirted the issue to his teammate, Jon Fitch, instead," Pierce said. "I think I'm ready for this, and I would love to kick his ass."

Pierce recent earned a split-decision victory Paul Bradley at UFC on FOX 1. It marked his fourth win in five fights. In fact, he's 10-2 over his past 12 fights, and the former NCAA Division I wrestler's only losses have come to UFC fighters Fitch and Johny Hendricks.

Koscheck most recently fought at September's UFC 135 event, where he downed UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes via first-round knockout. The win was Koscheck's first fight since suffering a broken orbital bone in a UFC 124 title loss to St-Pierre. The American Kickboxing Academy fighter, a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion and four-time All-American, is now 4-1 over his past five fights.



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