Rising featherweight contender Ricardo Lamas (11-2) has been tapped as a replacement for Erik Koch against Dustin Poirier (11-1) at UFC 143. Koch was forced off the card with an undisclosed injury earlier this week. UFC officials recently confirmed the switch.
Lamas, a 29-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt, is undefeated thus far inside the Octagon, having notched two straight wins over Cub Swanson and Matt Grice, the former of which earned "Submission of the Night" honors. Previously "The Bully" ran through a 4-2 record inside the WEC, including a decision victory over Bart Palaszewski.
Poirier, meanwhile, makes a quick turnaround after submitting Pablo Garza via D'Arce choke on the UFC on Fox undercard. The 22-year-old now claims an impressive 3-0 UFC record, including decision victories over Josh Grispi and Jason Young.
UFC 143 is slated for Super Bowl weekend, February 4th, at the Mandalay Bay Events Centers in Las Vegas, Nevada. An interim welterweight title bout between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit is the night's main event.
UFC 143 fight card:
Interim Welterweight Championship: Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit
Heavyweight: Roy Nelson vs. Fabricio Werdum
Bantamweight: Scott Jorgensen vs. Renan Barao
Welterweight: Josh Koscheck vs. Mike Pierce
Featherweight: Ricardo Lamas vs. Dustin Poirier
Middleweight: Rafael Natal vs. Michael Kuiper
Bantamweight: Alex Caceres vs. Edwin Figueroa
Welterweight: Jorge Lopez vs. Amir Sadollah