Koch Out of UFC 143 Showdown with Poirier Due to Injury

Koch was scheduled to lock horns with fellow featherweight prospect Dustin Poirier at the Feb. 4 event, which will be headlined by an interim welterweight title bout between Nick Diaz and Carlos Condit. The search for Koch’s replacement is currently underway.

Representing the highly regarded Roufusport camp, Koch has won four straight fights. Following a year-long stint in World Extreme Cagefighting, the 23-year-old has earned victories in both of his Octagon appearances, knocking out Rafael Assuncao in March before outpointing Jonathan Brookins at UFC Fight Night 25 in September.

Like his teammate Anthony Pettis, Koch possesses a varied striking attack but is also adept at the art of submission, tapping seven of his 13 career victims thus far. The Iowa native has only been beaten once as a professional, falling to current No. 1 contender Chad Mendes by unanimous decision in March 2010.

Taking place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and airing live on pay-per-view, UFC 143 will showcase a pivotal welterweight collision between Mike Pierce and Josh Koscheck, as well as a bantamweight showdown pitting Scott Jorgensen against Renan Barao.