Riddle-Pierson Completes UFC 124 Card

UFC newcomer Sean Pierson will take on “Ultimate Fighter” alum Matt Riddle in a preliminary matchup at UFC 124 Dec. 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. Made official by the promotion, the welterweight bout finalizes the show’s 11-fight card.

Riddle was originally set to meet Anthony “TJ” Waldburger, but Pierson was tapped as a replacement in late October when Waldburger was forced from the match due an undisclosed injury.

An 11-year veteran of the MMA scene with a base in Greco-Roman wrestling, Pierson will enter the Riddle bout on a five-fight win streak, with each of those wins ending by way of first-round stoppage. Pierson’s last loss came in July 2007 to another UFC 124 competitor, Jesse Bongfeldt.

After an undisclosed injury of his own forced him out of Bellator’s second season welterweight tournament, Pierson competed for the first time in eight months on Oct. 23, quickly dispatching of Ricky Goodall at W-1’s “New Ground.” Despite hailing from Toronto, Pierson should feel at home competing in Montreal, as 10 of his 14 professional bouts have taken place within Quebec province.

A former “TUF 7” contestant, Riddle has spent the entirety of his professional career competing within the UFC. The 24-year-old Pennsylvania native competed on the reality show as a middleweight, and won his June 2008 debut against Dante Rivera at 185 pounds. Since dropping to welterweight, Riddle has gone 4-1, his only loss coming at the hands of Nick Osipczak in June 2009. Most recently, Riddle scored a second-round TKO over fellow “TUF” vet DaMarques Johnson in August.

Set to headline UFC 124 is a welterweight title rematch between the current coaches of “The Ultimate Fighter,” champion Georges St. Pierre and challenger Josh Koscheck. Elsewhere, unbeaten heavyweight Sean McCorkle will face Dutch “Skyscraper” Stefan Struve, while streaking lightweight Jim Miller meets Brazilian phenom Charles Oliveira.

UFC 124 “St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2”
Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010
Bell Centre
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

UFC Welterweight Championship Bout
Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck

Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle
Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira
Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig
Thiago Alves vs. John Howard
Mark Bocek vs. Dustin Hazelett
Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Rafael Natal
Matt Riddle vs. Sean Pierson
Joe Doerksen vs. Dan Miller
T.J. Grant vs. Ricardo Almeida
Pat Audinwood vs. John Makdessi