UFC on Fox Primer: Mike Pierce vs. Paul Bradley

Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Two solid wrestlers will face off in the second bout of the night, with one coming off a very tough loss and the other dropping back down to his natural weight class. It just happens to be a rematch as well. It will either be a solid wrestling match or a bunch of less-than-pretty striking when Mike Pierce (12-4, 4-2 UFC) meets Paul Bradley (18-3, 0-1 UFC) in a welterweight bout at UFC on Fox 1.

Neither fighter is currently ranked on the USA Today/BE Consensus Rankings. Pierce was teetering on the edge of the list before the Hendricks fight, making it to number 25 at least once. The loss in that fight was a big setback though, and he'll need a couple of big wins to get back there. This welterweight UFC on Fox fight will be on the preliminary card, which will be streamed live on Facebook. The Facebook stream begins at approximately 4:45 p.m. ET/1:45 p.m. PT.

How do these two stack up?

Pierce: 30 years old | 5'8" | 71" reach
Bradley: 28 years old | 5'9" | 71" reach

What have these two done recently?

Pierce: L - Johny Hendricks (SD) | W - Kenny Robertson (TKO) | W - Amilcar Alves (SUB)
Bradley: L - Rafael Natal (UD) | W - Eddie Larrea (SUB) | W - Kenneth Allen (SUB)

How did these two get here?

Mike Pierce debuted in the UFC with a decision win over Brock Larson, then was given a huge test in Jon Fitch at UFC 107. He dropped a decision, but was probably the only person other than Georges St. Pierre to hurt Fitch in the UFC by stunning him with punches in the third round. It was a performance that many still remember vividly. He put together three straight wins after that, but suffered a big setback when he dropped a very close split-decision loss to Johny Hendricks at UFC 133. He'll look to start the climb back into contention with a win over Bradley, a guy he already holds a decision win over when they first met back in 2009.

Paul Bradley is a two-time Division 1 All-American wrestler from the vaunted University of Iowa who entered MMA after his wrestling days were over. He racked up 11 straight victories to start his career before running into Mr. Pierce. Pierce beat him by unanimous decision, so Bradley will be looking to avenge his first loss on Saturday night. Bradley hs also competed in Strikeforce and made his UFC debut at middleweight against Rafael Natal. He dropped a decision, and will return to 170 for this bout with Pierce.

Why should you care?

Pierce is still a very, very good welterweight and while he's not the most exciting guy in the world, his fights are usually interesting to watch from a technical standpoint. Plus, it's wrestler vs. wrestler, and that means it'll stay on the feet for 15 minutes, right? Right?

More UFC on Fox preview coverage from Bloody Elbow after the jump.

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