A welterweight bout between TUF 7 cast member Matt Riddle and UFC sophomore Ricardo Funch is in the works for the un-aired preliminary portion of the UFC 111 event in March. News of the bout was first reported by MMAWeekly.com.

UFC 111 is set for March 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., and the event's main card will televised live on pay-per-view. The event will be headlined by a UFC welterweight title bout between champion Georges St. Pierre and challenger Dan Hardy.

Riddle (3-1) suffered the first loss of his young career in his last bout, as he was defeated by TUF 9 alum Nick Osipczak at UFC 105 in November. Prior to the loss, he won the first three bouts of his career, with all three wins coming in the UFC by unanimous decision against Dan Cramer at UFC 101, Steve Bruno at UFC Fight Night 17 and Dante Rivera in his official MMA debut at TUF 7 finale.

Funch (7-1) was also dealt his first career loss in his last bout, suffering a unanimous decision loss against Johny Hendricks at UFC 107 last month in what was his UFC debut. He previously won the first seven bouts of his career to earn a multi-fight contract with the UFC .

The Team Link fighter is known to be well-versed in jiu-jitsu, however, he has finished four of his seven career wins by TKO or KO. Funch owns a notable win in his three-year career against well known veteran Anthony Waldburger at a Xtreme Fighting Championships event in June 2008.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 111 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!