A welterweight bout between Mike Pierce and UFC newcomer Julio Paulino is expected to take place at UFC on Versus 1 in March after Pierce's originally announced opponent Rob Kimmons was forced off of the event with what is believed to be a leg injury.

News of Kimmons' injury and of Paulino's insertion into the bout was first reported by MMAjunkie.com. The new match up will remain on the untelevised portion of the card.

Paulino (17-3) is currently riding a seven fight winning streak, with all the wins during the streak coming by stoppage including five by TKO or KO. He most recently defeated UFC veteran Rob Yundt on February 10. Paulino has not suffered a defeat since November 2007, where he lost to current UFC welterweight Rick Story.

Paulino is a longtime veteran of the Alaska Fighting Championship organization and holds the promotion's middleweight title. He has finished all but one of his 17 career wins and holds other notable career wins over the likes of Travis Doerge and Terry Martin.

Pierce (10-3) is coming off of a hard fought unanimous decision loss against Jon Fitch at UFC 107 on Dec. 12. He'd previously won six straight, which included victories over Mark Miller, Justin Haskins and Paul Bradley as well as an upset win over Brock Larson in his UFC debut in September at UFC Fight Night 19.

UFC on Versus 1 takes place on March 21 at the 1st Bank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, and is headlined by a much anticipated light-heavyweight bout between Jon Jones and Brandon Vera. In addition, rising contender Junior dos Santos will take on former UFC heavyweight title contender Gabriel Gonzaga in the night's co-main event.