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Josh Koscheck has said he is ready to "shock a lot of people" by beating Thiago Alves at UFC 90 at just two weeks' notice.

Koscheck stepped up after Alves's original opponent Diego Sanchez pulled out of his October 25 match-up after tearing cartilage in his ribs.

Koscheck was training for a December 10 bout against Yoshiyuki Yoshida but will now face white-hot Alves in a fight that could determine the next challenger to the welterweight title.

"I wanted to take this fight not for me or for my team, but for the fans out there," Koscheck said. "It needed someone to step up and replace, and I needed the fans to know that I am willing to fight anyone at any time, any place - and put on a show for them.

"It is a big opportunity for me. I think this will determine who is the number one contender in the weight class. It is a big step up, he is a tough opponent. But I look at it the other way too; I am a tough opponent for anyone in this weight class."

Koscheck, a 2001 NCAA Division I wrestling champion, has built a reputation as one of the best wrestlers in the UFC, but the Californian says he is willing to stand up and trade with Alves after developing his striking with his team at the American Kickboxing Academy.

He added that his gameplan was developed after talking to AKA team-mate Jon Fitch, the last man to defeat Alves.

"I am not afraid to stand up with anybody. We have a good gameplan already thought out for this fight and it is a gameplan I am going to stick to.

"It is going to be a fun gameplan, I think. It is going to shock a lot of people when I come out and take this fight on two weeks' notice and get the victory.

"An advantage that my trainers and myself have had is having Fitch fight him. We are going to come into this fight ready."

The fight is a gamble for both fighters, although the rewards will likely be huge for the winner.

Alves - coming off his reputation-building victory over welterweight legend Matt Huges in June - had little option but to accept Koscheck as stand-in as turning down the fight would surely have affected his title claims.

For Koscheck, the fight is an upgrade from his scheduled match against Yoshida in December and could be a short-cut to a rematch against current welterweight title-holder Georges St Pierre, who comprehensively beat him back in August 2007.

Whichever fighter emerges with his hand held up on Saturday will surely cement their status as number one challenger to the welterweight belt - which GSP will defend against BJ Penn at the UFC's annual Super Bowl show on January 31, 2009.

Alex Sharratt / Eurosport