Misha Cirkunov meets light heavyweight newcomer Alex Nicholson at UFC 196 in Las Vegas

Misha Cirkunov

The UFC’s Super Bowl weekend card in Las Vegas continues to grow with the addition of a light heavyweight bout featuring a promotional newcomer.

Misha Cirkunov (10-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will welcome Alex Nicholson (6-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to the promotion at UFC 196. Promotion officials announced the new booking today.

UFC 196 takes place Feb. 6 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. The bout order hasn’t been finalized.

Cirkunov has five straight wins, including his UFC debut this past August – a first-round knockout of Daniel Jolly at UFC Fight Night 74 in Saskatoon, Canada. The 28-year-old Latvia native, who trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, has four knockouts and four submissions on his resume, and his five consecutive victories all are first-round stoppages.

Nicholson, from Florida, has all six of his career wins by stoppage with five knockouts and a submission. The 25-year-old, who also has fought at heavyweight, has won five straight since the lone loss of his pro career, with four of those victories coming in the first round. He went 3-0 in 2015 with three knockouts in his home state.

With the addition, the latest UFC 196 lineup now includes:

• Champ Fabricio Werdum vs. Cain Velasquez – for heavyweight championship
• Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson
• Roy Nelson vs. Jared Rosholt
• Josh Burkman vs. K.J. Noons
• Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer
• Rafael Cavalcante vs. Ovince Saint Preux
• Noad Lahat vs. Diego Rivas
• Artem Lobov vs. Alex White
• Misha Cirkunov vs. Alex Nicholson

For more on UFC 196, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.