Julian Erosa vs. Teruto Ishihara featherweight bout added to UFC 196 in Las Vegas

Next month’s mega-UFC pay-per-view in Las Vegas continues to build with a new fight added to the preliminary card.

Julian Erosa (15-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC) will take on Teruto Ishihara (7-2-2 MMA, 0-0-1 UFC) in a featherweight bout at UFC 196. UFC officials recently announced the new matchup.

UFC 196 (formerly UFC 197) takes place March 5 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.

Erosa, a cast member on Season 22 of “The Ultimate Fighter” under coach Urijah Faber, won his fight to get into the “TUF” house, then won his quarterfinal matchup with a split decision over Abner Lloveras. But he lost to Artem Lobov in the semifinal round. Still, he was given a fight at the TUF 22 Finale in Las Vegas in December and took a split decision from Marcin Wrzosek in his official UFC debut. That victory extended the Washington-based fighter’s winning streak to five.

Ishihara was part of the UFC’s “Road to UFC: Japan” series in that country and reached the final of the tournament against Mizuto Hirota. That fight, which took place at UFC Fight Night 75 in September, ended in a rare split draw. The 24-year-old Ishihara now will fight for the first time since that bout and will fight outside Japan for the first time when he comes to Las Vegas. Overall, he has six knockout wins in his seven career victories.

With the addition, the latest UFC 196 card includes:

• Champ Rafael dos Anjos vs. Conor McGregor – for lightweight title
• Champ Holly Holm vs. Miesha Tate – for women’s bantamweight title
• Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor
• Erick Silva vs. Nordine Taleb
• Darren Elkins vs. Chas Skelly
• Jim Miller vs. Diego Sanchez
• Marcelo Guimaraes vs. Vitor Miranda
• Amanda Nunes vs. Valentina Shevchenko
• Ilir Latifi vs. Gian Villante
• Jason Saggo vs. Justin Salas
• Julian Erosa vs. Teruto Ishihara

For more on UFC 196, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.