Teodor Nikolov steps in on short notice to meet Adam Borics in Bellator 196 co-main event

The shuffling has continued for Adam Borics at next week’s Bellator 196, but at least now he knows he’s staying on the card.

Borics started in the card’s main event against James Gallagher. But when Gallagher (7-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) dropped out with an injury, Borics was demoted to the co-main event against Manuel Gaxhja (6-0 MMA, 0-0 MMA). Then Gaxhja fell off the show.

But now Borics (10-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) can breathe a sigh of relief. He has yet another new opponent, about a week before the event: Teodor Nikolov (11-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). Promotion officials recently announced the new featherweight matchup.

Bellator 196 will take place April 6 at BOK Hall in Budapest, Hungary. It will air on Paramount via same-day tape delay.

Borics, a 24-year-old Hungarian fighter, turned pro in 2014 and has six stoppages (five submissions) in 10 career wins. At Bellator 177, which marked his promotional debut, he choked out Anthony Taylor in the third round.

Nikolov, from Russia, will make his Bellator debut on the strength of a six-fight winning streak, all of which have been stoppages with five in the first round. His resume of 11 wins features nothing but finishes with eight submissions and three knockouts.

The Bellator 196 card now includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount same-day tape delay, 9 p.m. ET)

• Benson Henderson vs. Roger Huerta
• Adam Borics vs. Teodor Nikolov
• Denise Kielholtz vs. Lena Ovchynnikova
• Giorgio Belsanti vs. Brian Moore
• Ion Pascu vs. Ed Ruth

PRELIMINARY CARD (Untelevised, 3:30 p.m. ET)

• Norbert Novenyi Jr. vs. Mehmet Yueksel

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