Light Heavyweights Misha Cirkunov, Alex Nicholson Set for UFC 196 on Feb. 6

Misha Cirkunov will welcome Alex Nicholson to the Octagon at UFC 196.

Promotion officials announced the light heavyweight pairing on Tuesday. UFC 196 takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and is headlined by a heavyweight title rematch between Fabricio Werdum and Cain Velasquez.

Cirkunov, 28, made his promotional debut in August, when he scored a first-round knockout of Daniel Jolly at UFC Fight Night “Holloway vs. Oliveira.” The Xtreme Couture representative owns a 10-2 career mark and enters the bout on a five-fight winning streak, with each of those triumphs ending inside of a round.

The 25-year-old Nicholson is also riding a five-fight winning streak. The Florida native went 3-0 in 2015, including a first-round stoppage of Chaz Morgan in his most recent outing on Aug. 1. Nicholson has finished all six of his career victories, five in the first round.