The lightweight competitor indicated that he has not yet signed a bout agreement but that he has made a verbal agreement to appear on the show. Bielkheden also indicated that he knows the identity of his opponent but that he wasn’t going to divulge a name until the matchup has been finalized.

Bielkheden, 13-6, made his UFC debut last March at UFC 82 against Diego Sanchez in a welterweight bout. Showing some signs of Octagon jitters, he submitted to punches thrown by Sanchez at 4:43 of round 1. He was able to redeem himself and even his UFC record to 1-1 following a unanimous decision victory over Jess Liaudin at UFC 89 this past October.

A veteran of Japanese-based promotions such as Shooto and PRIDE, Bielkheden has won three out of his last four fights and holds a notable victory over former UFC veteran Charles McCarthy in a bout that took place under the Absolute Fighting Championships banner in 2004.

UFC 96 will take place in Columbus, Ohio and emanate from the Nationwide Arena. Other bouts currently expected for the event include Jim Miller vs. Gray Maynard, Shane Carwin vs. Gabriel Gonzaga, and Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day, Dustin Hazelett vs. Ben Saunders, and Shane Nelson vs. Aaron Riley.

• *Kala Kohole Hose def Phil Baroni in Round 5 by TKO (Strikes)

• Jeremy Williams def. Auggie Padekan in Round 1 by KO

• Sadhu Bott def. Bronson Pieper in Round 1 by Submission (Armbar)

• Russell Doane def. Tyson Nam in Round 1 by TKO (Punches)

• Koa Ramos def. Wayne Perrin in Round 1 by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

• Ross Ebanez def. Brennan Kamaka in Round 1 by KO

• P.J. Dean def. Eddie Rincon by Unanimous Decision

• Matt Comeau def. Elias Delos Reyes in Round 2 by TKO (Strikes)

• Alan Lima def. David Padilla by Unanimous Decision

• Dwayne Haney def. Zach Rapal in Round 1 by Submission (Guillotine Choke)

• Ricky Wallace def. Brandon Pieper in Round 1 by Submission (Guillotine Choke)

• Nui Wheeler def. Jay Bolos in Round 1 by Submission (Armbar)

• Kona Ke def. Micah Ige in Round 1 by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)

* Hose wins vacant ICON Sport middleweight title.