Amanda Nunes fills in for Baszler, meets Sarah Kaufman at TUF Nations Finale

Less than two weeks before the card, Sarah Kaufman has her new opponent for the TUF Nations Finale.

Amanda Nunes (9-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has answered the call and will fill in for Shayna Baszler (15-8 MMA, 0-0 UFC) against Kaufman (16-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC). UFC officials announced the change Thursday afternoon.

The TUF Nations Finale takes place April 16 at Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The event serves as the live finale for “The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia” reality competition series. The main card airs on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

Nunes was scheduled to compete just three days later at UFC on FOX 11 in Orlando, Fla., against Alexis Dufresne. UFC officials did not immediately announce whether or not a new opponent will be sought for Dufresne on that card. But a source with knowledge of the card, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk publicly about the booking, told MMAjunkie that Dufresne will be booked for a later event.

Nunes is perfect in the UFC with back-to-back TKO victories after moving over from Invicta FC, where she went 1-1. In her promotional debut this past August in her native Brazil, she stopped Sheila Gaff in the first round at UFC 163. She followed that up in November with a first-round stoppage of Germaine de Randamie at the UFC’s third “Fight for the Troops” event. She has all nine of her wins by stoppage with eight knockouts and a submission.

Kaufman will fight for the first time since a narrow decision loss to Jessica Eye at UFC 166 (which was later overturned when Eye flunked a drug test). It marked the promotional debut for the 28-year-old Canadian, who went 6-2 with Strikeforce. The losses came in title fights against Marloes Coenen and Ronda Rousey, both via submission. Prior to signing with the UFC, Kaufman picked up a split-decision victory over Leslie Smith at Invicta FC 5.

Baszler, an 11-year pro, was a cast member on “The Ultimate Fighter 18,” where she suffered an upset submission loss to eventual show winner Julianna Pena in the quarterfinals. Although the 33-year-old wasn’t medically fit to compete at the show’s live finale, UFC officials assured the EliteXC and Strikeforce vet that she’d get an official UFC fight. She had hoped to fight professionally for the first time since a January 2013 loss to Alexis Davis at Invicta FC 4. Prior to the defeat, Baszler, a roommate of UFC women’s bantamweight champion Rousey, was on a 5-1 run with four submissions.

With the change, the TUF Nations Finale lineup now includes:

• Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy
• Patrick Cote vs. Kyle Noke
• opponent TBA vs. opponent TBA – “TUF Nations” middleweight-tournament final
• opponent TBA vs. opponent TBA – “TUF Nations” welterweight-tournament final
• Akira Corassani vs. Dustin Poirier
• K.J. Noons vs. Sam Stout
• Sarah Kaufman vs. Amanda Nunes
• Mark Bocek vs. Evan Dunham
• Ryan Jimmo vs. Sean O’Connell
• Dustin Kimura vs. George Roop
• Mitch Gagnon vs. Tim Gorman

For more on the TUF Nations Finale, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Amanda Nunes)