Leslie Smith meets Sarah Kaufman in Invicta rematch at TUF Nations Finale

Maybe this one will stick around for Sarah Kaufman – and it’s a rematch.

The Canadian on Tuesday night got her third opponent for next week’s TUF Nations Finale in the form of Leslie Smith (6-4-1 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who will meet Kaufman (16-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) next week in Quebec. Kaufman and Smith, who will be making her UFC debut first met in a “Fight of the Night” performance won by Kaufman at Invicta FC 5 a year ago.

UFC officials announced the new matchup on Tuesday night after Amanda Nunes (9-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) fell off the fight with Kaufman with a broken hand. Nunes had been a late replacement for Shayna Baszler, who also fell off with an injury.

The TUF Nations Finale takes place April 16 at Colisee Pepsi in Quebec City and serves as the finale for “The Ultimate Fighter: Nations.” The main card will air on FOX Sports 1 following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Kaufman fights for the first time since a narrow decision loss to Jessica Eye at UFC 166 (which was recently 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 her win over Smith, which came by split decision.

Smith makes her UFC debut looking to rebound from a flyweight title fight loss to Barb Honchak at Invicta FC 7. That bout, in December, was a “Fight of the Night” winner. Overall for Invicta, the Cesar Gracie-trained Californian went 3-2-1 with victories over Jennifer Maia, Raquel Pennington and Kaitlin Young, a split draw with Young, and the losses to Kaufman and Honchak.

With the addition, the latest TUF Nations Finale card 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. Leslie Smith
• Mark Bocek vs. TBA
• Ryan Jimmo vs. Sean O’Connell
• Dustin Kimura vs. George Roop
• Mitch Gagnon vs. Tim Gorman

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

(Pictured: Leslie Smith)