Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger hoping for 'freakin' good fight' with fellow stand-and-bang artist Nina Ansaroff

PHOENIX – Everywhere Jocelyn Jones-Lybarger went, she found success. Then she got to the UFC and it was a whole different ballgame.

The strawweight was a Tuff-N-Uff amateur champ before she turned pro. Then she won fights for Invicta, King of the Cage and RFA, where she won that promotion’s 115-pound title. That got her a coveted call from the UFC.

But in the big show, it hasn’t been easy. Jones-Lybarger lost her promotional debut to Tecia Torres by decision at UFC 194, then dropped a decision to Randa Markos in Markos’ home country of Canada this past June.

But now it’s Jones-Lybarger’s turn to fight on her home turf. On Sunday, Jones-Lybarger (6-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) meets Nina Ansaroff (6-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) on the UFC Fight Night 103 preliminary card in Phoenix, where she lives and trains at The MMA Lab.

“Two years ago, the UFC was here (for UFC on FOX 13) and I was here live watching Bryan Barberena and my teammates fighting, and I told myself I’d be here one day,” Jones-Lybarger told MMAjunkie on Friday. “It’s surreal that two years later, (I’m here). It’s a fight I asked for, they gave it to me, and I’m so excited to get my first win (in the UFC) Sunday night.”

UFC Fight Night 103 takes place at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix. The main card airs on FS1 following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass. Jones-Lybarger and Ansaroff are in the featured prelim slot on Fight Pass.

Jones-Lybarger said she expects to see her fortunes change for the better on Sunday. In Ansaroff, the girlfriend of UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, she meets an opponent also looking to snap a two-fight skid to get her first UFC victory. But with two UFC fights on her resume, she believes she can turn the corner – and do it in front of her home fans.

“It’s a whole different experience going from the smaller shows to the big lights, and I feel like I have all of that under my belt now,” Jones-Lybarger said. “I feel like I have to go out there and just be me and fight my fight and do what I’ve been doing in practice. The outcome’s going to show for itself come Sunday night.

“I think I’m going to feed off (being in Phoenix). The last six weeks of fight camp, I’ve been dialed in and focused and I’ve been keeping all the outside stuff really outside. I’ve been focused on my wife and my kids at home and just training my ass off, to be honest. My kids are here, my wife’s here – it’s going to be a good night.”

And maybe, just maybe, that type of good night can turn into the type that comes with a $50,000 bonus check at the end of it. Jones-Lybarger said she’s glad Ansaroff is the kind of fighter who likes to get in there and mix it up.

But regardless of “Fight of the Night” potential, she believes she’ll get her hand raised so she can cross that first UFC win off her list and move on to the next one.

“I’m excited – she likes to stand and bang, and that’s what I like to do,” Jones-Lybarger said. “So I hope that being the only female fight on the card, I hope we put on a freakin’ good fight and I’m going to walk away with the win.”

For more from Jones-Lybarger ahead of her fight against Ansaroff, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC Fight Night 103, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.