Highly-touted prospect “Thug” Rose Namajunas looks to bounce back from her loss in the TUF 20 tournament final in December when she returns to action at UFC 187: “Jones vs Johnson” on May 23rd in Las Vegas, Nevada. Namajunas is set to face off against Nina “The Strina” Ansaroff on the card.

UFC officials announced the bout this week following a report from Combat Press. Namajunas submitted three opponents on TUF 20 before falling to UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion Carla “Cookie Monster” Esparza. Ansaroff’s five-fight winning streak was halted by a loss in her UFC debut.

Namajunas (2-2-0) first made headlines in Invicta FC, where she won two of her three fights and pulled off a sensational flying armbar submission of Kathina “Kill Switch” Catron in just 12 seconds. She signed on to compete on The Ultimate Fighter 20 this past year and advanced to the championship final by submitting Alex “Astro Girl” Chambers, Joanne “JoJo” Calderwood and Randa Markos in succession. Many felt that Namajunas would go on to become the UFC’s first female champion at 115 pounds, but the rising star was submitted by Esparza at the TUF 20 Finale.

Ansaroff (6-4-0) has spent the majority of her career competing as a flyweight and she racked up an impressive streak of finishes over a 13-month period that culminated with a crushing knockout win over Munah “The Perfect Storm” Holland at Invicta FC 7. With momentum on her side, Ansaroff moved down to 115 pounds and made her Octagon debut in November at UFC Fight Night 56, but she was narrowly outpointed by Brazilian veteran Juliana “Ju Thai” de Lima Carneiro. Ansaroff now aims to return to her winning ways by upsetting Namajunas in May.

UFC 187: “Jones vs Johnson” takes place on May 23rd at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event is headlined by a UFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between Jon “Bones” Jones and Anthony “Rumble” Johnson.

(Photo Credit: Esther Lin, AllElbows.com / InvictaFC.com)