Hard-hitting Brazilian contender Amanda “Lioness” Nunes looks to rebound from a tough loss in September when she returns to the cage at UFC Fight Night 62: “Faber vs Assuncao” on March 21st in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Nunes battles grappling ace Shayna “The Queen of Spades” Baszler.

UFC officials announced the featured bantamweight bout late on Thursday night. Nunes began her UFC career with back-to-back first-round stoppage victories before falling to “Alpha” Cat Zingano at UFC 178. TUF 18’s Baszler dropped her official UFC debut to Bethe “Pitbull” Correia at UFC 177.

Nunes (9-4-0) has enjoyed a career resurgence since her Octagon debut in August 2013 following a disappointing loss to Sarah “The Monster” D’Alelio at Invicta FC 4. The aggressive striker made short work of Sheila “The German Tank” Gaff at UFC 163 and followed that up by stopping multi-time Muay Thai world champion Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie at UFC Fight Night 31. Talk then turned to a potential fight between Nunes and UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey, but Nunes dropped out of the title picture when she was stopped by Zingano in September.

Baszler (15-9-0) has long been regarded as one of the most talented and innovative grapplers in the women’s bantamweight division. The 11-year veteran took part in The Ultimate Fighter 18 in 2013 and advanced on to the quarterfinal round before suffering a shocking submission loss to eventual TUF 18 winner Julianna “The Venezuelan Vixen” Peña. In spite of the early loss, Baszler remained on the UFC roster and made her debut this past August. However, she was overwhelmed by Correia’s punching power and succumbed to second-round strikes. She now finds herself in a must-win situation.

UFC Fight Night 62: “Faber vs Assuncao” takes place on March 21st at Maracanãzinho Gymnasium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event is headlined by a bantamweight bout between “The California Kid” Urijah Faber and Raphael Assuncao.

(Photo Credit: UFC)