A good week just got better for Sarah Kaufman.

Only a couple days after she saw her split decision loss to Jessica Eye at UFC 166 overturned, the Victoria, B.C. fighter finally booked her next fight.

After four months on the outside of the octagon looking in, Kaufman was starting to feel a bit desperate and had let it be known publicly that she was willing to fight whoever the UFC threw her way.

Enter Shayna Baszler, a women’s MMA trailblazer with a chip on her shoulder. The two are set to square off in Quebec City for the live finale of The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia on April 16.

“I think she has a lot to prove coming into this and I think she’s going to come in and want to put on a fight,” the former Strikeforce women’s bantamweight champion said. “The UFC called my manager and my manager called me and it wasn’t really a question of do we want the fight or do we not want the fight.

“I’m not really choosy, I’m here to fight for the UFC and I’m not one to sit back. If they say ‘This is who we’re giving you’ you say ‘Absolutely, thanks boss, we’ll put on a great fight’."

Making Kaufman’s long hiatus from the octagon even harder to bear was the way her last fight ended – and the fallout in the months that followed.

Fighting at UFC 166 against Jessica Eye in October, the judges originally handed Kaufman a controversial split-decision loss. Kaufman had dominated the third round of a back-and-forth fight and was left fuming when one of the judges awarded that lopsided round to her opponent.

This week, a full three and a half months after the fight, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation changed the result to a no decision because Eye tested positive for a banned substance.

The decision means Kaufman’s still undefeated in the UFC, and needless to say that’s got her smiling.

“I’m looking to go on a run and stay undefeated in the UFC as long as possible,” Kaufman said. “I know I won that fight and I know I’m better than Jessica on any given day.”

The last time UFC fans saw Baszler, it was in a shock first-round loss to Julianna Pena at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rousey vs. Team Tate. Kaufman knows that loss will have her opponent extra motivated to prove she belongs in the UFC, but believes their previous fight, a 2009 unanimous decision won by the Canadian, showed she’s more than capable of holding her own against Baszler.

That win marked the third time Kaufman had fought in 56 days.

“It was sort of me on the burning-out end of three back-to-back camps, and just cutting weight all the time,” said Kaufman, who currently sits at No. 5 in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight rankings. “This time around I’m going to be sharper and strong and I’m better.

“I’ve just got to go in, put on pressure, win the fight, make it exciting, get a bonus.”

Daniel.austin@sunmedia.ca

@SUNDannyAustin