Out of Obscurity: Looking Ahead (June 24 – June 26) The MMA Corner Staff June 23, 2011 Events Every Thursday, The MMA Corner takes a look at the upcoming weekend’s schedule of small regional and international shows with a focus on UFC and Pride veterans as well as consensus-ranked fighters. Here’s what’s going down between June 24 and June 26: [tabgroup][tab title=”Spotlight Event”] Deep: 54 Impact (Tokyo; June 24) No. 19-ranked bantamweight Hiroshi Nakamura (12-4-4) will fight No. 20-ranked bantamweight and Dream veteran Takafumi Otsuka (11-8-1) to crown a new Deep bantamweight champion. The title was recently vacated by long-reigning champion Masakazu Imanari…Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (9-2) will put his Deep light heavyweight title on the line against K-1 Hero’s veteran Bernard Ackah (5-3)…Sengoku veteran Kazunori Yokota (11-5-3) tangles with Dream vet Shoji Maruyama (8-6-1)…UFC and Pride veteran Ryo Chonan (18-12) clashes with Shigetoshi Iwase (11-13-3)…Alex Soto (6-0) battles Seiji Akao (13-4)…Sengoku veteran A Sol Kwon (16-6) meets Yoshihiro Tomioka (16-8-6)…Pride veteran Hiromitsu Kanehara (19-23-3) goes up against Hideto Tatsumi (1-1)…Pride veteran Tomomi Iwama (8-5-1) takes on Myung Sik Kwak (0-0)…The event will air tape delayed on The Fight Network in Canada. [/tab][/tabgroup] June 24 King of the Cage: Epic Force (Thackerville, Okla.) Nick Gaston (5-0) and Bellator veteran Tyler East (8-3) will square off for the KOTC heavyweight title…The KOTC flyweight (135 lb.) title will be up for grabs when Dream and ShoXC veteran Abel Cullum (18-4) locks horns with Jared Papazian (12-6). Other Events American Indian MMA Championships (Algodones, N.M.) AXC 14: Night of Champions (Bryant, Ark.) Combat Fight League: Coronation 2 (Woodland Hills, Calif.) Conflict MMA: Fight Night at the Point (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) Northeast MMA: PA Cage Fight 8 (Scranton, Pa.) June 25 Australian Fighting Championship: Fight Nite (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) UFC and Pride veteran Soa Palelei (10-3) squares off with Dream vet Yusuke Kawaguchi (13-3). Combat USA: Country USA 1 (Oshkosh, Wis.) Shine Fights veteran James Warfield (22-8) takes on Taurean Bogguess (5-5). Crowbar MMA: Rumble at the Fair (Grand Forks, N.D.) TUF 12 alum Dane Sayers (8-2) meets Andrew Urban (6-6). MMAX: Heavyweight Xplosion (Las Vegas) UFC veteran Gabriel Gonzaga (11-6) is scheduled to meet Bellator vet Josh Burns (6-4). Shark Fights 16 (Odessa, Texas) UFC and Bellator veteran Josh Neer (29-10-1) is slated to face Strikeforce and Bellator vet Jesse Juarez (15-6) in the evening’s headlining welterweight title bout…Bellator veteran Jared Downing (6-0) fights Ran Weathers (15-8). Throwdown in Y-Town 1 (Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) UFC and MFC veteran Marvin Eastman (17-13-1) clashes with Marcus Hicks (11-20). Ultimate Challenge MMA: Stand Your Ground (London) UFC and Pride veteran Mark Weir (20-17-1) locks horns with Denniston Sutherland (14-6)…TUF 9 alum Dean Amasinger (7-4) battles UFC veteran Ross Pointon (6-10). Other Events Barbarian Fight Club: Summerfest (Fredericksburg, Va.) The Beatdown 8: Battle of the Badges 2 (Denver) DARE 1/11 (Bangkok) Duneland Classic 7 (Crown Point, Ind.) Industry of Combat New Zealand 14 (Auckland, New Zealand) King of the Cage: D-Day (Royal Oak, Mich.) Mean 1 Smoker (Albuquerque, N.M.) MMA Big Show: Royal Blood (Cincinnati) NAAFS: Proving Ground MMA Series 8 (Akron, Ohio) Next Level Fighting Championships 1 (Elkton, Md.) No Mercy Extreme Fighting: Annihilation 33 (Cheyenne, Wyo.) Ring Rulers: Devastation in the Dome (Bossier City, La.) Rising Fight League: X Series Fighting Championship (Knoxville, Tenn.) Showdown at the Shake (Asheboro, N.C.) Ultimate Warrior Challenge Mexico 10: To The Edge (Tijuana, Mexico) Valdosta MMA: Summer Heat (Valdosta, Ga.) World Fighting Federation 5 (Tucson, Ariz.) Xtreme Fighting Organization 40 (Lakemoor, Ill.) June 26 Other Events Adventure Fight (Curitiba, Parana, Brazil) Finish the Fight: Battle Born MMA Championships (El Pase, Texas) King of the Cage: Hypersonic (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) Tenth Legion: Battle for Supremacy (London) Top photo: Hiroshi Nakamura (Credit: Stephen Martinez/Sherdog)