Out of Obscurity: Looking Ahead (June 24 – June 26)

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]

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).

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.)

UFC and Pride veteran Soa Palelei (10-3) squares off with Dream vet Yusuke Kawaguchi (13-3).

Shine Fights veteran James Warfield (22-8) takes on Taurean Bogguess (5-5).

TUF 12 alum Dane Sayers (8-2) meets Andrew Urban (6-6).

UFC veteran Gabriel Gonzaga (11-6) is scheduled to meet Bellator vet Josh Burns (6-4).

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).

UFC and MFC veteran Marvin Eastman (17-13-1) clashes with Marcus Hicks (11-20).

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).

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.)

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)