Out of Obscurity: Weekend Review (June 23 – June 26) The MMA Corner Staff June 27, 2011 Events Every Monday, The MMA Corner takes a look – with video footage when possible – at the previous weekend’s action at small regional and international shows with a focus on UFC and Pride veterans, consensus-ranked fighters and up-and-coming prospects. Here’s what went down between June 23 and June 26: [tabgroup][tab title=”Spotlight Event”] Deep: 54 Impact (Tokyo; June 24) No. 20-ranked bantamweight and Dream veteran Takafumi Otsuka (12-8-1) captured the vacant Deep bantamweight crown with a unanimous decision over No. 19-ranked bantamweight Hiroshi Nakamura (12-5-4)…Yoshiyuki Nakanishi (10-2) successfully defended his Deep light heavyweight title with a head kick knockout of K-1 Hero’s veteran Bernard Ackah (5-4)…Sengoku veteran Kazunori Yokota (12-5-3) dominated Dream vet Shoji Maruyama (8-7-1) on his way to a unanimous decision victory…UFC and Pride veteran Ryo Chonan (19-12) scored a first-round knockout of Shigetoshi Iwase (11-14-3)…Alex Soto (6-0-1) and Seiji Akao (13-4-1) fought to a draw…Sengoku veteran A Sol Kwon (17-6) earned a unanimous nod over Yoshihiro Tomioka (16-9-6)…Hideto Tatsumi (2-1) took home a unanimous decision over Pride veteran Hiromitsu Kanehara (19-24-3) goes up against…Pride veteran Tomomi Iwama (9-5-1) submitted Myung Sik Kwak (0-1) via a first-round heel hook. [/tab][/tabgroup] June 23 Heroes Gate 4 (Prague, Czech Republic) KSW veteran Attila Vegh (24-4-2) locked in a triangle choke in the third round to submit Jonas Billstein (9-1)…Jarkko Latomaki (18-7) submitted Josef Kral (4-3) via a first-round arm-triangle choke. June 24 King of the Cage: Epic Force (Thackerville, Okla.) Bellator veteran Tyler East (9-3) captured the KOTC heavyweight belt with a second-round TKO of Nick Gaston (5-1)…Jared Papazian (13-6) claimed the KOTC flyweight (135 lb.) title with a unanimous decision over Dream and ShoXC veteran Abel Cullum (18-5). June 25 Australian Fighting Championship: Fight Nite (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) Palelei pounds on Kawaguchi (In the Zone Photography) UFC and Pride veteran Soa Palelei (11-3) scored a first-round TKO of Dream vet Yusuke Kawaguchi (13-4). Crowbar MMA: Rumble at the Fair (Grand Forks, N.D.) TUF 12 alum Dane Sayers (9-2) defeated Andrew Urban (6-7). Jungle Fight 29 (Serra, Espirito Santo, Brazil) Renato “Moicano” Carneiro (5-0) earned a hard-fought unanimous decision over Iliarde Sabino Belo dos Santos (21-5-1)…Edinaldo Oliveira (10-0-1) looked to be on his way to a victory over Luiz Guilherme de Andrade (2-0), but an inadvertent eye poke resulted in the fight ending in a no-contest. MMAX: Heavyweight Xplosion (Las Vegas) The event was postponed. The promotion has not yet announced a new date for the show. Shark Fights 16 (Odessa, Texas) UFC and Bellator veteran Josh Neer (30-10-1) scored a first-round TKO, due to injury, of Strikeforce and Bellator vet Jesse Juarez (15-7)…Bellator veteran Jared Downing (7-0) knocked out Ran Weathers (15-9) in the first round. Throwdown in Y-Town 1 (Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada) The evening’s scheduled headliner between UFC and MFC veteran Marvin Eastman (17-13-1) and Marcus Hicks (11-20) was canceled when the Nova Scotia Boxing Commission would not clear Hicks to fight. Ultimate Challenge MMA: Stand Your Ground (London) Denniston Sutherland (15-6) knocked out UFC and Pride veteran Mark Weir (20-18-1) in the first round…TUF 9 alum Dean Amasinger (8-4) earned a unanimous nod over UFC veteran Ross Pointon (6-11)…Oli Thompson (9-2) secured a rear-naked choke on Mark Potter (4-2) for the first-round submission victory. World Fighting Federation 5 (Tucson, Ariz.) Joey Rivera (7-0) remained undefeated with a 54-second TKO of longtime Rage in the Cage veteran Eric Regan (14-20). Top photo: Takafumi Otsuka (center) (Taro Irei/Sherdog)