Out of Obscurity: Looking Ahead (Jan. 5 – Jan. 8) The MMA Corner Staff January 5, 2012 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 Jan. 5 and Jan. 8: [tabgroup][tab title=”Spotlight Event”] Shooto: Survivor Tournament Final (Tokyo; Jan. 8 ) No. 10-ranked bantamweight Masakatsu Ueda (14-1-2) locks horns with undefeated prospect Kyoji Horiguchi (6-0)…UFC and Sengoku veteran Keita Nakamura (21-5-2) battles Yoichiro Sato (8-4-2)…Guy Delumeau (15-6-2) and Wataru Miki (18-10-5) will vie for the vacant Shooto Pacific Rim 143-pound championship in the Survivor Tournament finals. [/tab][/tabgroup] Jan. 6 Driller Promotions/SEG: Downtown Showdown 2 (Minneapolis) EliteXC veteran Kaitlin Young (5-5) is slated to face Anna Barone (2-2). Other Events Cage Combat 7 (Humble, Texas) Thunderbolt Cage Challenge 2 (Waterford, Mich.) Jan. 7 Colosseum Combat 19 (Kokomo, Ind.) UFC and Strikeforce veteram Shamar Bailey (12-5) squares off with Darrell Smith (16-18-1). Dare Fight Sports: Dare 1/12 (Bangkok, Thailand) UFC and Pride veteran Daiju Takase (9-13-2) takes on Brandon Kesler (0-2)…The event airs live via pay-per-view at GoFightLive. Other Events Ares MMA Promotions 1: Initiation (Cincinnati) Cage Fighting Xtreme 30 (St. Cloud, Minn.) Madtown Throwdown (Madison, Wis.) New Year’s Beatdown (Wichita, Kan.) Ohio Fighting Championship 13: Resolution Rumble 2 (Hilliard, Ohio) Valley Fight League 34: The Beginning (Williamson, W.Va.) Photo: Masakatsu Ueda (L) battles Royler Gracie (Marcelo Alonso/Sherdog)
