Out of Obscurity: Looking Ahead (Jan. 19 – Jan. 22)

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. 19 and Jan. 22:

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ProElite 3: Grove vs. Minowa (Honolulu; Jan. 21)

In a fight that made Sherdog’s 10 January Tussles Worth Watching, No. 9-ranked 135-pound female fighter and Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann (4-0) locks horns with No. 5-ranked 135-pounder and Strikeforce veteran Hitomi Akano (18-8)…TUF 3 winner and UFC veteran Kendall Grove (13-9) takes on Pride and Dream vet Ikuhisa Minowa (52-32-8) in the evening’s headliner…The event airs live on HDNet.

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Pride veteran Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons (27-14) is scheduled to fight UFC and Strikeforce vet Jorge Patino (26-13-1)…Tim Hague (13-5) clashes with fellow UFC veteran Maurice Smith (12-13).

TUF 11 alum Kyacey Uscola (21-21) is slated to face Scott Pike (0-7)…TUF 5 alum Brandon Melendez (26-22) meets Benjamin Smith (0-0)…UFC and IFL veteran Fabiano Scherner (8-8) collides with Bellator vet D.J. Linderman (10-2).

Epic Fighting 10 (San Diego) Airing live via ppv at GoFightLive
Fight Republic III (Reno, Nev.)
Hard Knocks Fighting Championship: School of Hard Knocks 19 (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) Airing tape delayed on The Fight Network in Canada and live via ppv at GoFightLive.

No. 8-ranked 106-pound female fighter Diana Rael (3-1) clashes with Strikeforce veteran Michelle Waterson (8-3) in a fight that made Sherdog’s 10 January Tussles Worth Watching…Travis Marx (18-3) goes up against Yaotzin Meza (18-6).

In a fight that made Sherdog’s 10 January Tussles Worth Watching, Junior dos Santos training partner Kleber Orgulho (8-3) squares off with Emiliano Sordi (3-2).

UFC veteran Soa Palelei (13-3) faces Pride and Sengoku vet Henry Miller (6-14).

Tim Means (15-3-1) fights Tye Brown (7-2) for the KOTC lightweight title.

Absolute Fighting Alliance 9: Absolute Conquest (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Arnold’s Amateur MMA Festival (Columbus, Ohio)
Ascend Combat: Unpredictable (Shreveport, La.)
Beat Down in V Town II (Vincennes, Ind.)
Brutaal (Brookln Park, Minn.)
Carolina Fight Promotions 17: Winter Fight Festival (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Disorderly Conduct: Hard Knocks (Hastings, Neb.)
Extreme Fighting Championships III (Paterson, N.J.)
Full Contact Fighting Federation: Rumble at the Roseland 61 (Portland, Ore.)
Global Fighting Alliance 16: Downtown Throwdown (Alexandria, La.)
Kick Down 99 (Denver)
Legacy Amateur Series (Houston)
NAAFS: Midwest Combat Challenge 18 (Akron, Ohio)
Rocktagon MMA: Elite Series 12 (Cleveland)
Rogue Fights 16: Battle on the River (Redding, Calif.)
Shooto: Gig Tokyo 8 (Tokyo)
South Plains Amateur MMA 4: Hallford vs. Lees (Lubbock, Texas)
Team Warrior Concepts: Freedom Fight Series (Springfield, Ill.)
Turf Wars 5 (Florence, Ky.)
WyoMMA: The Return (Evanston, Wyo.)
Xplode Fight Series: Brutal Conduct (Valley Center, Calif.)
Xtreme Cage Wars 46: Battleground (Shell Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada) Airing live via ppv at GoFightLive

UFC and Strikeforce veteran Shamar Bailey (12-5) squares off with UFC and Bellator vet Chad Reiner (28-13)…UFC veteran Johnny Rees (12-4) tangles with Chris Davis (6-0)…UFC and Bellator veteran Dave Branch (9-2) goes up against Strikeforce vet Dominique Steele (5-1).

In a fight that made Sherdog’s 10 January Tussles Worth Watching, Sengoku veteran Shunichi Shimizu (21-7-10) battles Alan Yoshihiro Yamaniwa (5-0-1)…UFC veteran Naoyuki Kotani (24-10-7) meets Daisuke Hanazawa (19-14-5).

Pancrase: 2012 Neo-Blood Tournament Qualifiers (Tokyo)
Zst: Swat! in Face 10 (Tokyo)

Photo: Sara McMann (Dave Mandel/Sherdog)