Out of Obscurity: Looking Ahead (Jan. 19 – Jan. 22) The MMA Corner Staff January 19, 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. 19 and Jan. 22: [tabgroup][tab title=”Spotlight Event”] 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. [/tab][/tabgroup] Jan. 20 Kumite Combate 2 (Porto Alegre, Brazil) 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). World Championship Full Contact: Last Man Standing II (Orem, Utah) 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). Other Events 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. Jan. 21 Jackson’s MMA Series 7 (Albuquerque, N.M.) 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). Jungle Fight 36 (Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) 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). K-Oz Entertainment: Bragging Rights (Perth, Western Australia, Australia) UFC veteran Soa Palelei (13-3) faces Pride and Sengoku vet Henry Miller (6-14). King of the Cage: Total Destruction (Thackerville, Okla.) Tim Means (15-3-1) fights Tye Brown (7-2) for the KOTC lightweight title. Other Events 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 Jan. 22 Pure MMA: The Beginning (Plains, Pa.) 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). Rings: Battle Genesis Vol. 9 (Tokyo) 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). Other Events Pancrase: 2012 Neo-Blood Tournament Qualifiers (Tokyo) Zst: Swat! in Face 10 (Tokyo) Photo: Sara McMann (Dave Mandel/Sherdog)