Out of Obscurity: Looking Ahead (Feb. 9 – Feb. 12)

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 Feb. 9 and Feb. 12:

Spotlight Event

Spotlight Event

Xtreme Fighting Championships 16: High Stakes (Knoxville, Tenn.; Feb. 10)

UFC veteran and former WEC lightweight champion Jamie Varner (18-6-1) locks horns with UFC and Dream veteran Drew Fickett (41-16)…UFC veteran and TUF 5 alum Corey Hill (5-4) squares off with Bellator and EliteXC vet Nicolae Cury (6-2)…No. 10-ranked 125-pound female fighter Marianna Kheyfets (4-0) battles Heather Clark (4-1)…The event airs live on HDNet.

Feb. 10

Legends of Fighting 51: Little Giants (Indianapolis)

UFC veteran Sean McCorkle (14-2) is slated to face Mike Williams (3-1)…UFC veteran Chris Price (19-3) clashes with Ray Lopez (6-3).

Ring of Combat XXXIX (Atlantic City, N.J.)

TUF 12 alum and Bellator veteran Jeff Lentz (8-2-1) takes on Giovanni Moljo (4-4)…UFC veteran Pete Sell (9-6) goes up against Strikeforce vet Mitch Whitesel (17-20)…The event airs live via pay-per-view at GoFightLive.

Other Events

Gladiator Championship Fighting 8: Back in the Fight (Pribram, Czech Republic)
PA Cage Fight 10 (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)
Sports Fighting League: Gateway to the Top Amateur Tournament (St. Charles, Mo.)

Feb. 11

Aggression MMA 9 (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

Ryan Ford (16-4) battles Ricky Goodall (9-4)…UFC veteran Victor Valimaki (16-8) goes up against Tim Chemelli (8-1).

Cage Warriors Fighting Championship: Fight Night 3 (Beirut, Lebanon)

TUF 6 alum and UFC veteran Tom Speer (19-5) clashes with Mats Nilsson (7-1-1)…TUF 12 alum and UFC veteran Kyle Watson (13-7-1) is slated to face Juha-Pekka Vainikainen (18-5-1)…The event airs live on The Fight Network in Canada.

Draka: Governor’s Cup 2012 (Khabarovsk, Russia)

UFC and Strikeforce veteran Jeff Monson (43-13) takes on Alexander Illiasov (1-1).

Hoosier Fight Club 10 (Valparaiso, Ind.)

WEC and IFL veteran L.C. Davis (16-4) meets Strikeforce vet Christian Uflacker (3-0).

Legend Fighting Championship 7 (Cotai, Macau)

Dream veteran Myung Ho Bae (12-5) fights Jingliang Li (6-1)…Michael Mortimer (15-4) squares off with Sengoku veteran Taiyo Nakahara (12-6).

One FC 2: Battle of Heroes (Jakarta, Indonesia)

UFC and IFL veteran Rolles Gracie (5-1) collides with Pride and Dream vet Bob Sapp (11-9)…Gustavo Falciroli (11-3-2) meets Soo Chul Kim (4-2).

The Big Lot: Cummings vs. Stafford (Springfield, Mo.)

Strikeforce veteran Zak Cummings (13-3) faces fellow Bellator vet Lamont Stafford (3-2)…The event airs live via pay-per-view at GoFightLive.

Verdict Fighting Championship 1 (Moscow)

No. 5-ranked 145-pound female fighter Yana Kunitskaya (5-1) fights Ekaterina Saraykina (0-0).

Other Events

618 MMA: Midwest Pride IX (Sparta, Ill.)
Art of War Fighting Championships (Indianapolis)
Battlefield Fight League 13: Uprising (Vernon, British Columbia, Canada) Airing live on The Fight Network in Canada.
Cut Throat MMA: Babes and Brawls X (Ford Heights, Ill.) Airing live via ppv at GoFightLive
Dragon House MMA 9 (San Francisco)
Elite Championship Cage Fighting 20 (Hickory, N.C.)
Extreme Challenge 204 (Freeport, Ill.)
Fight Night Entertainment Round 18: Clash at the College (Everett, Wash.) Airing live via ppv at GoFightLive
Fresh Army MMA: Throwdown in the Fort 2 (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Global Fighting Alliance 17: Top Shelf Fights (Youngsville, La.)
IT Fight Series (Bellefontaine, Ohio)
King of Jacksonville #1 (Jacksonville, N.C.)
Midtown MMA: Midtown Throwdown 3 (Eugene, Ore.)
New England Fights: MMA Fight Night (Lewiston, Maine)
Nitrix: Champion Fight 10 (Camboriu, Santa Catarina, Brazil)
No Mercy Extreme Fighting: Annihilation 38 (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
North American Fighting Championship: Wisconsin Fighting Championship (Milwaukee)
Rocky Mountain Bad Boyz/The Beatdown: Cold Wars: Prelude to Glory (Denver)
Shuriken MMA: Retribution (Auckland, New Zealand)
Spartan Fighting Championship 12: Invasion (Morehead, Ky.) Airing live via ppv at GoFightLive
Sterling Entertainment Group: Live MMA at Primetime (Burnsville, Minn.)
The Rise of a Warrior 5 (Fort Pierce, Fla.) Airing live via free stream at GoFightLive
United Fighting Federation XI: Conflict at the Cotillion (Wichita, Kan.)
Valentine’s Massacre (Little Rock, Ark.)
VFC Fight Night: Junction City 2 (Junction City, Kan.)
Xtreme Caged Combat: Wreckage (Philadelphia)

Feb. 12

Shooto: Gig Central 24: Love and Courage (Nagoya, Aichi, Japan)

TUF 8 alum and UFC veteran Shane Nelson (15-5) locks horns with Takasuke Kume (10-1-4).

Other Events

Rings: The Outsider 20 (Tokyo)

Photo: Jamie Varner (Keith Mills/Sherdog)

About the Author

Bryan Henderson

Bryan Henderson became a fan of MMA in the late '90s when he happened upon the early UFC events on VHS at a local video rental store. He started writing about the sport on his Sporting News member blog in 2007 before becoming an official staff writer for Sporting News' "The Rumble" MMA/boxing blog. He then became a staff writer and the Features Manager for MMA DieHards before moving on to assume the same roles in his current position with The MMA Corner. In addition to covering mixed martial arts, Bryan also operates the Modified Mind body modification e-zine website.