Big FOX to air UFC prelims for first time with UFC on FOX 12 in San Jose
Programming needs have sent four preliminary-card bouts from this month’s UFC on FOX 12 card to the big network.
Instead of airing prelims on FOX Sports 1, as has been customary (or on FOX Sports 2 as a backup), four televised prelims for UFC on FOX 12 will air on the FOX network before the main card on the same channel.
UFC on FOX 12 takes place July 26 at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. UFC Fight Pass also streams four prelims ahead of the four prelims on FOX. With the prelims and main card, UFC on FOX 12 will have an overall four-hour run on the network.
FOX Sports 1 will play host to a baseball game at the same time the UFC on FOX 12 televised prelims need to start at 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT) while an International Champions Cup soccer game between Real Madrid and Inter Milan fills the time slot on FOX Sports 2. (Coincidentally, that soccer game takes place not far from San Jose, in Berkeley, Calif.)
UFC on FOX 12 features a main event welterweight contenders bout between recent title challenger Robbie Lawler (23-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) and the red-hot Matt Brown (19-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC), who has won seven straight fights, with six coming by knockout. The winner likely will face champion Johny Hendricks when he’s ready to return from a bicep injury.
The featured bout on the preliminary card is a lightweight matchup between Daron Cruickshank (15-4 MMA, 4-2 UFC) and Jorge Masvidal (26-8 MMA, 3-1 UFC). Cruickshank tries to build on back-to-back TKO wins stemming from head kicks while Masvidal has won three of his first four fights in the UFC.
The complete UFC on FOX 12 card includes:
MAIN CARD (FOX, 8 p.m. ET)
Matt Brown vs. Robbie Lawler
Anthony Johnson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Dennis Bermudez vs. Clay Guida
Bobby Green vs. Josh Thomson
PRELIMINARY CARD (FOX, 6 p.m. ET)
Daron Cruickshank vs. Jorge Masvidal
Patrick Cummins vs. Kyle Kingsbury
Tim Means vs. Hernani Perpetuo
Mike De La Torre vs. Brian Ortega
PRELIMINARY CARD (UFC Fight Pass, 4:15 p.m. ET)
Akbarh Arreola vs. Tiago dos Santos
Noad Lahat vs. Steven Siler
Gilbert Burns vs. Andreas Stahl
Juliana Carneiro Lima vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk
