UFC on FOX 12 'Prelims' preview and predictions, Pt. 2

War!

Two of the most terrifying men in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Welterweight division have five rounds with which to decimate each other this Saturday (July 26, 2014) when former 170-pound title challenger Robbie Lawler takes on Muay Thai wrecking machine Matt Brown in UFC on FOX 12 main event from SAP Center in San Jose, California.

Several other bouts with contender implications will also be on the line, including a Light Heavyweight clash between "Minotoro" Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Anthony Johnson and a Lightweight bout between Bobby Green and Josh Thomson.

That's not all.

Interestingly, the latter four under card "Prelims" matches are scheduled to take place on FOX proper (not FOX Sports 1) right before the main card. Let's see if they deserve the attention below (check out the first four "Prelims" preview right here) .

155 lbs.: Daron Cruickshank vs. Jorge Masvidal

Daron Cruickshank (15-4) hit a roadblock after starting his UFC career perfect (2-0), going 1-2 in his next three with the sole win a controversial one over Yves Edwards. "The Detroit Superstar"  has been tremendous since, though, knocking out Mike Rio and Erik Koch with beautiful head kicks.

He will give up three inches of height to Jorge Masvidal (26-8).

"Gamebred" came up short in his Strikeforce title bid, dropping a wide decision to Gilbert Melendez in Dec. 2011. Undaunted, he has impressed in recent bouts, winning four of his last five with the only loss coming to Rustam Khabilov in a razor-close bout.

Despite having nearly twice as many fights as Cruickshank, Masvidal is actually five months younger than him.

Masvidal’s an enigma. He has possibly the best takedown defense in the division and some brilliant boxing technique, but is inconsistent with his killer instinct and can let his opponents into fights they have no business being competitive in. Despite my misgivings, though, I do feel he’s too much for Cruickshank.

Though the Koch win was impressive, Rio has been consistently unimpressive and it wasn’t long ago that Adriano Martins beat Cruickshank down. His issues with Martins’ length and power don’t say good things for his chances against Jorge’s boxing.

This fight is Jorge’s to lose; so long as he isn’t too passive, he should be able to chew Cruickshank up with punches all night.

Prediction: Masvidal via unanimous decision

205 lbs.: Kyle Kingsbury vs. Patrick Cummins

A brutal stoppage of Ricardo Romero and subsequent gritty win over Fabio Maldonado had Kyle Kingsbury (11-5) on the cusp of the division’s deep end. Unfortunately for him, a one-sided loss to Stephan Bonnar and consecutive thrashings from Glover Teixeira and Jimi Manuwa had him considering retirement.

This will be the first fight for "Kingsbu" since Sept. 2012.

Patrick Cummins' (5-1) big mouth did him no favors against Daniel Cormier, who manhandled the former barista in just 79 seconds. "Durkin"  found more success against late replacement Roget Narvaez in June, stopping him with punches halfway through the second round.

He has never gone the distance, the Narvaez bout the first of his to go past the first round.

No, Cummins isn’t the monster Joe Rogan made him out to be ... at least not yet. He’s still a powerful, decorated wrestler and Kingsbury is kind of crap off his back. It’s also unlikely that Kingsbury can out-athlete him, not to mention the fact that he is coming off almost a two-year layoff.

This one may come down to cardio -- as long as Cummins can maintain his takedown attack, he should win a comfortable decision, Kingsbury’s concrete noggin precluding a finish. Time will tell if Cummins ever reaches the elite, but elite, Kingsbury is not.

Prediction: Cummins via unanimous decision

170 lbs.: Hernani Perpetuo vs. Tim Means

Hernani Perpetuo (17-4) joined UFC unbeaten in his previous nine fights, taking on Jordan Mein as a late replacement for Santiago Ponzibbio. Despite being a major underdog, Perpetuo managed to take the third round and trouble the young prospect with a deep kneebar.

He will give up two inches of height to the 6’2" Tim Means (20-6-1)

Two close losses and missing weight resulted in Means’ exit from UFC after an even (2-2) run. He picked up two brutal knockouts at 170 pounds, earning himself another shot as a late-replacement opponent for Neil Magny, but wound up on the wrong end of a unanimous decision.

Fifteen of his wins have come by knockout.

I’m a bit of a Means fanboy and am most definitely biased, but I can definitely see him winning this. Without the threat of a takedown and with his customary height advantage, "Dirty Bird" is a handful for almost anyone. Perpetuo will likely oblige Means in the stand up and that will not end well.

The fight ought to be a slobberknocker while it lasts, but I expect Means’ length and power to carry him to a mid-fight stoppage.

Prediction: Means via second-round technical knockout

145 lbs.: Mike de la Torre vs. Brian Ortega

The Octagon debut for Mike de la Torre (12-4) came in the Lightweight division, taking on veteran Mark Bocek on late notice. Despite a strong second round that saw him shut down Bocek’s vaunted wrestling game, de la Torre nonetheless came up short, dropping a split decision.

The 6’0" MMA Lab rep will have a three-inch height advantage over Brian Ortega (8-0).

Ortega -- a Black House MMA-trained product -- picked up his career-best win and the vacant RFA Featherweight title in January, defeating previously-unbeaten Keoni Koch by split decision. He was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Diego Brandao on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): "Brazil 3" Finale, only for an injury to Brandao to scuttle the fight too late for Ortega to get a replacement.

Half of his wins have come by submission.

de la Torre did surprisingly well against Bocek. That said, Bocek hasn’t looked great since getting thrashed by Ben Henderson, in my opinion. Ortega, on the other hand, has been on fire lately and packs a lethal submission game of his own. Though de la Torre survived on the mat against Bocek, he’s tapped three times and I don’t see him countering Ortega’s wrestling.

There’s always the possibility that jitters claim Ortega or the de la Torre repeats the successful sprawling efforts from the Bocek fight. I believe, however, that Ortega’s grappling ability will earn him a late tap.

Prediction: Ortega via third-round submission

That's it for now. Shit will get real this Saturday.

Be there, Maniacs.

Remember that MMAmania.com will provide LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC on FOX 12 fight card BELOW, starting with the Fight Pass "Prelims" matches online, which are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET, right on through the FOX-televised prelims and main card action at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET, respectively.

Current UFC "Prelims" Prediction Record 2014: 109-50 (1 NC)