by More MMA championship action is on the agenda late Friday evening. At this point, it is unknown whether the World Series is heading toward a possible Game 6 on Friday night (the Los Angeles Dodgers currently lead the New York Yankees three games to zero in the best-of-seven series heading into Tuesday night). Game four.)
Even though there’s no baseball on November 1st, the day is still dominated by hard-hitting action in the form of martial arts. The penultimate MMA month of the year begins in Mexico City with the first of two November Lux Fight League cards, Lux 047.
Main card action begins late Friday night at 11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT on UFC Fight Pass. As always, Lux 047 will be available in both English and Spanish on the UFC’s subscription-based streaming platform.
Bantamweight supremacy is on the line in the Lux 047 main event
All in all, barring any later adjustments to the map, the final version of Lux 047 features an 11 battle map. The highlight of the evening is the back end of a championship doubleheader in the Lux 047 main event.
Immediately following the co-main event of the evening for the Vacant Lux Lightweight Championship. In the headliner, the Lux Bantamweight Championship is on the line. Reigning champion Juan Diaz (12-1-1 MMA, 4-0 Lux) meets challenger Jose Roura (8-4 MMA, 7-3 Lux) in a rematch.
As with all MMA title fights in most promotions around the world, the Lux 047 main event is advertised to close the show with a maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round.
The series so far…
Heading into Friday’s rematch, the all-time series between Diaz and Roura stands at 1-0 in favor of Diaz. Back in December last year, Diaz won a unanimous decision victory over Roura after five rounds at Lux 038. How will chapter two of this rivalry end?
The champion, Juan “Pegajoso” Díaz, is ready for the next 🏆 pic.twitter.com/xQrNrRyxUy
— LUX Fight League (@luxfightleague) December 14, 2023
Lux 047 Main Event Fighter Comparison and Betting Odds
Heading into the Lux 047 main event, Juan Diaz is the taller man at 5’7″ compared to José Roura at 5’7″. No information on the range benefit is available at press time.
Currently, oddsmakers have Juan Diaz as a -200 favorite on the money line, while Jose Roura counters as a +130 underdog. If you plan to bet on this or any other fight taking place this weekend in MMA and/or martial arts, please bet responsibly.
Is “Pegajoso” UFC ready?
Juan Diaz, nicknamed “Pegajoso,” has a record of 5-0 in his last five fights. He most recently scored a unanimous decision victory in a catchweight affair against Abraham Nava (6-4 MMA, 2-3 Lux) on April 26 at Lux 042.
Diaz was supposed to defend the Lux Bantamweight Championship for the first time that night. He was originally booked for the strap against Andre Barquero (9-2 MMA, 2-0 Lux) at Lux 042 before the contest was postponed due to an injury sustained by the latter.
He has already won a championship and won five fights in a row in his career highlights. If he gets a win here in Friday night’s Lux 047 main event, whoever they call “Pegajoso” might wake up one morning next week to a voicemail from UFC CEO Dana White telling him he’s in the top ranking. Promotion of MMA is.
Revenge on Roura’s ghost
In the other corner, Jose Roura enters Lux 047’s main event this Friday night having a record of 3-2 in his last five fights and having alternated wins and losses in his last four fights. After his original fight against Juan Diaz in December 2023, he returned to the cage in April and got back into the win column with a unanimous decision over Mauricio Nievas (9-5 MMA, 4-4 Lux) at Lux 042.
Roura has had nearly 11 months to stew over the title opportunity that eluded him late last fall. A win here could start a continued winning streak.
The old saying goes: “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Will he even score against his rival?
Analysis, film study and prediction
Since the Lux 047 main event is a rematch, you can expect both men to be going strong on Friday night.
Diaz has to neutralize Roura
Juan Diaz’s key to victory in the main event of Lux 047: Train Jose Roura to exhaustion, like he did against Abraham Nava in the spring. Throughout the fight that night, Diaz took Nava into the clinch and threw him to the mat.
At the end of the second round of the contest, Diaz nearly landed a perfect flying knee that, if it had hit, might have put Nava out of action. As the fight reached its final round, Diaz kept things moving by knocking Nava down with a hip toss.
While Nava tried to flip the script on the ground, Diaz stayed strong and landed elbow shots on his opponent before Nava got up. In short, this was a systematic victory for Diaz, who won the contest (unanimous decision) after three rounds.
If Diaz can effectively thwart Roura’s game plan, he will retain the belt on Friday.
Roura Slick with substitutes
In the other corner, watch out for Jose Roura’s ground game during Friday night’s Lux 047 main event. One need look no further than his fight against Marcello Morrelli in 2021.
During the second round of an announced three-rounder, Roura took Morrelli in the back and softened him up with ground and pound shots. From there, he used the torque to lock a standing rear-naked choke, forcing Morrelli to bail out and fall asleep within three minutes.
All Jose Roura needs to do to balance the rivalry is take control on the ground. If Roura drops Morrelli on Friday night, he will regain the lightweight championship.
Final thoughts
Any time a championship rematch takes center stage in an MMA main event, this contest is a must-see. The Lux 047 main event is no exception.
Prediction: Juan Diaz by unanimous decision.
