It’s another busy weekend of MMA this second week of October. After Contender Series week 9 gets the slate of events going on Tuesday, 72 hours later, the focus of the universe of competitive violence switches to Mexico where Lux Fight League is in action for the only time this month.
Back in August, what was supposed to have been Lux 046 in Chihuahua, MX was postponed by the promotion a few weeks ahead of its scheduled Sept. 6 date. More than a month removed from the adjustment in the schedule, Tampico, Tamaulipas, MX for the new Lux 046.
Live coverage of Lux 046 begins late night Friday at 11 pm ET/ 8 pm PT on UFC Fight Pass in both English and Spanish. Expo Tampico serves as the home arena for the card. All told, barring any late adjustments to the slate, the final version of Lux 046 features an 11-fight slate.
Vacant Strawweight Championship on the Line in Lux 046 Main Event
Highlighting the night’s itinerary is the battle for the Vacant Lux Strawweight Championship in the Lux 046 main event. Andrea Vazquez (6-2 MMA, 6-2 Lux) meets up with undefeated Jazmin Navarrete (7-0 MMA, 1-0 Lux), an alumnae of Combate Global.
As with all MMA championship fights in most promotions, the Lux 046 main event is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.
Jazmín Navarrete 🇨🇱 tendrá la oportunidad, el 11 de octubre, de ser campeona de las 115 libras de LUX, donde enfrentará a Andrea Vazquez.#MMATwitter #MMA #Chile pic.twitter.com/GoT1jHKbbW
— MMA Team (@MMATeam100) September 1, 2024
Lux 046 Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the Lux 046 main event on Friday night, Andrea Vazquez stands as the taller contestant at 5-foot-3, compared to the 5-foot-2 frame of Jazmin Navarrete. The latter owns a 64.2-inch reach, with no such information accessible for the former at press time.
Currently, the oddsmakers have yet to release money lines for Lux 046 on Friday. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Vazquez in Third Lux Championship Fight Friday Night
Andrea Vazquez comes into the weekend having gone 4-1 in his last five fights. At present, she’s on a two-fight winning streak.
Both of those victories have come by way of stoppage, including a second-round submission by way of rear-naked choke back on April 26 versus Leticia Baltazar (2-3 MMA, 1-3 Lux) during Lux 042 on UFC Fight Pass. Championship fights in this promotion have become old habit for Andrea Vazquez.
Prior to the Lux 046 main event on Friday night, she’s already fought in two such contests between November of 2022 and May of last year, going 1-1. A fourth-round rear-naked choke submission by guillotine choke in the final minute of the period against Yajaira Romo (8-9 MMA, 2-4 Lux) netted Vazquez the promotion’s interim strawweight belt in Lux 028 less than two years ago.
She’s been down this road before and has tasted the champagne that comes along with a championship victory. Will Vazquez score the permanent strawweight championship on Friday night?
Navarrete Looks to Remain Undefeated in Lux 046 Main Event
In the other corner, Jazmin Navarrete has yet to lose thus far in her professional MMA career. Counting amateur competition, she’s currently on an 11-fight winning streak dating back to June 6, 2015.
Last time out, she scored a unanimous decision victory over the aforementioned Yajaira Romo in Lux 044 on Aug. 2. It’ll be a quick turnaround for Jazmin Navarrete going into the Lux o46 main event, as well.
By the time the cage door shuts on Friday night, only 69 days will have elapsed between appearances. This is a far cry from the 462-day layoff that she had between a fight in UWC 43 in April of 2023 and Lux 044 in August of this year.
A scheduled fight last November vs. Fatima Kline (6-1 MMA), currently on the UFC roster, in CFFC 127 on UFC Fight Pass, was scrubbed prior to the show. Kline instead fought, and won, against Sara Cova (5-5 MMA) for the Vacant CFFC Flyweight Championship, that night and parlayed that into a UFC contract earlier this year.
If Navarrete wins here in the Lux 046 main event, she could find herself on the short list for a UFC contract.
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
With the Lux 046 main event being for a vacant title, expect these fighters to bring everything they have into the cage.
Vazquez Slick With Subs
Statistically speaking, Andrea Vazquez has won four career fights inside the distance, with two of those being by submission. During the second round of her fight against Leticia Baltazar, she put her opponent in the clinch, dropped her to the mat and began efforting a heel-hook before transitioning to ground and pound shots.
Upon taking Baltazar’s back, she unloaded more shots before applying the torque to lock in a rear-naked choke for the tap. If Andrea Vazquez gets Jazmin Navarrete to the mat, the momentum of the fight will be on her side of the ledger.
Navarrete Has Fists of Fury
In the other corner, Jazmin Navarrete is an extremely adept striker, something violently illustrated in 2023 versus Fernanda Escudero. After getting taken down by her opponent about 90 seconds into round two, she got back up and took top mount en route to a heavy burst of ground and pound shots.
With the strikes coming at a furious clip, the referee wisely stepped in and saved Escudero from further damage. Look for Navarrete to come out swinging in the Lux o46 main event. If she’s able to land punches in bunches on Friday night, the championship will be hers.
Final Thoughts
With this being the only MMA show on the docket on Friday night. If you have UFC Fight Pass open late in the evening, use the “Multiview” function to watch Lux 046 while Karate Combat 50 is going on. You won’t want to miss the main event.
Prediction: Jazmin Navarrete by Second-Round Knockout.
