Delgado Fights Quinonez for Featherweight Gold Friday

On Friday night, people stay up late to celebrate the start of a new weekend and the fact that they don’t need to worry about getting up at dawn to go to work for two days. If those weren’t good enough reasons to stay up late on a Friday, here’s another one: UFC Fight Pass has late night MMA to go along with your midnight snack.

Late night Friday, on the eve of UFC 303 on pay-per-view (preorder now if you haven’t done so already,) the MMA world tour makes another stop in Mexico for LUX Fight League’s first event in two months’ time. Live coverage of LUX 043 begins at 11 pm ET/ 8 pm PT on the UFC‘s subscription-based streaming service.

As always, Friday’s card from LUX is available in both English and Spanish from Zacatecas. All told, LUX 043 is set to feature 11 bouts inside the cage.

Featherweight Championship at Stake in LUX 043 Main Event

Highlighting the night’s activities is the battle for the LUX Featherweight Championship in the LUX 043 main event. Current champion Edgar Delgado (13-6 MMA, 5-3 LUX) defends his strap for the second time when he meets challenger Jose Alberto Quinonez (11-6 MMA, 1-0 LUX), an alumnus of the UFC.

As with all LUX Fight League championships, the LUX 43 main event is an advertised maximum of five rounds at five minutes per round to close the show.

We’ve got LUX and Diego Lopes on the same weekend??🤯 #LUX043 #UFC303 pic.twitter.com/y92bMq5rmd

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 24, 2024

LUX 043 Main Event Fighter Comparison

Heading into the main event on Friday evening, both the champion and challenger stand level in height at 5-foot-8. Delgado owns a 1.8-inch reach advantage (70.8 inches to 69 inches even) over Jose Alberto Quinonez.

Currently, the oddsmakers have no money lines available for LUX 043 on Friday night. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.

“Cebollero” Hopes to Run Winning Streak to Five in a Row

Edgar Delgado enters the LUX 043 main event on Friday night having posted a 4-1 record in his last five fights. At present, he’s on a four-fight winning streak.

Back in February of this year, Delgado made a successful first defense of the LUX Featherweight Championship with a third-round TKO after Francesco Patron (10-2 MMA, 7-2 LUX) could not continue in the fight upon suffering a knee injury. Having won four fights in succession is an impressive run.

It’s made even more impressive when you consider the statistics with the run. Three of Edgar Delgado’s four wins in his ongoing streak have been recorded by way of stoppage.

This is the kind of stuff that causes a fighter’s cellphone to blow up with comments on social media apps and text messages or voicemails from those in charge of world-renowned promotions. If Delgado defends the championship for a second time in the LUX 043 main event late night Friday, it could be his last fight in the promotion.

He’s a man who could find himself UFC-bound if he gets his hand raised this weekend, but he has to take it one moment at a time, starting with the LUX 043 main event.

UFC Vet Quinonez Seeks to Return to Win Column in MMA Return Friday Night

In the other corner, Jose Alberto Quinonez has gone 3-2 in his last five fights across combat sports. Back in March of this year, he dropped a unanimous decision to Jesus Lopez during Karate Combat’s Kickback 2 in Cancun.

Prior to his Karate Combat appearance earlier on in 2024, he’d bested Jonas Ortega (3-3 MMA, 3-3 LUX) by way of unanimous decision during LUX 37 last November. A victory here in the LUX 043 main event would give him a tie for the second-longest winning streak of his MMA career at two.

Quinonez previously had a two-fight winning streak between May of 2021 and December of 2022. Will he secure his second in a row on Friday night?

Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction

Stylistically, the LUX 043 main event looks to favor Jose Alberto Quinonez, who has backgrounds in wrestling, boxing, and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, compared to Edgar Delgado’s status as a BJJ practitioner.

Delgado a Great Striker

Edgar Delgado is vicious when it comes to striking, something that shows up on the tape of his fight against Emmanuel Rivero. During the second round, he scored a takedown and took top mount, slicing Rivero up with an elbow shot.

Delgado picked and chose his shots carefully, landing more elbows along the way before switching to ground and pound. The barrage of shots were simply too much for Rivero to handle that night, but amazingly, he stayed in the fight for one more round.

Another wave of shots doomed Rivero in round three, with the official rescuing him from any further unneeded damage. Once Delgado gets a guy to the mat, it’s game on. It could spell the end of the LUX 043 main event at any moment.

Quinonez Equally Intense

In the other corner, Jose Alberto Quinonez sings “Anything you can do, I can do better.” He’s also a brilliant striker, as illustrated in his contest vs. Javier Guzman in December of 2022. Round one of a scheduled three saw Guzman secure the top mount temporarily before landing a burst of ground and pound shots.

Quinonez reversed position after defending a submission attempt from Guzman and scored with elbow shots of his own. He poured on the hammerfists until the referee waved off the contest in two minutes and 55 seconds.

If Quinonez can counterpunch against Delgado, he’ll unseat him as champion in the LUX 043 main event.

Final Thoughts

This is a case of great matchmaking by LUX Fight League for its headliner on Friday night. Stay up late and enjoy.

Prediction: Edgar Delgado by Third-Round TKO.