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UFC star Nate Diaz is getting all the help he can find ahead of his boxing debut against YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul in August. While the fight is still months away, that did not stop the Stockton native from looking for high-levels sparring partners in order to sharpen his hands for his first ever sweet science match in the summer.
Nate Diaz sparred with Olympic boxer Esquiva Falcao
For this reason, Diaz paid a visit to Olympic silver medalist Esquiva Falcao’s gym and had a 12-round sparring session with the Brazilian. On his official Instagram account, the boxer posted a picture of himself and the mixed martial artist, thanking Diaz for the opportunity and praising his skills.
“Today I met this beast and sparred for 12 boxing rounds. Thanks, Nate Diaz. Good job we did today.”
Falcao claims Diaz looked tired and heavy
In a video also shared by Falcao on his Instagram, the Brazilian went into detail about how the sparring session with Nate Diaz went. Though the American is known for his cardio and durability, the Olympic boxer claimed that Diaz was noticeably tired from the second round, but it still went for ten more.
While Falcao also claimed that he had to take it easy on Diaz so they could spar longer, the boxer says both he and the UFC star managed to land good shots and had an overall positive experience. Furthermore, the Olympic boxer also noticed how Diaz was much heavier than his usual slim self, which could have affected his endurance.
“I had a crazy sparring with that guy. Great, great guy. In the beginning I thought he was tired. By the end, it looked like he was dying, you know? Because his fighting style is a crazy one. When you look at him, you go: ‘He’s tired already’, then we started sparring and in the second round Robert (Falcao’s coach) told me that he was already tired. So he told me to take it easy, keep it steady so he can go for at least 10 rounds.”
“I took it down a notch and we were just boxing, you know?” Falcao said. “We ended up going for 12 rounds, even though he was tired. He was landing shots and eating a lot of shots, too. It’s bad. He is heavy now, he’s overweight He must weigh about 220 pounds now or more. So the only big guy here at the gym is me. So I ended up having spar him. I enjoyed doing it, though.
Nate Diaz makes his pro boxing debut against Jake Paul in August
In his most recent MMA fight, Nate Diaz (21-13) scored a submission win via guillotine choke against former UFC interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson in a welterweight match in September 2022. Before that, the 38-year-old was on a two-fight losing skid, with a unanimous decision loss to now welterweight champion Leon Edwards a TKO one via doctor stoppage to Jorge Masvidal.
Meanwhile Jake Paul (6-1) suffered his first professional boxing loss when he dropped a split decision to Tommy Fury, back in February of this year. Before that, the 26-year-old scored wins over other MMA fighters such as former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley twice, former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former ONE welterweight champion Ben Askren.
Now, Nate Diaz is expected to make his boxing debut against Jake Paul on August 5. The match is scheduled to take place in Dallas, Texas.
Esquiva Falcao (30-0) won the silver medal at the 2012 Olympic games, in London, England. The 33-year-old is still undefeated as a professional and is set to fight for the vacant IBF middleweight title on July 1, against Vincenzo Gualtieri.
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