UFC icon Nate Diaz is gearing up for his much-anticipated boxing debut against Jake Paul in Dallas, Texas, on August 5. However, Diaz’s sparring partner recently revealed that the combatant needs to shed a significant amount of weight within a short span of two months.
Diaz recently sparred with Esquiva Falcao, an unbeaten professional boxer and Olympic silver medalist. According to Falcao, Diaz is currently carrying some extra pounds.
Falcao expressed his surprise at Diaz’s size, stating: “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 to spar him. I enjoyed doing it though.”
Despite Diaz’s weight concerns, Falcao was impressed with his skills during their sparring session. The two engaged in a rigorous 12-round session, during which Diaz displayed his boxing prowess.
He continued “I took it down a notch and we were just boxing. 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.”
Falcao won a silver medal at the 2012 London Games, and made his professional boxing debut two years later. He has since maintained an impeccable record of 30 wins, with 20 victories achieved by knockout. Additionally, Falcao is currently preparing for his own upcoming match against Vincenzo Gualtieri for the vacant middleweight world title in July.
If Falcao’s assessment of Diaz’s weight is accurate, it would mean Diaz surpasses the weight of former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in some of his previous title matches. Wilder has bulked up in recent years but weighed considerably less for his bouts against opponents like Luis Ortiz and Bermane Stiverne.
Diaz is known for transitioning between weight classes in his UFC career, and typically fluctuated between 155 pounds and 170 pounds. However, his match against Paul necessitates a weight of 185 pounds. Initially, Diaz proposed extending the match from eight rounds to ten, which Paul agreed to.
Nevertheless, Diaz later backed down from his proposal by tweeting: “I’m good with 8.”
To prepare for the match, the UFC legend will be training with a former world champion who has expressed confidence in Diaz’s abilities. Diaz stated at The MMA Hour: “Not to go too deep into it, but he’s reached out and we’re gonna connect at a certain point when the fight is getting close. It’s gonna be a tougher fight than people realise because Nate’s going to keep coming.”