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Chris Avila has some choice words for Esquiva Falcão after seeing his comments regarding a sparring session with Nate Diaz. During a recent visit to a Los Angeles gym, Team Diaz sparred with Falcão, who was not really impressed with the UFC veteran.
Though he ‘enjoyed’ getting to spar with Diaz, Falcão said he was ‘bad,’ ‘overweight’ and ‘tired’ after a few rounds in the ring. The comments went viral, and most people were concerned, especially since Diaz has a few months left to prepare for his boxing bout against Jake Paul on Aug. 5 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Chris Avila disputes Falcão‘s Nate Diaz story
Nate Diaz did not respond to Esquiva Falcão, but his teammate Chris Avila has. During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the Team Diaz representative lifted the lid on the sparring session. From what Avila saw, Falcão misrepresented most of what happened against Diaz.
“Bro, that guy got f—ked up,” said Avila. “Yeah, we just got back—we were out in LA and we went to a boxing gym, this guy is like a silver medalist out of Brazil and whatever. He’s 30-0, he’s fighting for a world title next week. And then boxers are like that—bro, they’re pretty dumb. They’re passive. They’re really passive.
“So Nate sparred this guy, did 12 rounds,” continued Avila. “They did 12 rounds. The guy was acting like—bro, he got f—ked up. He lost every round, then afterward he immediately goes to the coach, ‘Oh, I’m cutting weight, that’s why I didn’t look too good.’ And then you see on his [Instagram] story, it’s in Portuguese so we had somebody translate—and he was talking s—t.”
After sparring with Diaz, Falcão requested to spar with Avila and, according to him at least, it went the same way.
“The next day we went back and the coach was like, ‘Yo, he wants to spar you,’” said Avila. “So I sparred him, and then he lost every round again. And he still goes and talks some more s—t in Portuguese, but we didn’t know until after all the sparring. Anyways, to that guy, f—k that guy too.”
For those concerned over Diaz due to those comments from Falcão, Avila says not to worry.
“He’s doing really good, he’s looking sharp,” said Avila. “And to all the haters out there, be surprised.”
Boxing champion shares his sparring experience with Diaz
As he continues to prepare for Jake Paul, Nate Diaz also got a few rounds in with Regis Prograis. In a recent interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, the WBC champion revealed he ran into the Stockton native at the gym, where they had an impromptu sparring session.
“The main thing, he was real tough,” said Prograis. “I hit Nate with a lot of punches and he is just real tough. As far as his boxing, you can’t really compare it to our boxing because it’s a little different. But I can see why he has so much success in the MMA and UFC because he does know how to throw his hands.
“I’ve been in there with some MMA fighters, they don’t know what to do with their hands, they’re just lost against a boxer,” continued Prograis. “But he landed some punches on me, it was good sparring.”
Team Nate Diaz returns to action soon
Chris Avila and Nate Diaz are set to compete on the same night. For his next assignment, Avila faces ex-UFC fighter Jeremy Stephens on the Paul vs. Diaz card.
Since returning to the ring, the 30-year-old is now 3-0 in his most recent appearances, which include decisions against Anthony Taylor and Mikhail Varshavski, better known as ‘Dr. Mike’ on YouTube.
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