UFC 137 Fight Card: What Nick Diaz Must Do to Beat BJ Penn

With UFC 137 just a few hours away, UFC fans from the United States and across the globe patiently await what has potential to be one of the most entertaining fight cards of 2011.

The main card will be headlined around former UFC lightweight champion, BJ Penn, who will step foot inside the Octagon to face former Strikeforce champion, Nick Diaz.

There hasn't been much more drama leading up to a fight card than the journey to UFC 137, which will air live in Las Vegas, Nevada in front of a sold out Mandalay Bay Events Center. Diaz added more attention to the already-hyped main event, as he head-butted Penn in their stare down at the UFC 137 weigh-ins.

That leads us to this question: Can Diaz back up all his pre-fight nonsense?

In order for Diaz to defeat Penn, there's a few things he's going to need to accomplish when action begins.

As we've seen in the past, Penn is one of the most well-rounded fighters in mixed martial arts today, which has allowed him to attack his opponent in a variety of different styles. If and when the fight is taken to the ground, Diaz needs to protect his back as Penn has shown a tendency to capture his opponent's back, leading to the Rear Naked Choke attempt.

Five of Penn's six career submission victories have come via Rear Naked Choke. And, for Diaz, the longer he can push the fight, the better chance he has of defeating "The Prodigy."

Diaz has proven to be the better conditioned fighter, as Penn is known to become gassed after the first few rounds. Most importantly for Diaz, he needs to stick to his game plan.

It's not a secret that Diaz is arguably the best boxer in the UFC today, as 13 of his 25 career victories have come by way of knockout.

If Nick Diaz can stick to his game plan and keep the fighter in the stand-up, he'll improve his chances of beating the UFC legend in BJ Penn.