UFC 137 Results: Breaking Down Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz

After a dominating performance over BJ Penn at last night's UFC 137, former Strikeforce Welterweight champion Nick Diaz will finally get his shot at UFC gold.

He will now face UFC Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in February during Super Bowl weekend.

The two champions were originally slated to square off at last night's event, but antics by Diaz lost him the immediate title shot, and an injury to St-Pierre forced him off the card completely.

Now that they will finally face each other in the Octagon, here is the head-to-toe breakdown of this monumental bout.

Striking

Both fighters are very highly-skilled strikers with devastating power and tactical precision.

Diaz's striking is based off a strong boxing background, a contributing factor in his dominating performance over BJ Penn at last night's event.

St-Pierre also has solid boxing skills and likes to establish his jab to keep his opponents at bay.

However, St-Pierre is also a good kicker, stemming from his karate background. This makes him a more well-rounded striker. Diaz has kicks, but prefers to use his hands.

Because of this, St-Pierre takes the slight advantage for being more versatile.

Advantage: St-Pierre

Wrestling

St-Pierre is one of the most dominating wrestlers in the game and has the ability to take anyone down in the welterweight division.

Diaz has solid takedown defense, but his shots and ability to control from the top are nowhere near the level of St-Pierre's.

The current champion has a huge advantage in this aspect and will likely use this skill frequently against Diaz.

Advantage: St-Pierre

Submissions

Both St-Pierre and Diaz are black belts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and possess fantastic grappling skills.

St-Pierre has a penchant for arm attacks, catching Matt Hughes in an armbar at UFC 79 and threatening Dan Hardy with a kimura and an armbar at UFC 111.

Diaz, however, has the better submission skills and owns a tricky guard that is perilous to unfocused opponents.

With eight career submission wins, Diaz has proven that his jiu-jitsu is on another level.

 Advantage: Diaz

Strength

Physically-speaking, St-Pierre is the stronger fighter.

Constantly evolving his training regimen between bouts, St-Pierre incorporates a lot of Olympic-style lifting and gymnastics to strengthen his body.

This helps him keep top control on the ground and makes him vicious with the Thai clinch.

Diaz is no slouch, but St-Pierre is the stronger athlete.

Advantage: St-Pierre

Cardio

What Diaz lacks in strength he makes up for in cardio.

Able to go for days, Diaz trains for triathlons when he is not fighting.

St-Pierre has solid cardio as well, but Diaz has the advantage here.

Advantage: Diaz

Experience

As a champion of multiple organizations and having fought all over the world, Diaz is a very experienced fighter.

He has been in the fight game since 2001 and has fought with almost every promotion, from Pride and the WEC to Strikeforce and Dream.

St-Pierre has almost exclusively fought in the UFC, but has faced the best of the best over the years.

Almost wiping out the entire welterweight division, St-Pierre has had to stay at the top of his game in order to stay a champion.

Both fighters are experienced in different ways, but Diaz's time spent around the world is a major advantage.

Advantage: Diaz

Variables

Coming off of an injury will be a major factor for St-Pierre.

It will be interesting to see if ring rust will set in since he has not fought since April when he defeated Jake Shields at UFC 129.

Another factor will be Diaz's mouth and seeing if he gets under St-Pierre's skin at all. Following up his utter destruction of Penn, Diaz will be riding a wave of confidence that should light a fire under St-Pierre.

For Diaz, one has to wonder if he can finally cope with the magnitude of this bout and stick to his pre-fight obligations.

Prediction

This fight should have fans pumped since two of the best welterweights in the world will be battling it out on Super Bowl weekend.

Diaz's grappling will pose a huge threat to St-Pierre, who likes to attack from top control on the ground.

On the feet, it will be interesting to see who has the better boxing in what is sure to be a very technical battle.

Because of St-Pierre's wrestling and well-rounded strikes, I just don't see Diaz being able to implement his style and game plan.

Prediction: St-Pierre via unanimous decision

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