UFC 137 Results: 3 Adjustments Nick Diaz Must Make Before Georges St-Pierre

At UFC 137, Nick Diaz showed the world that he absolutely has what it takes to fight amongst the best in the world when he defeated one of the all time greats, BJ Penn.

After the fight it was announced that Diaz will be the next man to fight Georges St-Pierre and not Carlos Condit.

Diaz is a very skilled fighter, but there are a few things he needs to improve before he gets into the cage with one of the most skilled men in the world.

Cover Up More

One of Diaz’s advantages is that he seems to have no concern for his own well being. He just goes after his opponents with a pace that seems to throw every fighter he’s come up against off of his game plan.

GSP is a different fighter than anyone Diaz has faced, however. St-Pierre has the ability to build a plan and stick to it better than almost any other fighter out there.

There’s no doubt that “Rush” will plan for the incredible pace that Diaz is able to force upon his opponents. St-Pierre will look to counterstrike Diaz into oblivion.

It’s very crucial that Diaz cover up more while moving forward or he might end up looking like Josh Koscheck did when he faced off against GSP.

Improve His Takedown Defense

One of Diaz’s biggest weakness historically has been his takedown defense. He needs to drill his takedown defense extensively before he goes up against GSP.

St-Pierre isn’t going to stand up with Diaz if he doesn’t have to. Not only is GSP a very superior wrestler, but he’s also a much bigger fighter than Diaz. Diaz needs to make "Rush" work for the takedown.

Diaz would also be smart to practice getting up from the mat. His striking is great, his cardio is great, his Jiu Jitsu is great, now he just needs to work on his overall wrestling.

Be Prepared to Work off His Back

Even if Diaz practiced nothing but preventing the takedown from now until Super Bowl weekend he’d still eventually get taken down by St-Pierre. It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when.

Diaz is a very skilled when he’s fighting off his back, we’ve all seen it, but he needs to spend time practicing fighting from his back.

While practicing fighting off his back is good, it’d be even better if he practiced using someone who was considerably larger than him.

Diaz isn’t nearly the same size as St-Pierre, and unless he spends lots of time practicing, GSP is likely to control the fight easily once it goes to the ground.