UFC 137 Results: 5 Keys for Nick Diaz vs. GSP

After Nick Diaz beat BJ Penn in the UFC 137 main event, he made it abundantly clear that he wants a shot at Georges St. Pierre’s title.

Well, he got what he asked for—an irate GSP and a shot at his Welterweight Title.

The fight all stems from Diaz’s insult-laced tirade during his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, where he claimed that GSP was “scared to fight him” among other things.

St. Pierre was so upset with how disrespectful Diaz was that he demanded Dana White scratch his title fight with Carlos Condit and plug Diaz in.

White obliged, and now according to OpposingViews.com, it’s looking like this “super fight” will headline the UFC’s Super Bowl weekend spectacle.

If he wants to take GSP’s title away and not look like the classless ass-clown that many view him as, he’s going to have to just shut up and start focusing on these five keys to this fight.

Diaz’s Jiu Jitsu Skill Set

Nick Diaz is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu out of the Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy and is one of the premiere BJJ practitioners in all of MMA.

GSP is also a black belt in BJJ under Bruno Fernandes so he is very good, but Diaz has more experience in BJJ and if this fight goes to the ground we may see GSP tap out for the first time since Matt Hughes submitted him via arm bar in 2004.

Avoid a Wrestling Match

Georges St. Pierre has Nick Diaz dominated in the wrestling department and if he decides he wants to take this fight to the ground, Diaz’s BJJ instincts better kick in to offset his superior wrestling skills.

Diaz must also avoid any sort of side control from GSP where he would be vulnerable to getting submitted himself.

Stand and Trade but Be Deceptive

GSP is absolutely dominant on his feet, but if there is one area that Nick Diaz has a chance to win it’s on his feet.

Diaz only has a 74-inch reach compared to GSP’s 76-inch reach, but he comes at his opponents from all different angles.

While he by no means compares to Anderson Silva as a fighter, he does come at his opponents in a similar fashion with those obscure angles.

He needs to use that as an advantage to check GSP's unbelievable jab and get him off his game plan. 

Force GSP to be the Aggressor

Some say that GSP’s fights have become stale and it’s due to him developing too much of a defensive style.

There's truth to that if you look at his past fights—it’s been seven fights since he last finished one.

The last fight he finished in the middle of the octagon was back on April 19th, 2008, against Matt Sera to re-gain the UFC Welterweight Title. (His last fight against B.J. Penn was a corner stoppage on January 31st, 2009.)

What Diaz needs to do is mix that reckless style that he brings to the ring with forcing GSP to come to him.

If he gets caught up in chasing GSP around the ring, he’s just going to end up eating jabs for five rounds and aid GSP into another boring unanimous decision—robbing us of another exciting fight that should have been.

Just Focus on the Fight and Shut Up

Now that Diaz received his wish, he just needs to bury himself in his training for this fight and not say anything more to fuel GSP.

However, it is a lot harder to do than say for one of the more classless people in the sport.

He better realize that all the extra time he spends spouting off at the mouth will be needed to prepare for this fight because GSP is sure to not take it lightly.

Be careful, Nick. Every stupid word you spew is just another zero being added onto the huge check that your mouth just wrote, and in all likelihood, your ass won't be able to cash.

Check out more of Brian Dezelske's articles.

Brian can also be found at Out of My League, where he compiles fantasy football rankings each week.

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