5 things Nate Diaz needs to do against Khamzat Chimaev

#2. Fight on the front foot

Pressure fighters are not used to fighting on the backfoot. Conor McGregor's first losses to Nate Diaz and Dustin Poirier are evidence of that. Tony Ferguson's brutal loss to Justin Gaethje is yet more proof of this simple truth. Most pressure fighters are ill-equipped to deal with an opponent who does not yield and instead forces them to retreat. Khamzat Chimaev revealed a glimpse of this tendency against Gilbert Burns.

While 'Borz' throws his right hook closer to his chest on a more linear trajectory, it still falls short of the reach that his rarely used jab possesses. This means that Chimaev's punching mechanics are built for pressure fighting. He will not have the intercepting jab needed to fight on the backfoot, least of all to build his counters off of.

Nate Diaz can do as he did to Conor McGregor. He can raise his guard high, tuck his chin and march forward.

He'll have to be wary of Chimaev throwing a wider hook and clipping him behind the ear. However, since the undefeated welterweight typically throws his hooks straighter, Diaz will likely be able to absorb the blow on the forehead instead, as he did when he faced McGregor. If he has to be hit somewhere when coming forward, the forehead is ideal compared to the chin or sides of the head.

This way, he can crowd Chimaev's space and force his opponent onto the backfoot without worrying about takedowns due to having used his armbar as a deterrence. Given the Chechen phenom's apparent cardio issues, forcing him to constantly move backwards will tire him even more.

---

#1. Knees and uppercuts in the clinch

Nate Diaz must do more than threaten with submissions to frustrate Chimaev's attempts at grappling.

Using armbars to hyperextend his opponent's arms from the bottom should frighten him based on what 'Borz' himself said about his experience grappling with Gilbert Burns. However, Nate Diaz must consistently present challenges in every wrestling and grappling sequence to force his foe to expend more energy than he hopes to.

One of Khamzat Chimaev's preferred areas of engagement is the clinch. He is a bodylock specialist who often digs for underhooks and uses his significant strength and size advantage to secure enough leverage for a takedown. Strangely, despite Diaz's own deficiencies as a wrestler, he has evolved into a competent clinch fighter, famously using it to defeat former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis.

In the clinch, Nate Diaz is quick to shove the top of his head against his opponent's chin, breaking their posture before slamming knees and uppercuts to the head and body.

Against Chimaev, he must focus on punishing the Chechen's body to sap him of his limited cardio. He might not be consistently successful, but he must force Chimaev to work more than he expects to so that if at any point he's being outstruck, 'Borz' will think twice about wrestling him, leaving him in no man's land.