Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm picked up his 15th straight win this past weekend at a local show in Washington. And while it might seem strange that a now 15-0 fighter had to compete outside a top organization to keep active, "Fancy Pants" explained on Thursday's episode of The MMA Hour that once injuries precluded him from taking fights against Josh Thomson and another Strikeforce contender, the promotion gave him the green light to fight elsewhere.
Beerbohm is certain he will return to the Strikeforce cage in January, but not before he fights for the Rumble on the Ridge promotion on Dec. 4.
If he fights consistently for Strikeforce in 2011, he should probably view that as some kind of minor victory considering the fact he got himself in hot water with the organization this past year when he publicly asked to be released from his contract on mixedmartialarts.com.
Thankfully for Beerbohm, he later realized his approach in expressing his frustration with the organization wasn't the best and Strikeforce never released him.
"Sometimes I get mad. I see what some people make and I get mad. I should never bring it to the table. I should never bring it out to public, and what I did wasn't professional at all," Beerbohm said.
"I just wanted to see if I could get out of that bad contract I signed with EliteXC. I was just trying to do some things that I shouldn't have done. I'll 100% take the blame and I'm back in good terms with Strikeforce and I'm really looking forward fighting come January."
Beerbohm, whose last Strikeforce win came against Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro in May, doesn't believe he was necessarily placed in the company's doghouse, but does think his online rant stunted his growth in Strikeforce.
"I know it didn't help me at all. I know that much. I don't think they were punishing me, but I don't think they were helping me at all. They were upset and they have a good reason to be upset. You know, Strikeforce is a great company and I'm really glad to fight for them. They have a bunch of good fighters and good match-ups for me."
The former prison inmate and meth addict is no stranger to adversity, so he won't dwell on his recent issues with Strikeforce. In fact, he has now turned his attention to lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.
"I just want to be the champ. So whatever gets me to that belt the fastest ... I want to be the champ. So Gilbert has the belt and I think Josh got hurt and they are not fighting now. I think it's a good call. You know, I'm 15-0; 3-0 in Strikeforce; 2-0 in EliteXC. And me and Gil would be a great fight."
(Ed. note: Watch Beerbohm's appearance on the show below. Download the MP3 here. Download previous episodes of The MMA Hour on iTunes here)
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