“Let’s do it!” That was Lyle Beerbohm’s response when asked by Fast Eddie Constantine on the latest edition of The INFO if he would fight Shinya Aoki for ownership rights to Beerbohm’s famous “shorts of many colors” made by his mother.

This sums up Beerbohm’s desire to face the best lightweights in the world and compete for the lightweight title within Strikeforce. “I want to fight the best lightweights and get the Strikeforce belts,” said Beerbohm. “That is my only goal and whatever gets me there is what I want to do.”

Beerbohm feels he should be next in line, but he will compete against whoever Strikeforce matches him up with. One name that came up however was Jorge Gurgel. “I was kind of hoping to fight Gurgel on the November card,” he said. “He fought In Washington on the same card when I beat Bang Ludwig so I was hoping that was how the match up would go for November.”

Beerbohm was very satisfied with his most recent victory on the Arena Rumble card, winning in under two minutes. “In Strikeforce I am not allowed to use elbows, so I wanted to use it when I fight outside Strikeforce,” he explained. “I took him down and ended up giving him 30 staples and 20 stitches. The first elbow split him wide open and I was surprised when the ref did not stop it.”

Beerbohm felt bad that the referee did not act faster to care for the bloodied fighter’s safety. “I did not stop but I looked up at him for a second with a look thinking, ‘Are you going to stop this?’  He did not, so I threw a few more punches and he finally stepped in,” explained Beerbohm.

The variance in the rules does not seem to affect the Washington based fighter. “Rules are rules. I can fight any which way you want,” he said. “If you can’t do it and I can’t do it them it does not really bother me. Don’t get me wrong, I do love throwing elbows! The guys in Strikeforce are lucky.”

Beerbohm is currently under negotiations with Strikeforce to extend his tenure with the organization. “I think Strikeforce is the place to be,” Beerbohm stated. “He [Scott Coker] treats me real well and does everything I want. They are on Showtime and the competition is there.”

One of the points that Beerbohm wants in his new deal is the guarantee that his fights are televised. “I am 23–0 with 21 finishes,” Beerbohm said. “I have beaten several UFC veterans and I think I should be on TV. I think we will be on TV from here on out.”

Beerbohm thanked Ken Pavia and MMA Agents for their work in securing the exposure that he feels he deserves. “Pavia is a great agent,” he said.

Beerbohm does not feel he needs to migrate his training away from northern Washington in order to compete with the world’s best at 155 lbs. “I have a loyal team here in Spokane,” said Beerbohm.

“They have been with me since day one. I have Mike Hanks he is an unbelievable Striker, Cody McKenzie is 6 – 0 as a pro. If you know the basics, you do not need to go anywhere else. You do not need all these tricky places to learn new stuff. When it comes down to it, the fight is mental and I am second to none there.”

Beerbohm debuted his “Beer-naked choke” in a recent victory against Duane Ludwig. “I do have some tricky submission that I do. I have only been training two-and-a-half years and everything is clicking at the right time,” said Beerbohm. “You are going to see some fancy moves when I fight on Showtime. You will see the Beer-naked choke again.”

When asked if he would consider other events such as the ADCC submission wrestling championships, Beerbohm was all ears. “That is definitely some thing I want to do. It s the number one grappling tournament in the world and I would love to be up in there,” he said.

Due to his previous legal issues, this year’s tournament would be out of the question. “Unfortunately, I do not have a passport and I can’t get it in time. But maybe the next time the tournament comes around I will be able go,” Beerbohm said.

Beerbohm stated his previous substance abuse issues have helped mental focus. “When having a major meth addiction, I put all of my time and effort into that drug. Now I switched and I put all of my effort into MMA,” explained Beerbohm.

Don’t forget to check out The INFO every week as we strive to bring you the best coverage and discussion from everything in the world of mixed martial arts.

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