KENT, Wash. (June 19, 2009) - Thirty-year-old Lyle “Fancy Pants” Beerbohm (10-0) continued his miracle transformation from drug addicted felon to undefeated mixed martial arts (MMA) hopeful and elevated his status to certified star by choking out seasoned knockout artist Duane “Bang” Ludwig (18-9) in the first round (4:27) of battle in an electric, non-televised Strikeforce Challengers 160 pound catch weight fight at ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington on Friday, June 19.


“I did exactly what I wanted to do - beat him up a bit on the ground and choke him out,” said Beerbohm a native of Spokane, Washington.


From the outset of the first round, Beerbohm gave the far more experienced Ludwig little opportunity to create any distance between the two competitors, space that Ludwig needed in order to execute his world class kicking and punching skills.


Beerbohm secured a takedown. Ludwig scrambled to his feet, but was dealt a point penalty by the referee in charge of the bout after tagging Beerbohm with a kick to the side of the face while Beerbohm was still on the ground (Striking a downed opponent while standing is illegal.).


Rather than take advantage of the rule that allows a fouled fighter to rest for as long as five minutes, Beerbohm immediately shook off any damage he sustained from the illegal blow and signaled to the referee that he was ready to return to work.


“That’s not me - I always want to go,” said Beerbohm of his decision to immediately re-engage. “I always want to push the pace. That’s how I beat people - I push them and I break them. If I take a break, that means he’s taking a break and I don’t want that.”


Beerbohm tossed Ludwig to the mat and, shortly thereafter, began hammering Ludwig with a flurry of punches. Ludwig broke free, but the unrelenting Beerbohm secured a choke hold from side position.


Once again, Ludwig tried to fend his opponent off, but Beerbohm’s tight hold forced Ludwig to tap.


In the weeks leading up to the fight, Seattle was buzzing about Beerbohm as local radio and TV revealed the fighter’s former addiction to crystal meth, a lifestyle that landed him an 18 month sentence in Walla Wall state prison three years ago. Beerbohm, who insists he was never beaten over the course of numerous street fights and a handful of prison scuffles, learned of MMA while tuning into Spike TV’s smash-hit reality series The Ultimate Fighter from the prison lounge.


“When I was sitting in prison and watching the show,” he said, “I was like ‘Are you serious? Those guys are on TV, making money?’ I knew I could take those guys so, right then and there, I made up my mind and haven’t looked back since.”


Beerbohm’s back story also landed him on the front page of The Seattle Times’s sports section today.


With his 10th professional win under his belt, Beerbohm has his mind set on one thing.


“I want to be the Strikeforce champ,” he said. “I want the belt. That’s my only goal.”