(PRESS RELEASE) -- 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."

In the SHOWTIME® televised Strikeforce Challengers main event, "Smokin" Joe Villasenor (27-6) edged out a majority judges' decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over fellow middleweight (185 pounds) Evangelista Cyborg (16-13).

Jorge Gurgel (13-5) and Conor "Hurricane" Heun (8-3) slugged it out for three full rounds in what shaped up to be nothing short of an epic war. Gurgel was declared the victor of the 160 pound catch weight bout by all three judges (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) scoring the fight.

Complete Strikeforce Challengers Results:

Main Card (SHOWTIME Televised Bouts):

"Smokin" Joe Villasenor def. Evangelista Cyborg - majority decision - 29-28, 28-29, 29-28

Tim Kennedy def. Nick "The Goat" Thompson - submission (strikes) - round 2 (2:37)

Jorge Gurgel def. Conor "Hurricane" Heun - unanimous decision - 29-28, 30-27, 30-27

Sarah Kaufman def. Shayna "The Queen of Spades" Baszler - unanimous decision - 29-28, 30-27, 30-27

Cory "The One" Devela def. Luke Rockhold - submission (rear-naked choke) - round 1 (:30)

Preliminary Card:

Dennis "Superman" Hallman def. Justin Davis - submission (rear-naked choke) - round 1 (:20)

Bryan Caraway def. Alex Zuniga - unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm def. Duane "Bang" Ludwig - submission (rear-naked choke) - round 1 (4:27)

Landon "The Show" Showalter def. George Stork - unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Len Bentley def. Marques Daniels - unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

Steve Hadsel def. Taylor Roberts - KO - round 1 (:17)

About Strikeforce

Strikeforce is a world-class mixed martial arts cage fight promotion which, on Friday, March 10, 2006, made history with its "Shamrock vs. Gracie" event, the first sanctioned mixed martial arts fight card in California state history. The star-studded extravaganza, which pitted legendary champion Frank Shamrock against Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Cesar Gracie at San Jose's HP Pavilion, played host to a sold-out, record crowd of 18,265. Since 1995, Strikeforce has been the exclusive provider of martial arts programming for ESPN and, after 12 years of success as a leading, world championship kickboxing promotion, the company unveiled its mixed martial arts series with "Shamrock vs. Gracie." In May 2008, West Coast Productions, the parent company of Strikeforce, partnered with Silicon Valley Sports & Entertainment (SVS&E), an entity created in 2000 to oversee all business operation aspects of the San Jose Sharks and HP Pavilion at San Jose.

About ShoWare Center

The nation's first sports & entertainment arena awarded "Silver" certification by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(r)), ShoWare Center is home to the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds, as well as concerts, family shows, corporate events, tradeshows and other sporting events. Located just 17 miles from Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma, ShoWare Center offers guests complimentary parking and is the crown jewel in a well-designed gathering place for residents of the Puget Sound region. Visit www.ShoWareCenter.com.

About SMG

Founded in 1977 and headquartered in Philadelphia, SMG provides facility services to more than 215 public assembly facilities including arenas, stadiums, performing arts theaters, and convention, conference and trade centers worldwide, totaling more than 1.5 million entertainment seats and more than 10 million square feet of exhibition space. SMG manages 76 arenas including Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y., Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, and Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Visit www.SMGWorld.com