"Fancy Pants" In Flux: What's Next For Strikeforce Lightweight Lyle Beerbohm?

Heading into his main event fight with Pat "Bam Bam" Healy at Strikeforce Challengers 14 this past Friday night, Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm was riding one of the most dominant streaks ever to being an MMA career. With a combined 25-0 amateur/pro fight record, many were pegging the indomitable "Fancy Pants" as a future title challenger. In fact, rumors had surfaced that the winner of the Beerbohm-Healy fight would be one win away from a crack at the Strikeforce Lightweight Championship. Then came the unanimous decision loss to Healy.

So what's next for "Fancy Pants?"

The Strikeforce lightweight division is one of the more competitive weight classes in the promotion, and has many options for Beerbohm. The Strikeforce commentators agreed that an immediate rematch with Healy would be in order. Will matchmaker Rich Chou agree with the assessment and make that fight? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, there are plenty of other competitors for Beerbohm to tangle with next. Here's a list of the top five, and why they make sense: 

5. Conor Heun - "Hurricane" is coming off two straight losses, but is still a young, marketable fighter. A submission fighter who likes to bang, Heun would be a good matchup.

4. Justin Wilcox - An ultra-tough wrestler, "The Silverback" has won five straight bouts, including a win over Beerbohm victim "Shaolin" Ribeiro. It has been rumored in the past that Beerbohm has turned down a bout with Wilcox due to his lack of excitement as a fighter (eight of his wins have come via decision). Perhaps now would be the time.

3. KJ Noons - Prior to his welterweight title shot loss to Nick Diaz, Noons had run off six straight victories. His initial foray into the 170-pound division was decidedly less than successful, and moving back to lightweight might be the way to go. This would be a good stylistic match-up as well.

2. Josh Thomson - Beerbohm and Thomson participated in an online war of words last year, so this is a ready-made feud. Both fighters are coming off high-profile losses, and a win over the other would help either fighter. Both fighters employ very similar all-around styles in the cage as well.

1. JZ Cavalcante - The Brazilian star lost in his Strikeforce debut against Josh Thomson last year, and is desperately looking for his next bout. A bout between "Fancy Pants" and Cavalcante makes more sense than any other bout.

Special thanks to MMAJunkie for the use of the Beerbohm photo.