Strikeforce Diaz vs. Daley: Lyle Beerbohm Speaks Before Fight with Shinya Aoki

At Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley, Lyle "Fancy Pants" Beerbohm will attempt to bounce back from the first loss of his career with a win over the highly-regarded Shinya Aoki. Just days before the biggest fight of his career, Beerbohm generously took some time away from his fight preparations to talk with Bleacher Report.

In his last fight, Beerbohm lost in a narrow decision against Pat Healy. The loss was Beerbohm's first in 17 professional fights. Beerbohm disagreed with the decision, but doesn't feel that Strikeforce's view on the fight played a factor in matching him up with Shinya Aoki.

"I thought I beat Pat Healy, personally. I don't know what Strikeforce thought. I think Strikeforce put this fight (with Aoki) together because they just thought it would be a fun match-up."

In his fight against Healy, Beerbohm showed excellent submission defense, but the number of submissions that he was forced to fight off may have been what cost him the fight in the judges' eyes.

Beerbohm has said that part of his game plan is always to put himself in precarious positions in order to create scrambles, but he recognizes that strategy will have to change when he meets Aoki, who is widely considered one of the best submission artists in mixed martial arts.

"I didn't respect Pat Healy's ground game. I put myself in those positions just because I didn't respect him. Aoki on the other hand, he's going to be a different ballgame. I'm going to have to, you know, not put myself in those nasty positions like I did to create scrambles. I just gotta be a lot smarter this fight than with Pat (Healy)."

If Beerbohm were to defeat a highly-ranked fighter such as Aoki, it is possible that he could be considered for a shot at a title. If he's not offered a chance to compete for the belt, though, Beerbohm still has one opponent on his mind.

"Beating a guy like Aoki would be a big step in my career. No matter what, I still want to fight Pat (Healy). That's a fight that just has to happen. You know, my first loss, that's just a fight that I want. So whenever I can fight Pat (Healy), that's the fight I want."

While Beerbohm has had his differences with Strikeforce in the past, he is now content with his current employer. Still, Beerbohm admitted his excitement at the announcement of Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce and what it meant for the rules governing his fights.

"I thought it was fun. The UFC is the UFC. Their marketing and everything they do for the sport is unbelievable. Strikeforce is good. They got a lot of good guys in their company. I like the rules of the UFC, the Unified Rules (of MMA). I like the elbows."

While Beerbohm likes the idea of being able to add the new weapon to his arsenal, he isn't overly concerned with changing his training habits in order to work elbows into his game.

"(Elbows) are natural. Just being able to throw them will probably be good for me. I think I can just throw them without training."

While fans immediately began to drool over the thought of a roster merge between the UFC and Strikeforce after the transaction, UFC President Dana White has continually parroted that the two brands will continue to operate "business as usual."

However, if the two lightweight rosters were ever to be combined, Beerbohm is confident that Strikeforce's lightweights would not disappoint.

"I think (Gilbert Melendez) is the best lightweight in the world. I could fight anyone in the lightweight division. We'd all do good."

In the midst of preparing for his fight with Aoki, Beerbohm has been working on a documentary on his incredible life story and how he was able to transition from the lowest of lows to becoming the well-know and fan-friendly fighter that he is today.

"The documentary is just about my trials and tribulations. It should be coming out sometime at the end of the summer. The story just keeps getting better. It was supposed to be finished during the winter time, but I just keep on getting good fights and what not, so we just have to keep on filming."

Beerbohm recognizes that there are lessons that can be learned and inspiration to be gained from hearing about his life. By telling his story to the public, Beerbohm hopes to be able to impact the lives of those who view the documentary.

"I was addicted to meth for six years and shot it up. At one point in my life, I didn't want to stop doing meth. You watch the documentary and no matter how somebody feels, they know they can change their life if they watch and see me do it. I just want to be able to help people."

Beerbohm would like to thank his training partners, his gym and Ironmaster.com. Check Beerbohm out at lylebeerbohm.com and you can win a pair of Strikeforce gloves and a t-shirt. 

Strikeforce Diaz vs. Daley: Results, News and More

Sean Smith is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @BR_Sean_Smith