(Above: Shinya Aoki thrusts his hypnotic package at a DREAM ring girl. Below: Lyle Beerbohm’s mom poses with the fancy fabric used to make her son’s shorts.)

Among lightweight MMA fighters known for their multi-colored ring attire, Shinya Aoki and Lyle Beerbohm are easily ranked #1 and #2 in the world. And so, this matchup was inevitable. As first reported by MMA-Japan, Aoki and Beerbohm will meet in a featured bout at Strikeforce’s April 9th show.

Aoki’s last Strikeforce appearance ended in a five-round shutout at the hands of Gilbert Melendez at Strikeforce: Nashville. He won his next three MMA bouts in Japan, but most recently got knocked out in a bizarre mixed-rules bout against Yuichiro “Jienotsu” Nagashima at Dynamite!! 2010. As for Beerbohm, the Spokane-based fighter had his perfect record snapped last month in Texas, when he got out-worked by Pat Healy in one of the greatest grappling exhibitions in recent MMA history.

Strikeforce’s 4/9 event will go down at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, and is slated to feature Nick Diaz vs. Paul Daley, Gilbert Melendez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri, and Gegard Mousasi vs. Mike Kyle. In other booking news…

A proposed welterweight match between TUF 9 winner James Wilks and Duane “Bang” Ludwig at UFC Fight Night 24 (March 26th, Seattle) has been scrapped due to a sternum injury suffered by Ludwig. Replacing him on short notice will be TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah, who is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Peter Sobotta at UFC 122. Wilks has gone 1-2 in the Octagon since winning his season of The Ultimate Fighter, and most recently dropped a decision to hot Canadian prospect Claude Patrick at UFC 120. Could it be a must-win situation for the Brit?