A welterweight bout between hard-hitting strikers Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos and DREAM champ Marius “The Whitemare” Zaromskis is in the works for Strikeforce: “Live” on June 16th. MMAFighting.com was first to report on the planned bout, which would take place at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Santos has been absent from Strikeforce since last June, but scored a first-round victory in Samurai FC in December. He will look to pick up another win against Zaromskis, whose DREAM title will not be on the line.

Santos (17-13-0), who holds 15 wins by knockout or submission, is a feared brawler who has competed between 185 and 205 pounds for most of his career. He is perhaps best known for his 2006 war with Melvin “No Mercy” Manhoef in Cage Rage, which was one of the greatest brawls in mixed martial arts history. Santos is just 5-5 since that fight, but with wife Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos holding Strikeforce gold in the women’s division, Santos will look to position himself for a future title shot when he drops down to 170 pounds. A win could also potentially set up a rematch for Zaromskis’s DREAM title.

Zaromskis (13-4-0) is also a veteran of Cage Rage, but became an instant sensation last year with a trio of head-kick knockouts over Hayato “Mach” Sakurai, Jason High and Myung Ho Bae. The win over High earned Zaromskis both the DREAM Welterweight Championship and also the 2009 DREAM Welterweight Grand Prix title. However, his bid for Strikeforce gold ended in defeat when he was stopped by reigning Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz in the first round of their January bout. Now looking to get back to his winning ways, Zaromskis will face a tough test in the heavy-handed Santos.

Strikeforce: “Live” takes place on June 16th at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The event is headlined by a catchweight bout between former EliteXC Middleweight Champion “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler and former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato “Babalu” Sobral.

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)