No Pants for Shinya Aoki, Luckily he has an Alternative

MMA Fighting got in touch with the Tennessee Athletic Commission to confirm that DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki won't be able to wear his grappling pants when he fights Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez on April 17th.

According to the commission:

"We've researched the matter and determined that if he wears spandex it needs to stop above the knee. The way the unified rules read is it can be MMA shorts, kickboxing shorts or bike shorts, and it's my understanding that if it stops above the knee it would be considered bike shorts. He won't be able to wear the pants, but he will be able to wear that material, as long as it stops above the knee."

Yet, as George Sotiropolous pointed out, there is a loop hole of sorts and the commission is totally cool with it.

"They can wear just a smooth neoprene sleeve with nothing else in it on their knees and their ankles. It can't be a gripping material but they can wear a smooth, neoprene-only sleeve on their knees or ankles."

Basically this is a 1950's highschool skirt rule, no?