The Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix's second event will be delayed until early summer in order to capitalize properly on the success of its first event.

So says Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, who ended weeks of speculation about the fate of a second tournament quarterfinal event originally targeted for April 9.

Coker stated the April 9 event instead features two title fights: welterweight champ Nick Diaz (24-7 MMA, 5-0 SF) defends his title against Paul Daley (27-9-2 MMA, 2-0 SF), and lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez (18-2 MMA, 8-1 SF) defends his belt against Tatsuya Kawajiri (27-6-2 MMA, 0-0 SF).

"The overwhelming success in New Jersey set the bar high," Coker today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) in a prepared statement. "With a record pre-sale for Strikeforce tickets and a record viewership on Showtime, we've now given ourselves the proper amount of time to promote in one of the country's biggest markets."

That market is Dallas, where Strikeforce plans to hold the second quarterfinal event on June 18 at American Airlines Center. The event features two tournament bouts: Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett vs. Brett Rogers. Overeem's Strikeforce heavyweight belt will not be on the line.

A venue for the April 9 event has not been determined, a Strikeforce official today told MMAjunkie.com. The promotion is deciding between two separate arenas, though the venues' respective athletic commissions have approved the event.

The official could not confirm if a rumored arena, Oakland, Calif.'s Oracle Arena, is one of the venues targeted for the spring event.

Additionally, a light-heavyweight matchup between former champion Gegard Mousasi and Mike Kyle is expected to take place at the April 9 event. Mousasi informed MMAjunkie.com of the targeted bout this past November.

On Tuesday, a report from MMAWeekly.com stated K.J. Noons is preparing to appear on the card, though his participation could not be confirmed at the time of this writing.

A full press release on the April 9 card and tournament delay are expected for Thursday morning.

Strikeforce held its first tournament event, "Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Silva," this past month at IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., and drew record TV ratings for broadcast partner Showtime. The Feb. 12 telecast averaged 741,000 viewers and peaked with 1.1 million viewers for a headlining bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Antonio Silva.