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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Strikeforce has now officially announced the move of the Heavyweight World Grand Prix to June 18 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, as well as the April 9 event officially coming to the Valley View Casino Center (formerly the San Diego Sports Arena) In San Diego, Calif.
In a press release announcing the change, Strikeforce officials confirmed the co-main events for April 9 with title fights in the welterweight and lightweight divisions. Nick Diaz will meet Paul Daley in the main event, and Gilbert Melendez will meet Tatsuya Kawajiri.
The second set of Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinal bouts, which sees Alistair Overeem meet Fabricio Werdum and Josh Barnett meet Brett Rogers, will co-main event the June 18 card.
"Strikeforce is coming off a record presale and impressive attendance for the kickoff of the Grand Prix at IZOD Center in New Jersey that also drew a record viewership on Showtime for live MMA,” said Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker. "To build on the tremendous momentum from New Jersey we needed the proper time to promote an event of this magnitude, which is why we have decided to continue the Tournament on June 18 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, a venue that has been identified as one of the premier sports and entertainment venues in the U.S."
"We have a great relationship with the Texas State Athletic Commission, who, along with the American Airlines Center, is enthused to host the Grand Prix."
Coker also commented on the fights now coming to the April 9 card on Showtime.
"We are fortunate to replace the April 9 date with a tremendous World Championship Doubleheader featuring the eagerly awaited showdown between Nick and Paul and the sensational matchup between Gilbert and Tatsuya," Coker said. "This is a fight everyone has been waiting for and I'd like to thank DREAM for allowing Tatsuya to come to the U.S. to take on our Lightweight World Champion."
Penick's Analysis: I'll give them credit for putting a hell of a replacement card together for the April 9 card, but they aren't off the hook for this delay in the Heavyweight World Grand Prix. Because they failed to have an adequate backup plan for Japan falling through, and because they didn't find a commission that would allow Barnett for the April 9 date, they were forced to make this move, and it remains the wrong one. They've now left the door open for more delays down the line. They've got two more months in which one of the four heavyweights remaining could get hurt in training, possibly delaying things further. The same happens for the semifinals as any of the remaining fighters could get hurt in their fight this June and delay the semis past September, which in turn delays the finals to 2012. It's just not a good situation for Antonio Silva or Sergei Kharitonov now, as they either sit out after big wins for seven months or take a fight in the interim and risk a loss.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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