Strikeforce's long-rumored Texas debut will take place Aug. 21 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

Strikeforce officials today announced a July 13 press conference to officially announce the event, and the featured bouts of "Strikeforce: Houston" are expected to be revealed at that time.

Tickets for the Showtime-broadcast event go on sale to "Strikforce Insider" e-newsletter subscribers on Tuesday, July 13, while the general public can purchase tickets beginning Thursday, July 15.

The Strikeforce event is expected to feature a light-heavyweight title fight between champion Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante.

Lawal, an NCAA Division II national champion who won numerous amateur wrestling titles, made his pro debut in 2008 with the Japanese-based World Victory Road organization. He's since posted seven straight wins, including a knockout of Mike Whitehead at "Strikeforce: Evolution" and a unanimous-decision win over then-champ Mousasi at "Strikeforce: Nashville" in April.

Now ranked among the division's top 10, he faces a tough Cavalcante, who rebounded from an upset TKO loss to Mike Kyle in his Strikeforce debut with recent knockouts of Aaron Rosa and Antrain Britt in his two most recent bouts. All nine of the EliteXC veteran's career victories have come via stoppage (eight via knockout).

Former champ Renato "Babalu" Sobral recently defeated Robbie Lawler at "Strikeforce: Los Angeles," and the winner was promised a title shot. However, after his decision win, Sobral said he prefers a fight with recent Strikeforce import Dan Henderson rather than a shot to reclaim his belt. That opened the door for Cavalcante.

"Strikeforce: Houston," of course, won't be the first major MMA show hosted at the Toyota Center. What would prove to be a historic UFC 69 card took place at the venue in April 2007 and featured Matt Serra's stunning upset of welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre in the night's pay-per-view headliner.

"Strikeforce: Houston" will mark the organization's 11th state it has visited during its national expansion. The organization previously limited its events to California venues but began visiting new locales in 2008.