Strikeforce middleweight Joe Villasenor (26-6) recently told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) he was looking forward to a June 6 showdown with Brazilian slugger Evangelista "Cyborg" Santos (16-12).

He'll now have to find a way to remain patient for an additional two weeks.

Strikeforce officially announced the Santos vs. Villasenor bout as the headliner for its recently booked June 19 "Strikeforce Challengers" event.

Santos will be fighting for the first time since suffering a gruesome elbow injury just 22 seconds into a September 2008 bout with Siyar Bahadurzada.

The 31-year-old Chute Boxe fighter and husband of Strikeforce female star Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos has also fought for PRIDE, Pancrase, Cage Rage, Meca and the IVC, among others, in his 11-and-a-half-year career.

Meanwhile, Villasenor hasn't fought since a May 2008 TKO win over Phil Baroni. The win was Villasenor's third-straight, and the Greg Jackson's MMA fighter recently told MMAjunkie.com that he's setting his sights directly at the top of Strikeforce's middleweight division.

"I want to run the board," Villasenor said. "I want to beat (Robbie) Lawler. I'd love to beat Scott Smith. I'm just down for whoever.

"I think that there's going to be a lot of changing of the guard, so to speak, with Strikeforce now. I'm just excited to be in the mix, but I want to be the champ."

The "SHO MMA: Strikeforce Challengers" event takes place at the ShoWare Center in Kent, Washington, and airs on Showtime at 11 p.m. ET/PT.

Several early reports indicated that the June event would be headlined by a bout between veteran slugger Duane "Bang" Ludwig and undefeated prospect Lyle Beerbohm. Strikeforce officials indicated that bout was still being negotiated, but an agreement has not yet been reached at this time.