Forget his opponents. The only thing that could’ve stopped Tucson Sunnyside’s Kory DeBerry on Friday was a gushing bloody nose.

But in reality, even that didn’t stand a chance.  DeBerry overcame three stoppages in his championship match to tend to his nose and capped his high school career with his fourth state title, winning the Division I 152-pound championship at Tim’s Toyota Center.

“It’s just great,” DeBerry said, after finishing his season 38-0 and becoming just the 26th Arizona wrestler to capture four championships.  “My dad (Sunnyside coach Bobby DeBerry) hasn’t had an undefeated wrestler in a while, so it feels good to be from Sunnyside and take pride in that.”

DeBerry defeated Mesa’s Edgar Verdi 6-1, staying in control of Verdi the entire match and relenting only when the referee stopped the match for trainers to attend to his nose.

Complete Story

The 2011 Dapper Dan Classic XXXVII U.S. team has been selected for the dual taking place Sunday March 27, 2011 at Fitzgerald Field House, University of Pittsburgh.

Monroeville is represented by both Cam Tessari and Hunter Stieber.  Stieber’s brother Logan competed for team USA last season at 125 pounds.

California, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Minnesota each provide two wrestlers for the US line up this season.

  US Team Roster PDF

Results from Last Season

2011 Team U.S. Roster

Press Release

Phoenix, Ariz. (July 8, 2010) – Phoenix native and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) star Joe “Diesel” Riggs will headline a stacked STRIKEFORCE Challengers event from Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz., when he takes on knockout artist Louis Taylor at a catch weight of 182 pounds in the main event on Friday, Aug. 13, LIVE on SHOWTIME at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

The event, STRIKEFORCE’s first in the state of Arizona, will also feature a four-woman single elimination welterweight (135 pound) tournament comprised of four female prospects to be announced soon. The tournament will be completed over the course of the evening’s fight card.

The winner of the tournament will likely face the champion of the July 23 STRIKEFORCE Women’s Welterweight Title fight between undefeated, defending champ Sarah Kaufman and challenger Roxanne Modafferi in Everett, Wash., LIVE on SHOWTIME.

Tickets for the Aug. 13 Challengers event will be available beginning Saturday, July 17 at 10 a.m. PT through www.livenation.com, www.STRIKEFORCE.com, the Dodge Theatre Box Office, any Ticketmaster outlet or by phone at (800) 745-3000.

A former super heavyweight who once competed at over 300 pounds, the 27-year-old Riggs (32-12) is now a dangerous threat in multiple STRIKEFORCE divisions. He holds the rare distinction of having competed at heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, and welterweight during the course of his eight-year career.

A former UFC star, Riggs holds notable victories over STRIKEFORCE Welterweight champ Nick Diaz, Kendall Grove, Chris Lytle and “The N.Y. Badass” Phil Baroni. He is coming off a controversial unanimous decision loss to streaking, former world champ Jay Hieron at STRIKEFORCE: Miami on Jan. 30, 2010.

Prior to the loss to Hieron, the 6-foot Riggs tallied up four consecutive wins including an impressive unanimous decision victory over Baroni at STRIKEFORCE: Lawler vs. Shields on June 6, 2010 in St. Louis, Mo.

Taylor (6-1), of Chicago, has rattled off two consecutive knockout wins since his first career loss to Nate Moore on the undercard of the STRIKEFORCE and M-1 GLOBAL: Fedor vs. Rogers event in Hoffman Estates, Ill. on Nov. 7, 2009.

The 5-foot-11 Taylor has scored knockouts in four of his six consecutive victories and has only gone to the judges scorecards once in his professional career.

Strikeforce's first visit to Arizona will feature a throwback feel as
four women square off in a single-night, single-elimination
tournament with the winner earning the right to a title shot.

While the field has yet to be officially announced, MMAjunkie.com has confirmed with Strikeforce officials that Hitomi
Akano and Maiju Kujala each will
take part in the four-woman bracket.

The remaining two entrants in the Aug. 13 Strikeforce Challengers event
haven't been announced.

In his 1980s heyday, “Iron” Mike Tyson coined the phrase “Bad Intentions” to describe his vicious attitude when he stepped inside of the ropes.

In and out of the ring, Tyson was pure power and intimidation.

The same could be said for STRIKEFORCE middleweight star Robbie Lawler, who grew up idolizing Tyson, and shares his ferocity during combat.

With heavy hands and an ultra-intense attitude, Lawler brings a warrior’s heart and his own version of bad intentions into each of his thrilling fights.

On June 16 at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Lawler will challenge Renato “Babalu” Sobral, in a live SHOWTIME® televised STRIKEFORCE main event.

“It’s going to be a good fight,” Lawler said. “He is coming to fight and I am coming to fight. It will be a good opportunity to show what I have.”

Typically Lawler, (17-5, 1 NC) trains in Illinois but, for the fight with Sobral, he has moved his workouts to Arizona to train with several Division I wrestlers, he said.

Lawler, who has scored 14 of his victories by sensational knockout, is trying to expand his repertoire of fight skills, focusing on wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu.

“It’s just better guys to train with, hard-working guys who fight at a high level,” Lawler told STRIKEFORCE.COM.

Against Sobral, as is typical with most of Lawler’s fights, Lawler said he’s only concerned with his abilities. If he fights his fight, he said, he will be victorious.

“I am not really focused too much on him,” Lawler said. “I am focused on getting in shape and working on my skills as usual.”

For the past couple of years, Lawler has been one of the sport’s most promising middleweights. With his one-punch knockout power, Lawler has a flair for the dramatic.

In his last fight against MMA powerhouse Melvin Manhoef, the Dutch native brutalized Lawler with a series of kicks for the greater part of round one. The left-handed Lawler was visibly wincing in pain from Manhoef’s barrage of hard kicks.

But then it all changed. Lawler, at 1:31 of the first round, crushed Manhoef with a powerful right hand to the chin, crumbling Manhoef to the canvas and ending the fight.

Lawler knows his power is his MMA ticket.

“I lift weights a lot,” Lawler said. “I have lifted weights since I was in third grade. I played a lot of sports. I have worked hard on becoming stronger throughout my life.”

At 5′ 11″ and 185 pounds, the man known as “Ruthless,” said he’s developed superior strength because he has always competed against men bigger than him.

“I trained with professional fighters when I was a junior and a senior in high school so I’m used to it,” said Lawler, a native of San Diego, California.

The Lawler-Sobral fight features a classic clash in styles. Lawler is more comfortable swinging for the knockout, while Sobral, who holds a career record of 35-8, has won 18 of his 35 victories by submission and another 12 by decision.

Lawler will try to fight standing up, while Sobral will likely attempt to take him to the mat, where their may be some vulnerability. Lawler lost to STRIKEFORCE’s Jake Shields by guillotine choke a year ago.

That loss is behind him, he said.

“It hasn’t changed me too much,” Lawler said. “It was just a simple mistake that I made and he took advantage of it.”

Lawler said he won’t mistakes in the fight against Sobral.

“I am real relaxed and I am ready to go.” Lawler said. “I feel like competing.”