#WrestleSassari

Entries Released for Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial 

By Eric Olanowski

Sassari, Italy (May 15) - Sandy beaches, bright blue waters, and wrestling? Not something you hear very often (unless it's a beach wrestling event) - but that'll be the case next week when wrestling invades the island destination of Sardinia, Italy, for United World Wrestling's third Ranking Series event of the year, the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial. 

The tournament will be the first of its kind when speaking about Ranking Series events. United World Wrestling has never held a Ranking Series event with all three styles under one roof. The three-day Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial, which starts on May 23, will begin with Greco-Roman. Women's wrestling takes over on the second day, and freestyle closes out the tournament on May 25. 

Though registration is not official until 24 hours before the first whistle, here are some of the world and Olympic medalists, among many others, that fans can expect to see in Sardinia: 

GR 77kg - KIM Hyeonwoo (KOR) – Olympic champion
FS 70kg - Soslan RAMONOV (RUS) – Olympic champion 
WW 76kg - Erica WIEBE (CAN) – Olympic champion
WW 76kg - Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) – Olympic champion
FS 86kg - Selim YASAR (TUR) - Olympic silver 
WW 72kg - Anna FRANSSON (SWE) – Olympic bronze
FS 74kg - Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) –  Two-time world champion 
GR 67kg - RYU Hansu (KOR) – World champion 
WW 76kg - Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER) – World champion
WW 55kg - Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR) – World champion
WW 55kg - Sofia MATTSSON (SWE) – World champion
GR 77kg - Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) – World runner-up 
FS 74kg - Khetik TSABALOV (RUS) - World runner-up 
FS 65kg - Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) – Two-time world silver 
GR 87kg -Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) – U23 World champion 
WW 57kg - Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR) – U23 World champion
FS 57kg - Suleyman ATLI (TUR) – Ranked No. 1 at 57kg 
FS 68kg - Fatih ERDIN (TUR) – Ranked No. 1 at 86kg

Freestyle
57kg 

Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL)
Darthe CAPELLAN (CAN)
Kumar RAVI (IND)
Nader Ahmad HAJIAGHANIASAMAKOUSHI (IRI)
Alireza Nosratolah SARLAK (IRI)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Zhandos ISMAILOV (KAZ)
Changjun PARK (KOR)
Azamat TUSKAEV (RUS)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Adam KATES (USA)
Patrick  HEBREARD (USA)

61kg 
Rahul AWARE (IND)
Sonba GONGANE (IND)
Mohammadbagher YAKHKESHI (IRI)
Rassul KALIYEV (KAZ)
Kerim HOJAKOV (TKM)
Recep TOPAL (TUR)
Alec HOOVER (USA)

65kg
Niurhun SKRABIN (BLR)
Dimitar IVANOV (BUL)
Joshua BODNARCHUK (CAN)
Vincent DE MARINIS (CAN)
Connor MCNEICE (CAN)
Mauricio SANCHEZ SALTOS (ECU)
Roman ASHARIN (HUN)
Harphool HARPHOOL (IND)
Amirmohammad YAZDANICHERATI (IRI)
Abdellatif MANSOUR (ITA)
Sayatbek OKASSOV (KAZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Masoud NIAZI (NED)
Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS)
Perman HOMMADOV (TKM)
Mehmet OGUT (TUR)
Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Brandon CALLOW (USA)
Andrew HOOVER (USA)
Spencer DUSI (USA)

70kg
George KOLIEV (BLR)
Mihail Iliev GEORGIEV (BUL)
Dillon Emmanuel WILLIAMS (CAN)
Pablo DIEZ PARDO (ESP)
Farhad Jafar NOURI KHORJESTAN (IRI)
Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI)
Nurdaulet AZHIKUL (KAZ)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Soslan RAMONOV (RUS)
Batyr BORJAKOV (TKM)
Mustafa KAYA (TUR)
Austin Alexander VICTOR (USA)
Jarrad Keith LASKO (USA)
Brandon Alexander BARTON (USA)

74kg
Andrei KARPACH (BLR)
Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL)
Ty Stuart BRIDGWATER (CAN)
Jasmit Singh PHULKA (CAN)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Amit Kumar DHANKHAR (IND)
Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Tommaso FERRARI (ITA)
Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ)
Seungchul LEE (KOR)
Jie Woon SHIN (KOR)
Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS)
Khetik TSABOLOV (RUS)
Suleyman OMAROV (TKM)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Yakup GOR (TUR)
Isaac John COLLIER (USA)
John Delmas CHIPPS (USA)
Shane Michael GING (USA)

79kg
Parveen RANA (IND)
Kautuk Shamarao DAPHALE (IND)
Zhiger ZAKIROV (KAZ)
Shamil MURTAZOV (KAZ)
Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ)
Khalil AMINOV (RUS)
Sahergeldi SAPARMYRADOV (TKM)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)
Dmytrii TKACHENKO (UKR)
Seth Matthew WINKLE (USA)
Daniel Joseph NOVAK (USA)
Kyle Dylan ROBERTS (USA)

The top-ranked wrestler in the world at 86kg Fatih ERDIN (TUR) (84 points) is set to compete next week in Sardinia. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

86kg
Svetoslav Zhivkov DIMITROV (BUL)
Alexander Robert MOORE (CAN)
Hunter Jeffery LEE (CAN)
Damian IGLESIAS VILELA (ESP)
Richard Ferenc LIGETI (HUN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Ahmad Yousef BAZRIGHALEH (IRI)
William RAFFI (ITA)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Hyeokbeom GWON (KOR)
Vladislav VALIEV (RUS)
Dovletmyrat ORAZGYLYJOV (TKM)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
Selim YASAR (TUR)
Matthew Christopher FERRARO (USA)
Christian Brian HIPSHER (USA)

92kg
Istvan VEREB(HUN)
Viky VIKY(IND)
Arashk Mohammadkazem MOHEBI (IRI)
Alireza Mohammad KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI)
Batyrbek TCAKULOV (RUS)
Azat GAJYYEV (TKM)

97kg
Ivan YANKOUSKI (BLR)
Nikolay Simeonov CHTEREV (BUL)
Nishan Preet Singh RANDHAWA (CAN)
Mihaly SZABO (HUN)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Hamed Delavar TALEBIZARRINKAMAR (IRI)
Abbas Ali FOROUTANRAMI (IRI)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Bakdaulet ALMENTAY (KAZ)
Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)
Igor Alekseevitch OVSIANNIKOV (RUS)
Selimmuhammet MUHADYYEV (TKM)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)

125kg
Aly Medhat Abde BARGHOUT (CAN)
Frédérick CHOQUETTE (CAN)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Parviz Khodavirdi HADIBASMANJ (IRI)
Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Donghwan KIM (KOR)
Zolboo NATSAGSUREN (MGL)
Pavel KRIVTSOV (RUS)
Sohbet BELLIYEV (TKM)
Grant Michael ROBINSON (USA)

Greco-Roman 

55kg
Enrick Jean Flavien BATAILLE (FRA)
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Dogus AYAZCI (TUR)
Hakan Murat CANKAYA (TUR)

60kg 
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Daniel BOBILLO VIGIL (ESP)
Latuf MADI (FRA)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Jungbaik LEE (KOR)
Seunghak KIM (KOR)
Florin TITA (ROU)
Andrei IVANOV (RUS)
Sadyk LALAEV (RUS)
Ruben MINASIAN (RUS)
Dimitar Ivaylov SANDOV (SUI)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)

63kg 
Haithem Mahmoud Ahmed Fahmy MAHMOUD (EGY)
Leo Alexandre Sylvain TUDEZCA (FRA)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Fabio CARBONE (ITA)
Kyunghoon KIM (KOR)
Eunbin KIM (KOR)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Mehmet CEKER (TUR)
Kadir KAMAL (TUR)

67kg 
Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY)
Yasin OZAY (FRA)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Stefan Roger CLEMENT (FRA)
Mate KRASZNAI (HUN)
Otto LOSONCZI (HUN)
Ignazio SANFILIPPO (ITA)
Ruben MARVICE (ITA)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)
Azamat Gadjimuradovitch AKHMEDOV (RUS)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Haci KARAKUS (TUR)

72kg
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Hassan Hassan Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
Anthony TANTINI (FRA)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
Balint KORPASI (HUN)
Jeonggeun LEE (KOR)
Adam KURAK (RUS)
Evgenii VYSOTIN (RUS)
Aleksandr PAIVIN (RUS)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)

77kg
Brayden William AMBO (CAN)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Gil NUGUES (FRA)
Evrik NIKOGHOSYAN (FRA)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Zotlan LEVAI (HUN)
Laszlo SZABO (HUN)
Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Riccardo Vito ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Ciro RUSSO (ITA)
Hyeonwoo KIM (KOR)
Dmitrii DZHIOEV (RUS)
Nicolas Peter CHRISTEN (SUI)
Aslan ATEM (TUR)
Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR)

82kg
Singh HARPREET (IND)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Antonio MALANGONE (ITA)
George Vlad MARIEA (ROU)
Adel SADYKOV (RUS)
Fabio DIETSCHE (SUI)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)

87kg
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Rami Antero HIETANIEMI (FIN)
Ariel Andres ALFONSO RODRIGUEZ (HON)
Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Heageun PARK (KOR)
Gadzhimurad DZHALALOV (RUS)
Ramon Rainer BETSCHART (SUI)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Josef Patrick RAU (USA)

97kg
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Spyridon KOUNTOURATZIS (GRE)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON)
Balazs KISS (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Daigoro TIMONCINI (ITA)
Armen GRIGORYAN (RUS)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Cenk ILDEM (TUR)
Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR)
Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)

130kg 
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Alexandros Marios ZORATLY (GRE)
Balint LAM (HUN)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Yongmin KIM (KOR)
Constantin HUTULEAC (ROU)
Lenard Istvan BEREI (ROU)
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)

Erica WIEBE (CAN) is one of three Olympic champions who will be competing next week at the Sassari City Matteo Pellicone Memorial. She'll wrestle at 76kg. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

Women's Wrestling 

50kg
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Jade Marie DUFOUR (CAN)
Natasha Irene Vera KRAMBLE (CAN)
Madison Bianca PARKS (CAN)
Jacqueline Del Rocio MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Tabatha Helene Laurence GRUNEWALD (FRA)
Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA)
Valentina Ivanovna ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ)
YeoJin KIM (KOR)
Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS)
Fredrika Ida PETERSSON(SWE)

53kg
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Diana Mary Helen WEICKER (CAN)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Tatiana DEBIEN (FRA)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Zhuldyz ESHIMOVA (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Hyungjoo KIM (KOR)
Jessica Cornelia Francisca BLASZKA (NED)
Silje Knutsen KIPPERNES (NOR)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)

55kg
Emily Suzanne SCHAEFER (CAN)
Jayd alexandria DAVIS (CAN)
Marina SEDNEVA (KAZ)
Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS)
Sofia Magdalena MATTSSON (SWE)

57kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Katsiaryna HANCHAR YANUSHKEVICH (BLR)
Hannah Fay TAYLOR (CAN)
Tianna Grace KENNETT (CAN)
Alexandria Rebekkah TOWN (CAN)
Lissette Alexandra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Pooja DHANDA (IND)
Sarita SARITA (IND)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Carola RAINERO (ITA)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Kelsey Rene CAMPBELL (USA)

57kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE)
Katsiaryna HANCHAR YANUSHKEVICH (BLR)
Hannah Fay TAYLOR (CAN)
Tianna Grace KENNETT (CAN)
Alexandria Rebekkah TOWN (CAN)
Lissette Alexandra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Mathilde Hélène RIVIERE (FRA)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Pooja DHANDA (IND)
Sarita SARITA (IND)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Carola RAINERO (ITA)
Altynay SATYLGAN (KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Sara Johanna LINDBORG (SWE)
Kelsey Rene CAMPBELL (USA)

59kg
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Laurence BEAUREGARD (CAN)
Maria Victoria BAEZ DILONE (ESP)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Kumari MANJU (IND)
Madina BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Nazira AMANZHOLOVA (KAZ)
Svetlana LIPATOVA (RUS)

62kg
Elis MANOLOVA (AZE)
Tetiana OMELCHENKO (AZE)
Elmira GAMBAROVA (AZE)
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Braxton Rei STONE (CAN)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Annalisa MARZULLI (ITA)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Jiae CHOI (KOR)
Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON (SWE)
Moa Lena Maria NYGREN (SWE)
Malin Johanna MATTSSON (SWE)
Marwa AMRI (TUN)
Mallory Maxine VELTE (USA)

65kg
Amanda SAVARD (CAN)
Pauline Denise LECARPENTIER (FRA)
Saidy Lorena CHAVEZ FIGUEROA (HON)
Gabriella SLEISZ (HUN)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Mariia KUZNETSOVA (RUS)

68kg
Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR)
Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN)
Olivia Grace DI BACCO (CAN)
Alexia Rose SHERLAND (CAN)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Sara DA COL (ITA)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS)
Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA)

72kg
Dejah Aniela SLATER(CAN)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA(EGY)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE(FRA)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA(KAZ)
Anna Jenny Eva Maria FRANSSON(SWE)

76kg
Sabira ALIYEVA (AZE)
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
Natallia LANKO (BLR)
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Gracelynn DOOGAN (CAN)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Epp MAE (EST)
Cynthia Vanessa VESCAN (FRA)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Gulmaral YERKEBAYEVA (KAZ)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Eunju HWANG (KOR)
Iselin Maria Moen SOLHEIM (NOR)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS)

2026 World Championships

Yazdani Returns to World Championships After Beating Azarpira

By Vinay Siwach

KEMRAN, Iran (July 19) -- Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) made his World Championships debut at 70kg in 2015. The Olympic champion will be at 97kg for his eighth World Championships, 11 years later.

Yazdani, a three-time world champion, booked his spot on Iran's team for the 2026 World Championships after beating world silver medalist Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) in two straight matches in Kemran on Friday.

Azarpira needed to win only one bout to earn his spot as he was a returning world medalist but Yazdani secured two wins, 4-2 and 5-3, to end Azarpira's hopes. 

According to selection criteria set by Iran, a returning world medalist needed to win only one bout while the opponent needed two straight wins to claim the spot.

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), blue, shakes hands with Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) after beating him in the second bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

In the first bout, Yazdani scored three stepouts and a point for passivity while Azarpira managed a takedown to the lead but he could not find another takedown or two one-point scoring actions needed to win.

An hour later, the two wrestlers returned for their second bout. Azapira, needed just a win to secure his place, led 3-3 on criteria in the second period. After Yazdani led 3-0, Azarpira fired back a takedown and stepout to earn the criteria.

In the final minute, Azarpira pressured Yazdani towards the zone and just went it seemed that he has scored a stepout, Yazdani circled back and scored a takedown to take a 5-3 lead. A shocked Azarpira protested the decision but he had no challenge left as he had used and lost the challenge in the first period.

Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) tries to score on Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) during the 97kg bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Yazdani, with all his experience, managed to hold on to his two point lead and confirm that he will return to the World Championships three years later. The Iranian will be chasing his eighth medal as he already has medals from every edition he has participated in.

The 31-year-old began with a silver medal at 70kg in 2015, won gold at 86kg in 2017, 2019 and 2021, and won bronze in 2018. At the 2022 and 2023 World Championships, he finished silver medals, losing those finals to David TAYLOR (USA).

This, however, won't be Yazdani's debut at 97kg. He wrestled at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series in February and reached the final before Stephen BUCHANAN (USA) defeated him, 13-3.

Yazdani's next challenge will be to win a medal at the October 24-November 1 World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. The 97kg weight class will most likely have returning world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA), Paris Olympic champion and world bronze medalist Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN) and world bronze medalist Arash YOSHIDA (JPN).

Former Olympic and world champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) will also be in the mix if he makes the Russian team. Olympic silver medalist Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO), former world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ), will also be challenging for the three-time Olympic medalist Iranian.

Yazdani, Firouzpour Win

Two other weight classes, 74kg and 97kg, were also contested to confirm the Iran Freestyle team for the World Championships.

Former world silver medalist Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI) defeated Yones EMAMI (IRI) in two straight bouts to clinch the spot at 74kg, a weight class that Emami has ruled in Iran for quite a few years now.

In two high-scoring bouts, Yazdani won 10-6 and 11-7, mostly using his counters in the zone to book his spot.

At 92kg, world bronze medalist Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) defeated Mobin AZIMI (IRI), 2-1, in the second bout of the series to claim the spot. As he was the returning world medalist, Firouzpour needed only one win to qualify.

Azimi won the first bout 2-2 on criteria, scoring a late stepout after three points were awarded for passivity. However, there was no such comeback in the second bout as Firouzpour kept his lead.

On Tuesday, a wrestle-off was held in Greco-Roman in which Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) defeated world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), 5-1, at 130kg to secure his spot for the World Championships.

Iran's Freestyle Team for 2026 World Championships

57kg: Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
61kg: Ahmad JAVAN (IRI)
65kg: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
70kg: Sina KHALILI (IRI)
74kg: Amirmohammad YAZDANI (IRI)
79kg: Mohammad NOKHODI (IRI)
86kg: Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
92kg: Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI)
97kg: Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)
125kg: Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)