#WrestleBudapest

Greco-Roman entry list for #WrestleBudapest Ranking Series

By Eric Olanowski & Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 23) -- On the last two days of the fourth Ranking Series event in Budapest, Hungary, 210 Greco-Roman wrestlers will take the mat and try to win the medal and the ranking points for the World Championships.

The final Ranking Series event -- Polyák Imre & Varga János Memorial -- begins July 13 in the Hungarian capital however Greco-Roman will be in action on July 15 and 16 with multiple entries from Kazakhstan, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Georgian, Hungary, South Korea and the USA.

The competition will see a number of World Championships medalists go up against each other. Some of the potential face-offs include Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) facing Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) at 55kg, Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) against Kerem KAMAL (TUR) at 60kg, Leri ABULADZE (GEO) vs Victor CIOBANU (MDA) at 63kg and Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) and Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) at 67kg.

In the heavier weight classes, Danial SOHRABI (IRI) will be at 72kg, up from 67kg, Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) could face Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) at 77kg while Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) has moved up to 87kg, a weight class which already has Islam ABBASOV (AZE), Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO), Istvan TAKACS (HUN) and David LOSONCZI (HUN).

At 97kg, Alex SZOKE (HUN) may outplace other wrestlers in this open weight class but the competition will also mark the return of European silver medalist Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN). At 130kg, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) will be the favorite.

Live action from the fourth Ranking Series will be on uww.org and UWW App from July 13.

Greco-Roman

55kg
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Ramaz SILAGAVA (GEO)
Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
Mahdi AHADI ZENAB (IRI)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Yersin ABYIR (KAZ)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Brady KOONTZ (USA)
 
60kg
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL)
Liguo CAO (CHN)
Nikolai MOHAMMADI (DEN)
Jeremy PERALTA GONZALEZ (ECU)
Haithem MAHMOUD (EGY)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Jozsef ANDRASI (HUN)
Omid ARAMI (IRI)
Yernur FIDAKHMETOV (KAZ)
Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Aibek SABYRBEKOV (KAZ)
Seunghak KIM (KOR)
Hanjae CHUNG (KOR)
Joao BENAVIDES ROCHABRUN (PER)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Virgil BICA (SWE)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Dalton ROBERTS (USA)

63kg
Aker SCHMID (AUT)
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Tino OJALA (FIN)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
David MANYIK (HUN)
Levente TOTH (HUN)
Iman MOHAMMADI (IRI)
Dastan ZARLYKHANOV (KAZ)
Mukhamedali MAMURBEK (KAZ)
Yerzhet ZHARLYKASSYN (KAZ)
Jinwoong JUNG (KOR)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Xavier JOHNSON (USA)
 
67kg
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Nestor ALMANZA TRUYOL (CHI)
HUSIYUETU (CHN)
Andres MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Adam POHILEC (HUN)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Din KOSHKAR (KAZ)
Merey BEKENOV (KAZ)
Seongcheol YANG (KOR)
Hansu RYU (KOR)
Minseong KWON (KOR)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Adomas GRIGALIUNAS (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Nilton SOTO GARCIA (PER)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Mate NEMES (SRB)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)
Mustafa YILDIRIM (TUR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)
Robert PEREZ (USA)

72kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Toni OJALA (FIN)
Elmer MATTILA (FIN)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Krisztofer KLANYI (HUN)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Shahin BADAGHI MOFRAD (IRI)
Danial SOHRABI (IRI)
Zaur KABALOEV (ITA)
Daniyar KALENOV (KAZ)
Erik PERSSON (SWE)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Patrick SMITH (USA)

77kg
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)
Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL)
Halishan BAHEJIANG (CHN)
Rui LIU (CHN)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Mohamed KHALIL (EGY)
Jonni SARKKINEN (FIN)
Akseli YLI HANNUKSELA (FIN)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Attila TOESMAGI (HUN)
Mohammad NAGHOUSI (IRI)
Maxat YEREZHEPOV (KAZ)
Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)
Azat SADYKOV (KAZ)
Daekun PARK (KOR)
Alexandrin GUTU (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Yuksel SARICICEK (TUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)
Ravaughn PERKINS (USA)

82kg
Francisco KADIMA (ANG)
Michael WAGNER (AUT)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Peter DOEMOEK (HUN)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Shamil BATYROV (KAZ)
Dias KALEN (KAZ)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Kristoffer BERG (SWE)
Mats AHLGREN (SWE)
Spencer WOODS (USA)

87kg
Bachir SID AZARA (ALG)
Lukas STAUDACHER (AUT)
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Sosruko KODZOKOV (BRA)
Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Haitao QIAN (CHN)
Fei PENG (CHN)
Matej MANDIC (CRO)
Mohamed METWALLY (EGY)
Andreas VAELIS (EST)
Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Sunil KUMAR (IND)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ)
Yevgeniy POLIVADOV (KAZ)
Sanghyeok PARK (KOR)
Byeongcheol SHIN (KOR)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Zachary BRAUNAGEL (USA)
 
97kg
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Daniel GASTL (AUT)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Igor ALVES DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
Yiming LI (CHN)
Vinko PRODANOVIC (CRO)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Mohamed GABR (EGY)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Lasha TVILDIANI (GEO)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Vahid DADKHAH GHASEM ABADI (IRI)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Seungjun KIM (KOR)
Seyeol LEE (KOR)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Josef RAU (USA)
 
130kg
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Marcel ALBINI (CZE)
Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Dariusz Attila VITEK (HUN)
Laszlo DARABOS (HUN)
Amir GHASEMIMONJEZI (IRI)
Aliakbar YOUSOFI (IRI)
Anton SAVENKO (KAZ)
Seungchan LEE (KOR)
Minseok KIM (KOR)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)
Adam COON (USA)

Esmaeili survives Jafarov shock to win ISG 2025 gold

By Vinay Siwach

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (November 18) -- He needed some strong defense to win the world title and on Tuesday, Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) needed some clutch offense to beat Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) for the second time in two one month.

Esmaeili and Jafarov clashed in the final of the 67kg weight class at the Islamic Solidarity Games 2025 in Riyad, Saudi Arabi and it seemed that the latter was on his way to upset the Olympic champion and avenge his loss from the World Championships final.

Down 3-3 on criteria, all seemed to be over for Esmaeili as the clock ticked down. In the last 10 seconds, Esmaeili worked on a double-arm lock and then managed to throw Jafarov in danger from standing for four points which changed the result and gave him the win.

Azerbaijan challenged the call but there was no change in the result and Esmaeili defeated Jafarov 8-3, to capture yet another gold medal this year after Asian and World Championships.

Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) throws Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) during their 67kg bout. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In Zagreb, Esmaeili was put in par terre for third passivity call. Jafarov, down 2-1, needed a point to turn the result but he failed to score any points as Esmaeili defended the par terre position and captured his first world title.

Jafarov blamed a lapse in concentration in the final seconds that costed him the gold medal in Riyadh.

Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI)Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) won his fourth gold medal this year. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Iran's other world champion from Zagreb, Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) made it seem a little easier as he defeated former world U20 champion Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 6-0, winning his third gold in one month.

Farokhi, who won gold at 82kg at the World Championships, moved to 87kg for U23 World Championships and won gold without giving up a point in Novi Sad. Just two weeks later, he now gold at 87kg on Tuesday.

Against Yevloyev in the final, Farokhi was awarded both par terre position which gave him a 2-0 lead. From the second par terre, he managed to score a point as he threw Yevloyev for a stepout. The Kazakhstan wrestler was docked two points for defensive foul making it 5-0.

Kazakhstan challenged the foul call but Yevloyev had clearly blocked Farokhi using his elbow on the Iranian's face. The lost challenged made it 6-0 for Farokhi, giving him the win.

Farokhi had a tough match in semifinals against world bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) and needed a takedown in the final minute to win 7-6, first time he has shown some difficulty winning bouts.

Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ)Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) won the 77kg gold medal at the Islamic Solidarity Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Two other gold medals were awarded on Tuesday with former U23 world champion Alisher GANIEV (UZB) winning the 60kg one and two-time Olympic medalist Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) marking his comeback with gold medal at 77kg.

Makhmudov, who has not wrestled in a full tournament since winning bronze in Paris, was in some form as he made no mistake in his run to the gold medal. In the final, he wrestled Amir ABDI (IRI) and performed a reverse lift throw for five points before securing the fall in the second period.

Abdi got the par terre position in the first period but Makhmudov defended the position, giving only a 1-0 lead to the Iranian. When he got the par terre position, he jumped to the front before performing the lift and holding Abdi on the mat for fall.

Ganiev, who defeated European champion Nihad MAMMADLI (AZE) in the quarterfinal, defeated Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) in the semifinal and humbled Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 8-0, in the final.

RESULTS

60kg
GOLD: Alisher GANIEV (UZB) df. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR), 8-0

BRONZE: Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) df. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), 3-2
BRONZE: Sajjad ALBIDHAN (IRQ) df. Fergat ABDELKRIM (ALG), 5-1

67kg
GOLD: Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) df. Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), 8-3

BRONZE: Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) df. Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT), 5-2
BRONZE: Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ) df. Hassan ABDELREHIM (EGY), via fall (9-0)

77kg
GOLD: Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) df. Amir ABDI (IRI), via fall (6-1)

BRONZE: Abdullo ALIEV (UZB) df. Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE), 2-2
BRONZE: Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT) df. Sami SLAMA (TUN), via fall (8-1)

87kg
GOLD: Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) df. Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), 6-0

BRONZE: Sid BACHIR (ALG) df. Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK), 9-0
BRONZE: Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) df. Islam ABBASOV (AZE), 5-1