WORLD CLUBS CUP

Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup Line-ups Announced

Wednesday, December 13, 2017 - 12:51 By Ali Feizasa

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The 2017 Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup is set to take place in Isfahan, Iran, Thursday and Friday.

Of the 13 competing teams, the four who are potential favorites to wrestle for the World Clubs Cup title will be Bimeh Razi (IRI), Buyuksehir (TUR), Moscow (RUS), and Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI).

In the line-up for Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI), the defending champions, is world champion, Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) and Olympic silver medal winner, Zhan BELENYUK (UKR).

Leading a loaded Moscow squad will be six-time Olympic and world medal winner, Aleksei MISHIN (RUS). Others stars in action for Moscow include world finalist, Musa EVLOEV (RUS), 2017 U-23 world silver medalist, Sergey EMELIN (RUS), and Russian Championships runner-up, Ilias MAGAMADOV (RUS). 

Directing Bimeh Razi, the host team, will be Olympic gold medalist, Roman VLASOV (RUS) and Olympic bronze medalist, Saeid ABDEVALI (IRI). Other big names wrestling for Bimeh Razi are three-time junior world champion Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO), 2017 world bronze medalist, Mohammad Ali GERAEI (IRI), and Artem SURKOV (RUS).

Led by world champion, Metehan BASAR (TUR) and U-23 world champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), World Clubs Cup runner-up in 2017, Buyuksehir (TUR) will be another event favorite.

The competition will be held with new rules in 10 weight categories.

Program of 2017 GR World Clubs Cup:

Thursday
7:30 to 8:00 – Weigh in
10:00 to 14:00- First & second round
15:00 to 16:30- Second and Third round
16:30 to 17:00- Opening ceremony
17:00 to 18:30- Third round
18:30 to 21:30- Competition between second to fourth teams of the groups

Friday
7:00 to 7:30- Weigh-in
9:00 to 10:30- Semifinals between group winners
10:30 to 12:00- Competitions for fifth place to tenth place winners
13:30 to 15:00- Third place match
15:00 to 16:30- Final match

Predictable line-ups of 2017 GR Wrestling World Clubs Cup:

Moscow Team (RUS)
55kg- Aleksei KINZHIGALIEV (RUS)
60kg- Sergey EMELIN (RUS)                  
63kg- Sanal SEMENOV (RUS)
67kg- Pavel SALEEV (RUS)
72kg- Denis MURTAZIN (RUS)
77kg- Ilias MAGAMADOV (RUS)
82kg- Roman YUSIPOV (RUS)
87kg- Aleksei MISHIN (RUS)
97kg- Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
130kg- Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS)

Bimeh Razi Isfahan (IRI)
55kg-– Saman ABDEVALI (IRI)
60kg- Mehrdad MARDANI (IRI)
63kg- Moslem NADERI- Hossein ASADI (IRI)
67kg- Artem SURKOV (RUS)
72kg- Mohammad Ali GERAEI (IRI) - Farshad BELFEKE
77kg- Saeid ABDEVALI
82kg-Roman VLASOV (RUS) -  Mehdi FALLAH (IRI)
87kg- Ali Akbar HEYDARI
97kg- Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (IRI)
130kg- Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) - Shahab GHOURE JILI (IRI)

Buyuksehir (TUR)
55kg- Hammet RUSTEM (TUR)
60kg- Muslum ALINLI
63kg- Fatih UCUNCU (TUR)
67kg- Atakan YUKSEL (TUR)
72kg- Yunus OZEL (TUR)
77kg- Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR)
82kg- Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
87kg- Metehan BASAR (TUR)
97kg- Fatih BASKOY (TUR)
130kg- Irfan METE (TUR)

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI)
55kg- Shirzad BEHESHTI TALA (IRI) – Shahin BODAGHI
60kg- Meysam DELKHANI (IRI) – Reza KHEDRI (IRI)
 63kg- Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
67kg- Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) – Behnam MORADI (IRI)
72kg- Ali ARSALAN (IRI)
77kg- Payam BOYERI (IRI)
82kg- Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) – Keyvan REZAEI (IRI)
87kg- Zhan BELENYUK (UKR)
97kg- Hassan ARYANEJAD
130kg- Mehdi NOURI (IRI)

Dinamo Armenia (ARM)
55kg- Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
60kg- Murad HARUTYUNYAN
63kg- Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
67kg- Aleksan MIKAYELYAN
72kg- Armen HAKOBYAN (ARM)
77kg- Ruben GHARIBYAN (ARM)
82kg- Argishti ABGARYAN (ARM)
87kg- Gegam TORGOMYAN (ARM)
97kg- Vagharsak MINASYAN (ARM)
130kg- Edgar KHACHATRYAN (ARM)

Georgian Club (GEO)
55kg- Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
60kg- Beka BALANCHIVADZE (GEO)
63kg- Dato CHKHARTISHBILI
67kg- Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO) – Muradi MIKELADZE (GEO)
72kg- Ramazi ZOIDZE (GEO)  - Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO)
77kg- Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO)
82kg- Varlami KVARATSKHELIA
87kg- Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
97kg- Kukuri KIRTSKHSLIA
130kg- Levani ARABULI (GEO)

Paok Greece (GRE)
55kg- TBD
60kg- Odysseas MOURTIDIS (GRE)
63kg- Christos THEODORAKIS (GRE)
67kg- Konstantinos MAKRIDIS (GRE)
72kg- Petros MANOUILIDIS (GRE)
77kg- Panagiotis SISMANIDIS  (GRE)
82kg- Ioannis TSEKERIDIS  (GRE)
87kg- Dimitrios TSEKERIDIS  (GRE)
97kg- Leon Laokratis BJURBERG KESSIDIS (GRE)
130kg- Georgios BETAS (GRE)

Budapest SC (HUN)
55kg- József ANDRASI (HUN)
60kg- István VANCZA (HUN)
63kg- Bence KOVACS (HUN)
67kg- István KOZAK (HUN)
72kg- Martin TOTH  (HUN)
77kg- Dominik GEGENY
82kg- Dáriusz VITEK
87kg- Bence MARTIN
97kg- Róbert ÉRSEK
130kg- Arnold PAP

Samsun (UKR)
55kg- Sergii STOROZHENKO (UKR)
60kg- Andriy MARTYNYUK
63kg- Anton KUTSENKO (UKR)
67kg- Fevzi MAMUTOV (UKR)
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV
77kg- Pavlo MOLNAR (UKR)
82kg- Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
87kg- Iurii SHKRIUBA
97kg- Myloka KRYSOV
130kg-Mykola KUCHMII

SHOHADAYE Modafe Haram QOM (IRI)
55kg- Mehdi GHORBANI- Mohammad Javad REZAEI (IRI)
60kg- Alireza NEJATI (IRI) - Reza MARDI (IRI)
63kg- Ali ASghar PASALARI
67kg- Mehdi MORAD SALEHI (IRI) - Behnam AFSHAR NIK
72kg- Ali SOLEYMANI (IRI) - Afshin ESLAMI (IRI)
77kg- Hadi ALIZADH - Mohammad Reza REZAEI (IRI)
82kg-Mehdi EBRAHIMI (IRI)
87kg- Mohammad Ali HEYDARI (IRI)
97kg- Omid EFTEKHARI ASL
130kg- Parsa NAZARI (IRI)

Sport Club Physical Academy (KGZ)
55kg-Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
60kg- Iliiaz  SEITOV (KGZ)
63kg- Adil DZHUMABEKOV
67kg- Konokbai SAGYNBEKOV (KGZ)
72kg: TBD
77kg: TBD
87kg-Ilim BILIMOV (KGZ)
97kg-Ilgiz BILIMOV (KGZ)
130kg: TBD

Other members of Kirgizstan team:
uulu Arstanbek
Ulan Derkembaev  
Kubat Mambetov
Roman Muratov
Maksat Omorov
Pakhmatbek Zainitdinov
Erbol Zhaparaliev
Kubatbek Zheenaliev

Tajik Air (TJK)
55kg- Khasan SUFIEV (TJK)
60kg-TBD
63kg- Zainudin QAMAROV (TJK)
67kg- Oiqi AMIRKHONZODA (TJK)
72kg- Azizbeki SHARIFZODA (TJK)
77kg-Sulton Shokhi KHASANOV
82kg- Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
87kg- Amirjon JURAEV
97kg- Mirzoamin SAFAROV
130kg- Azmuddin VAKHOBOV (TJK)

Romania Olympic Hopes (ROU)
55kg- Florin TITA (ROU)
60kg- Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
63kg- Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
67kg- Irinel BOTEZ MIHAI (ROU)
72kg- Boanta NICOLAE
77kg- Adrian AGACHE
82kg- TBD
87kg- Samuel OJOG NICU (ROU)
97kg- Constantin PIRVAN DORIN (ROU)
130kg- Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU- Istvan BEREI LENARD (ROU)

 

2026 Muhamet Malo

Muhamet Malo Flashback: Relive 2025 Ranking Series Stop in Tirana

Friday, February 13, 2026 - 09:04 By Vinay Siwach

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TIRANA, Albania (February 13) -- There is a good chance that the gold medalist at the Muhamet Malo 2026 Ranking Series event will have a good season. It happened in 2025. Most of the gold medalists from 2025 managed to win respective continental or world medals.With the second Ranking Series of 2026 once again in Tirana, here's a flashback to the one in 2025. Follow the 2026 Muhamet Malo Ranking Series on uww.org, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube.

MUHAMET MALO 2026 RANKING SERIES ENTRIES

WATCH ALL FINALS FROM 2025 MUHAMET MALO RANKING SERIES HERE

Freestyle

Iran brought a solid team to Tirana last year with Olympic silver medalists Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) and Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI). It won four gold medals with both Amouzad and Zare winning at 65kg and 125kg, respectively. Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) won at 92kg with rather ease and at 57kg, Ali MOMENI (IRI) got a fall in the final.

Kaeisi TANABE (JPN) was also in the field at 65kg. However, he went on to lose his semifinal against Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and then the bronze medal bout to Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ).

But the most memorable win was that of Arash YOSHIDA (JPN), who announced himself as a big contender at 97kg, first time in Tirana. Wrestling world champion Kyle SNYDER (USA) in the semifinals, Yoshida stunned the crowd in Tirana with a thrilling 5-5 victory over the American wrestler.

Snyder led 4-1 at the break and then added another point in the second period. But Yoshida hit a cut back and then a turn to take a 5-5 criteria lead which he held on to until time expired in the match. The winning firmly put Yoshida as one of the top 97kg wrestlers in the world.

Two other Japanese stars also won gold medals last year. Takara SUDA (JPN) was the best at 61kg displaying some tricky wrestling as he won gold while Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) kept it simple to win the gold medal at 70kg.

It was also the return of Chermen VALIEV (ALB) since he won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in 2024. He did not disappoint the home fans, capturing the 74kg gold medal in an actionless 2-0 win over Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK).

Greco-Roman

An Olympic final rematch occurred inn Tirana in Greco-Roman. At 87kg, Olympic champion Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) and Alireza MOHMEDI (IRI) clashed in the quarterfinals. Mohmedi had lost to Novikov in the Paris 2024 final but he turned it around in Tirana, blanking Novikov 5-0. The heated match included some words exchanged between the two at the end of the bout.

Mohmedi won't stop there. He defeated Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB), 5-1, in the semifinal and later went on to win the gold medal once David LOSONCZI (HUN) injury defaulted in the final.

Both Komarov and Mohmedi would later meet in the final of the World Championships in Zagreb. This time, Komarov avenged that loss from Tirana and won the gold medal while Mohmedi was heartbroken with the loss.

Tirana was also the start of a resurgence of Kerem KAMAL (TUR). After some frustrating years at 60kg, Kamal began the new season at 63kg and won gold. It set the tone for 2025 as he went on to win two more Ranking Series gold medals and became the European champion at 63kg.

Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) made his senior debut at 55kg in Tirana. He won his first two bouts before falling in the final against Emre MUTLU (TUR). Lolua had won silver medal at the U17 World Championships before 2025 but he would later win silver at the U20 Worlds and then become world champion at 55kg in one of the exciting matches in 2025 against U20 world champion Payam AHMADI (IRI).

At 130kg, world champion Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) remained a rock and won gold without giving up any action points in his four bouts.

Women's Wrestling

As is the theme in Women's Wrestling, Japan won the most gold medals in Tirana as well. Out of the 10 golds, Japan won six medals.

Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) was making her international debut at 53kg after winning gold at World Championships at 55kg. She began well but had a scare in the semifinals against Lillia MALANCHUK (UKR). She even trailed in the semifinals before winning 15-8. She later defeated Andreea ANA (ROU) in the final, 6-0, to capture the gold medal.

At 55kg, Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN) was solid throughout, winning the gold medal with ease. Umi ITO (JPN) had a similar outing as she swept the field to claim the 50kg gold medal.

Sakura ONISHI (JPN) gave a glimpse of her 2025 in Tirana. The teenager won gold medal in Tirana at 59kg and she continued her form winning U20 world gold and then the senior world title in September.

Another Tirana gold medalist who became world champion in Zagreb was Ami ISHII (JPN) at 68kg. A world champion at 72kg in 2024, Ishii moved down to 68kg and was instantly successful. She defeated Zelu LI (CHN), 8-2, in the final. She won the world title in Zagreb, winning five bouts and giving up only three points.

Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) was another gold medalist for Japan. She defeated Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) in the semifinals and faced Irina RINGACI (MDA) for the gold medal. Ringaci had earlier defeated her, 7-5, in the round robin bout. Morikawa fell behind 6-3 in the final as well but Ringaci pulled out injured midway through the final, giving Morikawa the gold medal.

The two also met at the World Championships but Morikawa would stamp her authority in Zagreb with a 10-0 win over Ringaci. She won the gold medal by beating Alina KASABEIVA (UWW), 8-0.

At 72kg, Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) won the Nelson bracket that also included a 3-1 win over Alla BELINSKA (UKR) who later went on to win the gold medal at the World Championships.

Veteran Samantha STEWART (CAN) made the tournament memorable for herself winning the gold medal with three wins, including two via falls.