#WrestleAlexandria

Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series day four finals set

By Vinay Siwach

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (February 26) -- The second Ranking Series of the year enters its final day. Eight freestyle weight classes will compete today with some of the biggest names in wrestling including Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ), Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV (UZB), Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) and Zahid VALENCIA (USA) among others. 

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

Here are the gold medal bouts for the evening session which will be delayed because of the insane amount of wrestling we had. No one is complaining

57kg
Suleyman ATLI (TUR) vs. Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)

61kg
Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR) vs. Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)

65kg
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) vs. Joseph MC KENNA (USA)

70kg
Lucas CHITTUM (USA) vs. Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)

74kg
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU) vs. Vincenzo JOSEPH (USA)

79kg
Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) vs. Amirhossein KAVOUSI (IRI)

86kg
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) vs. Zahid VALENCIA (USA) 

92kg
Kollin MOORE (USA) vs. Nathan JACKSON (USA) 

16:50: Jo MCKENNA (USA) with back-to-back semifinals at Ranking Series events. He completes dominates the semifinals against Sebastian RIVERA (PUR). Mckenna wins 10-2. He will take on Vagzen TEVANYAN (ARM).

16:45: Nick SURIANO (USA) reached the semifinal but bumped into Suleyman ATLI (TUR) who got a takedown and then gut wrenched Suriano for an 8-0 lead. Suriano tried hard but goes down 9-3. Atli will face Andri YATSENKO (UKR) in the final. 

16:25: Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU) with a takedown with 12 seconds left to beat Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR) 4-3 in the 74kg semifinal. Great comeback from Shikhdzhamalov after giving up three points in the first period.

16:05: Vagzen TEVANYAN (ARM) shuts down Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) in the 65kg semifinal. Two stepouts, a point for passivity and another for a lost challenge. That is enough for Tevanyan to win 4-0

15:30: Intense bout between Patricio LUGO (USA) and Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB).at 65kg which was dominated by Jalolov for the first four minutes. He took a 5-0 lead but was clearly struggling with conditioning. Lugo tried to utilize that but Jalalov had enough in the tank to win 5-2.

15:05: Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) has turned it around with stunning counterattacks late in the bout against SUJEET (IND). After a 7-2 and under a minute left, Sujeet should have had no business losing it. But Rivera scored a takedown and then two stepout to take the criteria lead before a desperate attempt from Sujeet ended in Rivera winning 9-7

14:45: Soner DEMITRAS (TUR) proved too much for the young Sagar JAGLAN (IND). Demitras with some top defense after leading 5-0 to let Jaglan take any space back in the bout. Jaglan did get on some positions but failed to finish even a single one of them.

14:30: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) pins Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) at 70kg! The Kyrgyz wrestler used an arm throw but also gave up a few takedowns. However, Elbakidze did not match the conditioning and Akmataliev won via fall in the second period.

14:15: In the rematch of the U23 world championships final, Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) was up against Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU KGZ). Harutyunyan won the U23 world title but Zhumashbek Uulu was in no mood to give anything to Harutyunyan here. He gut wrenches his way to a 10-0 at 61kg.

13:55: Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR), a hammer at 79kg, has moved up to 86kg. He puts on a show to come back and beat Boris MAKOEV (SVK) 7-5. 

13:25: Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO) countered Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) cradle with his own and got the four on a challenge while Kougioumtsidis got two. Kentchadze led 6-3. He kept the lead despite trading takedowns to win 9-6 at 79kg.

13:05: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) got to passivity points against Anthony ASHNAULT (USA) and completely shut off in the second period to get a 2-0 win at 65kg.

12:55: SUJEET (IND) has managed to shut down Abbos RAKHMONOV (UZB). Exceptional scrambling from the two but Sujeet wins 6-0

12:45: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) looks solid today. He takes out Omar MOURAD (EGY) 11-0 with a strong show. He has a very strong gut wrench in the game.

12:30: The 2-1 scoreline does not do justice to that Nicholas SURIANO (USA) vs Minghu LIU (CHN) bout. Suriano wins 2-1 after a stepout which proved decisive.

12:00: Suleyman ATLI (TUR) rocks and rolls over Arslan RAKHIMOV (UZB) to continue his exciting run at 57kg. He moves into the quarterfinal with an 11-0 win.

11:40: Sagar JAGLAN (IND) and Joseph LAVALLEE (USA) are not giving up. Lavallee ran to a 14-8 lead but was not up to the conditioning of Jaglan. A takedown and lace for Jaglan as he wins 26-14.

11:25: Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) comes back from 5-2 to beat Zafarbek OTAKHONOV (UZB) 6-5 in a thriller at 70kg. Otakhanov used a slick duck under to lead 5-2 but Akmataliev scored a takedown and then a stepout to make it 5-5 with 16 seconds left. Otakhnov failed to stop another stepout, he challenged and lost, which gave Akmataliev the win 7-5

10:55: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) with a powerful throw for four. Great execution as he got behind and as Edemi BOLKVADZE (GEO) tried running to save himself, Tevanyan used that momentum to hit a big one. He wins his first bout at 65kg 9-0.

10:25: Suleyman ATLI (TUR) is back at 57kg as the Olympics approach. He opens his day against Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO). He builds a 6-0 lead before moving into a massive suplex to win 10-0. You can watch it here.

10:00: Welcome to the final day of the Ibrahim Moustafa Ranking Series event. Eight freestyle weight classes will be on the mat. We have some advice -- don't miss any!

#development

UWW conducts REDT program in Benin

By United World Wrestling Press

OUIDAH, Benin (December 20) -- United World Wrestling (UWW), in collaboration with the Benin Wrestling Federation, the Benin National Olympic Committee and the national sports authorities, successfully organized the Regional Education and Development Wrestling Tournament (REDT), which took place in Ouidah from November 23 to 30, 2025.

This event represents the first tournament ever organized in West Africa, marking a major milestone in UWW’s wrestling development strategy on the African continent.

Ten countries from the West African region took part in the tournament, contributing to a framework of technical and educational exchanges aimed at enhancing the competencies of wrestling stakeholders.

Deqa NIAMKEY, Director of Development at United World Wrestling, paid an official visit to Benin. She praised the progress achieved by the Benin Wrestling Federation and recalled the core objective of the REDT program.

"The REDT was initiated by United World Wrestling to support countries in the sustainable development of wrestling.”

Niamkey also conducted a sports administration education session with representatives of national federations, while Youssef BOUAZIZ delivered an online training session on ARENA.

Benin

Ahead of the competitions, a regional coaches’ education program was conducted from November 24 to 27, 2025, bringing together coaches, referees, athletes and technical staff from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Senegal.

This program was delivered by Vincent AKA, UWW Expert and Development Officer, and concluded with theoretical and practical evaluations leading to the award of UWW International Coaching Certifications Levels 1 and 2.

Celestin PAVELESCU, UWW Expert, led the refereeing education program in Olympic Wrestling and Beach Wrestling, contributing to the improvement of technical standards and the harmonization of officiating practices across the region.

The competitions were held on November 29, 2025 at the IRSP Gymnasium, while the Beach Wrestling events took place on November 30, 2025 at the Door of No Return Beach, an emblematic site of Ouidah’s historical and cultural heritage.

The host nation particularly distinguished itself during this edition, winning a total of 35 medals (11 gold, 15 silver and 9 bronze).

The development strategy focused on youth and the introduction of wrestling in the school environment, with a strong representation of U17 wrestlers, illustrates the long-term vision pursued by the Benin Wrestling Federation.

At the conclusion of the competition, the President of the Benin Wrestling Federation, Adihunkpéto YVES AZIFAN, congratulated all wrestlers and coaches, while reaffirming the federation’s commitment to position Benin sustainably among the leading nations of African and international wrestling.