#WrestleAcapulco

Live Blog: Pan-American Championships (Day One)

By Eric Olanowski

ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 5) -- The opening day of action at the 2022 Pan-Ameican Championships kicks off with Greco-Roman action at 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 72kg, 97kg and 130kg. 

Finals matches (as they come in):
55kg - Nordic style
60kg - Randon Drew MIRANDA (USA) vs. Winner 21
63kg -  Jose Alberto RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ (MEX) vs. Samuel Lee JONES (USA) 
67kg -  Kenedy Anderson MORAES PEDROSA (BRA) vs. Julian Stiven HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) 
72kg - Nordic style
97kg - Juan Luis CONDE IBANEZ (CUB) vs. Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) 
130kg - Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) vs. Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA) 

2:05: One of the highlights of the morning has been Samuel GURRIA VIGUERAS (MEX). He scored 14 points in his first match and is winning 4-0 against Maikol JOSEFA (DOM). The winner of this match gets Randon Miranda in tonight's 60kg finals.

1:46: Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) put up seven points in the second period and will wrestle Moraes Pedrosa for the 67kg title.

1:42: Last year, Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) became the first wrestler from Honduras to win a Pan-Am title. He outscored his opponents 16-0 and will wrestle Juan Luis CONDE IBANEZ (CUB) for 97kg gold tonight.

1:32: Julian Stiven HORTA ACEVEDO (COL), after picking up a quick 10-0 win over Nilton Gonzalo Marcos SOTO GARCIA (PER), will try to stop Mexico's  Diego Alberto MARTINEZ DE LEIJA from punching his ticket to the 67kg finals in his home country. They are wrestling on Mat A.

1:20: Kenedy Anderson MORAES PEDROSA (BRA) defeated Enyer Manuel FELICIANO (DOM) by three points, putting Brazil in the gold medal matches at 67kg and 130kg.

12:45 : After upsetting the returning champion in the quarterfinals, Soghomonyan picked up a 9-0 win over  Gino Tanislado AVILA DILBERT (HON) and moved into the 130kg finals. He'll take on Cuba's 2019 world silver medalinst Pino Hines.

12:20:  Diego Alberto MARTINEZ DE LEIJA (MEX) punched his ticket to the 67kg semifinals with a 8-4 win over Hayden Daniel TUMA (USA)

12:17:  Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA) leads reigning champion Leo Dalis SANTANA HEREDIA (DOM) by one point with less than a minute to go. That match is wrapping up over on Mat B.

11:54: The difference in the match was a gut wrench, which Pino Hines scored in the first period. He outlatsted Acosta Fernandez, 3-1, and will take on the winner of  Jacob Fredrick PHILLIPS (CAN) and Edgardo Juan LOPEZ MORELL (PUR). Currently, the Lopez Morell leads the Canadian, 7-0.

11:45: The match of the morning is coming up next on Mat B, where world medalists Pino Hines and Acosta Fernandez will collide in the 130kg quarterfinals. 

11:40: Returning champs Leo Dalis SANTANA HEREDIA (DOM) and Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) will be in action on Mat B. They'll wrestle in bouts 37 and 41, respectively. 

11:15: Pino Hinds collected a 9-0 win in the first round and will clash with Chilie's first-ever GR world medalist Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI). It's worth noting that Acosta Fernandez transferred from Cuba to Chile in 2017.

11:03: Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) returns to the mat for the first time in two years after relinquishing his 130kg starting spot to Mijian LOPEZ (CUB). He's wrestling on Mat B Tanner Richard FARMER (USA).

#AmateurMMA, #Pankration

Novi Sad to host first-ever Amateur MMA World Championships

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 8) -- The World Grappling and Amateur MMA Championships will be held in Novi Sad from October 15 to 19.

United World Wrestling will organize the World Grappling Championships on October 15 and 16 and the first-ever World Amateur MMA Championships from October 17 to 19 in Novi Sad, Serbia. Both these competition will be organized only in the senior category.

The Youth World Championships in Pankration, Amateur MMA and Grappling will also be organized by UWW in Greece. The dates for the Youth World Championships will be communicated later.

According to new structure, UWW will conduct Amateur MMA for U20 and Senior age-group while Pankration is limited to U17 and lower age-groups.

To test the revised ruleset, UWW will also conduct two international tournaments in all styles.

The first tournament will be held in Andijan, Uzbekistan from June 1 to 4. Grappling will be held in U17, U20 and Senior age-groups, Pankration in U17 and Amateur MMA in U20 and Senior age-groups.

The second international tournament will be held in Poland in June. The exact dates for the tournament will be communicated by UWW later.

For full list of events, refer to uww.org/events.