#WrestleTokyo

Live Blog: Tokyo Olympics Day 1 at #WrestleTokyo

By United World Wrestling Press

CHIBA, Japan (August 1) --- The wait for wrestling at Tokyo Olympics is over. Greco-Roman and women's wrestling will get the action underway in Chiba, a prefecture neighboring Japan's capital Tokyo. The 130kg and 60kg Greco-Roman weight classes and women's 76kg will be the first three categories that will be underway in Chiba. Follow the live blog for all the action.

FOLLOW TOKYO2020 | MATCH ORDER

12:30: Adeline Gray moves on! She led 6-0 but Adar mounted a comeback but could only take 4 points. 6-4 win for Gray and she will be in the semifinals. At 60kg GR, Fumita wins 1-1 and so does Kayaalp at 130kg.

12:20: We are done with the first round! Sergey EMELIN (ROC) survives a scare against Haythem MAHMOUD (EGY) but comes back from 1-4 to win 7-6.

12:00: Epp Maee does it! She stuns the defending Olympic champion Wiebe 5-4 in the opening bout and moves to the quarterfinals. At 60kg GR, Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) is rolling with a 8-0 win over Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ)

11:50: Victor CIOBANU (MDA) with a performance of the day! He takes out Kerem KAMAL (TUR) in the first round. A 8-0 tech fall for him. On mat B, we have defending champion Erica WIEBE (CAN) and European champion Epp MAEE (EST). It's a rematch from the 2019 Worlds quarterfinal which Maee won

11:40: Down goes a seeded wrestler. Ali Reza NEJATI (IRI) drops a 5-5 opening round battle Armen MELIKYAN (ARM). The four-point throw the difference for Melikyan

11:30: What a bout we had here! Samar Hamza and Natalia Vorobieva were tied 12-12 until the last 30 seconds but a big four from the ROC athlete and we have 28 points in the match. Vorobieva with the win

11:25: LOPEZ wins in two minutes and 50 seconds! What a start. Vorobieva and Hamza are still locked at 12-12 as we head into the final minute of the bout

11:20: Vorobieva and Hamza are putting on a show. 12-12 lead for Hamza and it's just the first period. Meanwhile, three-time Olympic champion Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) is on the Mat C

11:15: Yasemin Adar (TUR) gets it done! She moves into the quarterfinals after a 6-0 win. Natalia VOROBIEVA (ROC) and Samar HAMZA (EGY) are next up on Mat B

11:10: All three begin with wins! Gray with a fall, Fumita with a technical superiority and Kayaalp takes his time in his 5-1 win. 

11:00: The whistles are off! five-time world champion Adeline GRAY (USA), local hope and world champion Kenchiro FUMITA (JPN) and three-time world champion Riza KAYAALP (TUR) are in action simultaneously

10:56: Mat A will see all the 60kg Greco-Roman bouts while Mat B will all about the women's 76kg. Mat C will be 130kg Greco-Roman. We are ready

10 am: A host of stars will be in action as Mijain LOPEZ (CUB), Riza KAYAALP (TUR), Kenchiro FUMITA (JPN), Sergey EMELIN (ROC), Adeline GRAY (USA), and Erica WIEBE (CAN) will take the mat

Read our detailed previews to all the three categories as action begins shorty here in Chiba.

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: GR 60kg

#WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: GR 130kg

 #WrestleTokyo Olympic Games Preview: WW 76kg

#AmateurMMA

Amateur MMA: Kutzli wins gold for U.S.; Ukraine best team

By Vinay Siwach

NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 19) -- It was only her fourth-ever bout but Natalie KUTZLI (USA) showed no lack of experience in defeating Oliwia STAWSKA (POL), and become a world champion at the UWW Amateur MMA World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Kutzli, the lone fighter from the United States, won by unanimous decision after three rounds against Stawska who has been on the circuit for a longder time.

"I'm just at a loss of words," Kutzli said. "I just feel so surreal."

In the final against Stawska, Kutzli opened the match with clear striking and controlled the round. She followed a similar strategy and never allowed Stawska to land cleanly. Kutzli won all three rounds in the final.

"She was a challenging fighter for sure," she said. "She was really tough. It's just such a amazing opportunity to be able to fight somebody who has that much experience. I loved every second of it."

Hailing from Michigan, Kutzli began her sports career with taekwondo before switching to wrestling. Her mother, Jeanie, would drive her from one practice to another and supported her when she switched sports.

"First person I talked to was my mom," she said. "She's just so proud of me and amazed by me and what I do and I just I made her proud and my family really proud. I do it for her in hopes of someday being in the UFC and be able to pay for my family and just be able to take care of my loved one, so that's my dream.

"From a young age, I was raised by a single mom. So I'm doing this for her and to be able to thank her and just sort of appreciation to my family."

At 57kg, Viktoriia DUDAKOVA (UWW) showed that she belongs to the big league she knocked out Justine TAILFER (FRA) in the 57kg final. The bout went to the second round but Dudakova dominated it throughout.

Dudakova and Tailfer went out of bounds in the second round with the former on top. The referee called it to center and when the bout restarted with Dudakova getting the back mount advantage, she kept her striking with Tailfer not able to defend which forced the referee to call it a knockout.

In other finals, Anna BEZHENAR (UKR) scored a victory via submission against Daria RAMANOVA (UWW) to win the gold medal at 50kg. However, two other Ukraine finalists failed to win.

Veronika SUSHINA (UWW) stormed back after a slow start to beat Yana MELNYCHUK (UKR) via split decision as two judges gave her the win to one who scored it in favor of Melnychuk as Sushina won the 61kg gold.

Khalida TIMOFEEVA (UWW) did not give any chances to the judges to score differently as she defeated Yuliia MELNYCHUK (UKR) via unanimous decision to win at 65kg and bag the gold medal.

At 80kg, Anna ERSHOVA (UWW) had one of the most dominant wins in the final as she humbled Dana DROZHZHINA (UWW), winning via unanimous decision, to claim the gold medal.

Kazakhstan also got a gold medal as Aigerim TOREKHANOVA (KAZ) dominated the final against Veronika VYKHVATEN (UWW) at 53kg to win via unanimous decision. Her strong start in the first two rounds gave her the advantage despite a strong show from Vykhvaten in the final round.

RESULTS

50kg Final
Anna BEZHENAR (UKR) df. Daria ROMANOVA (UWW), via submission

53kg Final
Aigerim TOREKHANOVA (KAZ) df. Veronika VYKHVATEN (UWW), via unanimous decision

57kg Final
Viktoriia DUDAKOVA (UWW) df. Justine TAILFER (FRA), via submission

61kg Final
Veronika SUSHINA (UWW) df. Yana MELNYCHUK (UKR), via split decision

65kg Final
Khalida TIMOFEEVA (UWW) df. Yuliia MELNYCHUK (UKR), via unanimous decision

70kg Final
Natalie KUTZLI (USA) df. Oliwia STAWSKA (POL), via unanimous decision

80kg Final
Anna ERSHOVA (UWW) df. Dana DROZHZHINA (UWW), via unanimous decision