#WrestleBelgrade

Live Blog, U23 World Championships Day 5: FS 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg, 97kg

Friday, November 5, 2021 - 08:57 By United World Wrestling Press

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BELGRADE, Serbia (November 5) -- As we move towards the business end of the tournament, freestyle action takes center stage at the U23 World Championships in the Serbian capital. Wrestlers from 57kg, 65kg, 70kg, 79kg and 97kg will be on the mat for their qualification and semifinal Friday.

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The semifinals for freestyle will begin at 1645 local time and we will be back for that. Thank you for following and join us for the next session.

1520: What a bout closing out the session! Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) was down 3-4 with about 15 seconds left and then he scores two points via takedown on the edge. Refs white paddle it but Armenia challenge and win it. 5-4 to Tevanyan with nine seconds left. He wins 5-4

1510: Aliakbar FAZLIKHALILI (IRI) and Akmataliev match each other for attacks but it's the latter who has a 4-2 lead. But Fazlikhalili continues to attack. Akmataliev continues to counter. It's 10-6 Akmataliev with 10 seconds to go. It stays that way and Akmataliev makes his way to the semifinals at 70kg

1505: Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) was trailing 0-2 with just seven seconds left but he scored a takedown and leveled it 2-2 to earn the victory and move into the semifinal of 65kg.

1450: Two big matches coming up as Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) is wrestling on Mat A while Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) in on Mat C. 

1425: Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ) led 8-6 against Rezuan KAZHAROV (RUS) when the two arm-locked each other and went out of bounds. The refs called it no points but the Kazakhstan corner challenged it asking for two points. Challenge lost and it became 8-8 with Talgat leading on criteria. Kazharov then scores a final second takedown to win 10-8

1410: Jonathan AIELLO (USA) for the win! He scores a takedown to lead 4-4 on criteria and then hangs on to it to win against Shamil GADZHIALIEV (RUS). He will wrestle in the 97kg semifinals

1400: Strong start from Oslo Worlds silver medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) at 70kg. He gives up two exposure points but has no trouble scoring 12 unanswered points to win 12-2 and reach the quarterfinals

1355: Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) is keeping it simple here. He scores a controlled 4-1 win over PARVINDER (IND). Great defense from the former cadet world champion

1330: The quarterfinals at 97kg are set.

1. Zuriko URTASHVILI (GEO) vs Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI)
2. Radu LEFTER (MDA) vs Milan KORCSOG (HUN)
3. Shamil GADZHIALIEV (RUS) vs Jonathan AIELLO (USA)
4. Sahil AHLAWAT (IND) vs Danylo STASIUK (UKR)  

1315: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) continues his winning run and moves into the quarters with a 10-0 thrashing of Oktay HASAN (BUL).

1250: Mohammadnezhadjavan with a big four after Glory's exposure but the USA wrestler still leads. A lot of scramble there and it's 11-5 for Glory. The Iran wrestler has less than a minute to win this. He gets a takedown and then a gut to make it 11-9. He is looking for another gut and gets it on the edge. 11-11. 18 seconds to go. He defends the criteria lead

1240: Patrick GLORY (USA) and Ahmad MOHAMMADNEZHADJAVAN (IRI) are in an intense battle but it's Glory who leads at the half way mark 5-1

1220: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM) had a tough one to start against Shamil USTAEV (GER) but he hangs on for a 3-1 win. A takedown the difference

1200: Toktogul Uulu with a hard-fought win over Arushanian! They traded a takedown each but the Kyrgyzstan wrestler led 4-3 with ten seconds remaining. Arushanian tries hard to get a step out but Uulu circles back as time expire

1145: Pilidis gave up the lead 2-2 on criteria but he finds a final attack with a double leg and score two points to win 4-2. On the other side on Mat A, junior Euro champion Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) is facing Aibek TOKTOGUL UULU (KGZ).

1130: Junior world silver Ziraddin BAYRAMOV (AZE) gets a walkover in his first bout. We have to wait a little more to see him in action on the mat. Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympian Georgios PILIDIS (GRE) is making his way on Mat C

1120: Ibragim ABDURAKHMANOV (RUS) could not have asked for a better World Championships debut as he beats Colin REALBUTO (ITA) 11-0 with a strong leg lace

1110: On Mat B, Asian silver medalist Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) scores four straight points to beat VICKY (IND) 4-4 in the opening round at 79kg. It was a little tense for Iran there

1100: Junior Euro bronze Ramaz TURMANIDZE (GEO) is up against Saurabh IGAVE (IND). Two points to start for Igave and then he adds a four-point throw. Turmanidze starts the second period with a four-point and then adds a takedown to make it 7-6. Igave has locked a double leg and he will finish leading 8-7. The Georgian with a front headlock for exposure for two. India reversal and it's 10-9 Igave. Georgia challenge

1030: Welcome to day five of the U23 World Championships in Belgrade. The freestyle wrestlers are ready to begin the day. Another rainy day in the Serbian capital. We will have a few repechage bouts before moving to the qualifications.

#UWWAwards

UWW Most Dominant Wrestlers 2025: Amouzad, Motoki, Esmaeili

Thursday, December 25, 2025 - 11:08 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 24) -- There were several dominant performances in 2025 on the wrestling mat. But it was three wrestlers who remained at the top of their weight classes and racked up dominant wins one after another. Two were Olympic champions while one was an Olympic silver medalist. All three became world champions in Zagreb.

Freestyle Most Dominant Wrester: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)

- 14–0
- Rank 1 at 65kg 
- 58,000 RS points 
- Outscored world and Olympic medalists 42–4
- World Championships, Tirana RS and ISG golds

Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) was about as perfect as you could be in a season, returning to prominence with title-winning efforts at the World Championships, Islamic Solidarity Games and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event and finishing the season as the No.1 ranked wrestler in the world at 65kg with 58,000 Ranking Series points.

The Paris silver medalist, collected an unblemished 14-0 record in 2025 -- with five of those wins coming against top-level opponents who have world or Olympic medals on their resumes in Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and Real WOODS (USA). The craziest part about those five matches against the world’s best, Amouzad outscored 42-4.

But without a doubt, the highlight of Amouzad’s season came in Zagreb when he finally got his long awaited rematch, beating Kotaro KIYOOKA in a revenge match from the Paris 2024 Olympic finals.

The scariest part about Amouzad’s dominance -- he’s only 23 years old and he’s still getting better.

Women's Wrestling Dominant Wrestler: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

- 9-0
- Five pins, two technical superiorities
- 45,000 RS points 
- 8/9 bouts finished before regulation
- Completed Golden Grand Slam (U17, U20, U23, Senior World and Olympic gold)

Coming into the 2025 season, Motoki made her goals crystal clear -- become the third wrestler in history of the sport to win wrestling’s Golden Grand Slam -- and for those who don’t know, that is gold medals at the U17, U20, U23, Senior World Championships and the Olympic Games.

The only two missing from the Olympic champ's resume were the U23 and Senior World golds.

At the 2025 U23 and senior World Championships, Motoki showed that she’s in a league of her own, as she went 9-0, with eight  matches finishing before time expired. She scored five falls and two technical superiority wins.

Her win in the final of the World Championships will be one that will be talked about for ages as the most dramatic win of the season. Motoki scored a buzzer-beating takedown against Ok Ju KIM (PRK) with a 10-second flurry that consisted of a head outside single, arm throw, over-under knee pick, before head locking Kim with four tenths of a second left to keep her history making hopes alive.

In the end, Motoki’s heart and courage under fire helped her close out the year as the third wrestler to complete the Golden Grand Slam and she did it with a level of dominance we may not see again for a very long time.

Greco-Roman Dominant Wrestler: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)

- Rank 1 at 67kg 
- 58,000 RS points  
- 11–0 Record
- World Championships, Asian Championships and  ISG golds

In a 2025 campaign that saw him become a world champion, Esmaeili's season was immaculate, as he cemented his place among the sport’s top pound-for-pound wrestler with a season full of titles, stacking gold-medals at the World Championships, Asian Championships and Islamic Solidarity Games, rounding out the season ranked No. 1 in the world at 67kg.

The Paris Olympic champion remained unbeaten in 2025, winning all 11 bouts of his bouts in dominant fashion -- scoring eight shutout wins, with seven technical falls -- including a pair of 9-0 win against world champions Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) and Sebastian NAD (SRB). The reigning Olympic gold medalist also collected two victories over Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), one in the world final and one in the Islamic Game gold-medal match, where he tossed his Azeri opponent for four as time expired to rob his rival of the title.

His opponents should not ease up because at just 22 years old, Esmaeili is still sharpening his tool set and leveling up his skills.