#WrestleRome

Matteo Pellicone Entries

By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (January 4) -- The road to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games officially kicks off January 15-18 in Rome, Italy at the first Ranking Series event of the year, the Matteo Pellicone. And though entries are not official until 24 hours before the tournament begins, there are seven reigning world champions and 33 world medal holders from the 2019 World Championships that are expected to compete in Rome. 

Freestyle

57kg
Wanhao ZOU (CHN)
Minghu LIU (CHN)
Kumar RAVI (IND)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Stevan Andria MICIC (SRB)
Andrii YATSENKO (UKR)
Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR)
Joseph Daniel COLON (USA)
Daton Duain FIX (USA)
Thomas Patrick GILMAN (USA)
Pedro Jesus MEJIAS RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

61kg
Zhandos ISMAILOV (KAZ)

65kg
Agustin Alejandro DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Shaohua YUAN (CHN)
Zhenguang TIAN (CHN)
Bajrang BAJRANG (IND)
Behnam Eshagh EHSANPOOR (IRI)
Abdellatif MANSOUR (ITA)
Jose Javier RODRIGUEZ COLON (PUR)
Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Selim KOZAN (TUR)
Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR)
Gor OGANNESYAN (UKR)
Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR)
Jordan Michael OLIVER (USA)
Zain Allen RETHERFORD (USA)
Joseph Christopher MC KENNA (USA)

70kg
No entries

Kyle DAKE (USA), the reigning two-time 79kg world champion, will be making his debut at the Olympic weight class of 74kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

74kg
Azamat NURYKAU (BLR)
Jasmit Singh PHULKA (CAN)
Adanabasier ADANABASIER (CHN)
Yin LUO (CHN)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Jitender JITENDER (IND)
Yones Aliakbar EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR)
Sheng Yu LI (TPE)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Enes USLU (TUR)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR)
Denys PAVLOV (UKR)
James Malcolm GREEN (USA)
Kyle Douglas DAKE (USA)
Jason Michael NOLF (USA)

79kg
Salvatore DIANA (ITA)
Carmelo LUMIA (ITA)
Akhmedkhan TEMBOTOV (RUS)

86kg
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Ethan Adrian RAMOS (PUR)
Myles Nazem AMINE (SMR)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Illia ARCHAIA (UKR)
Oleksii DOMANYTSKYI (UKR)
Alexander David DIERINGER (USA)
James Patrick DOWNEY III (USA)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Rashid KURBANOV (UZB)
Pedro Francisco CEBALLOS FUENTES (VEN)

92kg
William RAFFI(ITA)

Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA), the two-time world and Olympic champion, headlines the entries at 97kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

97kg
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (BLR)
Jordan STEEN (CAN)
Chaoqiang YANG (CHN)
Georg Gabriel STARK SEREGELYI (GER)
Erik Sven THIELE (GER)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Pavel OLEJNYIK (HUN)
Ravi RAVI (IND)
Mohammadhossein Askari MOHAMMADIAN (IRI)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Evan Amadour RAMOS (PUR)
Fatih YASARLI (TUR)
Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR)
Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR)
Murazi MCHEDLIDZE (UKR)
Hayden Nicholas ZILLMER (USA)
Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA)
Bo Dean NICKAL (USA)
Jose Daniel DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN)

125kg
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Er SONGBU (CHN)
Nick MATUHIN (GER)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Amir Hossein Abbas ZARE (IRI)
Charles Zachary MERRILL (PUR)
Bilial MAKHOV (RUS)
Oleksandr KHOTSIANIVSKYI (UKR)
Gable Dan STEVESON (USA)
Anthony Robert NELSON (USA)
Luis Felipe VIVENES URBANEJA (VEN)

United World Wrestling's Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) begins his quest for Olympic gold at the Matteo Pellicone, where he'll compete at 87kg. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Dogus AYAZCI (TUR)
Serif KILIC (TUR)
Andrii SEMENCHUK (UKR)
Max Emiliano NOWRY (USA)

60kg 
Sailike WALIHAN (CHN)
Erbatu TUO (CHN)
Haithem Mahmoud Ahmed Fahmy MAHMOUD (EGY)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Manish MANISH (IND)
Sachin RANA (IND)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Jacopo SANDRON (ITA)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Ihor KUROCHKIN (UKR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB)
Firuz TUKHTAEV (UZB)

63kg
Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Christopher Josef KRAEMER (GER)
Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR)
Jui Chi HUANG (TPE)
Dmytro TSYMBALIUK (UKR)

U23 world champion Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY) headlines the entries at 67kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

67kg
Joilson DE BRITO RAMOS JUNIOR (BRA)
Qiye TIAN (CHN)
Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY)
Abouhalima Mohamed Elsaid ABOUHALIMA (EGY)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Ignazio SANFILIPPO (ITA)
Ruben MARVICE (ITA)
Xavier Tramain JOHNSON (USA)
Jamel Rasheed JOHNSON (USA)
Peyton Louis OMANIA (USA)
Mirzobek RAKHMATOV (UZB)
Makhmud BAKHSHILLOEV (UZB)
Anthony Javier PALENCIA PUENTES (VEN)

72kg
Gaoquan ZHANG (CHN)
Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Parviz NASIBOV (UKR)
Maksym YEVTUSHENKO (UKR)
Raymond Anthony BUNKER III (USA)
Aram VARDANYAN (UZB)

77kg
Angelo Rafael MARQUES MOREIRA (BRA)
Bin YANG (CHN)
Ridong ZHANG (CHN)
Wael Hamdy Mohamed ABDELRAHMAN (EGY)
Sajan SAJAN (IND)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Fatih CENGIZ (TUR)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Emrah KUS (TUR)
Patrick Harrison SMITH (USA)
Kamal Ameer BEY (USA)
Ravaughn Richard Ravelle PERKINS (USA)
Nurbek KHASHIMBEKOV (UZB)
Wuileixis de Jesus RIVAS ESPINOZA (VEN)

Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB), a 77kg world bronze medalist, will be moving up to 82kg for the Matteo Pellicone (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

82kg
Roland SCHWARZ (GER)
Florian NEUMAIER (GER)
Pascal EISELE (GER)
Zotlan LEVAI (HUN)
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Bing Hong LIN (TPE)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Salih AYDIN (TUR)
Dmytro GARDUBEI (UKR)
John Walter STEFANOWICZ JR (USA)
Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB)

87kg
Ronisson BRANDAO SANTIAGO (BRA)
Junjie NA (CHN)
Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Abdall METWALLY (EGY)
Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Simone FIDELBO (ITA)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Josef Patrick RAU (USA)
Patrick Anthony MARTINEZ (USA)
Luis Eduardo AVENDANO ROJAS (VEN)

97kg
Yan LIU (CHN)
Yanan CHEN (CHN)
Noureldin Hany Mohamed Gomaa HASSAN (EGY)
Matti Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Arvi Martin SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Mélonin NOUMONVI (FRA)
Ramsin AZIZSIR (GER)
Jan ZIRN (GER)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO( HON)
Hardeep HARDEEP (IND)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Suleyman DEMIRCI (TUR)
Semen NOVIKOV (UKR)
Daniel Collett MILLER (USA)
Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)
Muhammadali SHAMSIDDINOV (UZB)
Jahongir TURDIEV (UZB)
Temur Mirzo MAMAJANOV (UZB)
Luillys Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN)

130kg
Lingzhe MENG (CHN)
Di XIAO (CHN)
Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
Tuomas Heikki Juhani LAHTI (FIN)
Konsta Johannes MAEENPAEAE (FIN)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND) 
Luca GODINO (ITA)
Samuele VARICELLI (ITA)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR)
Vladyslav VORONYI (UKR)
Adam Jacob COON (USA)
Muminjon ABDULLAEV (UZB)
Moises Salvador PEREZ HELLBURG (VEN)

The list of women's wrestling entries is highlighted by five-time world champion Adeline Maria GRAY (USA). (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Kseniya STANKEVICH (BLR)
Viyaleta REBIKAVA CHYRYK (BLR)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Jessica Anne Marie MACDONALD (CAN)
Yanan SUN (CHN)
Jacqueline Del Rocio MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Nada Medani Ashour Abdalla MOHAMED (EGY)
Ana Maria TORRES RUBIO (ESP)
Oihane VALLEZ PEREZ (ESP)
Julie Martine SABATIE (FRA)
Tabatha Helene Laurence GRUNEWALD (FRA)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Veronika GURSKAYA (RUS)
Milana DADASHEVA (RUS)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Sarah Ann HILDEBRANDT (USA)
Whitney CONDER (USA)
Victoria Lacey ANTHONY (USA)

53kg
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Qianyu PANG (CHN)
Lannuan LUO (CHN)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Aintzane GORRIA GONI (ESP)
Marina RUEDA FLORES (ESP)
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Annika WENDLE (GER)
Mercedesz DENES (HUN)
Pinki PINKI (IND)
Vinesh VINESH (IND)
Emanuela LIUZZI (ITA)
Carmen DI DIO (ITA)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Natalia MALYSHEVA (RUS)
Meng Hsuan HSIEH (TPE)
Yuliia KHAVALDZHY BLAHINYA (UKR)
Katherine Grace SHAI (USA)
Areana Louise VILLAESCUSA (USA)
Betzabeth Angelica ARGUELLO VILLEGAS (VEN)

55kg
Vanesa KALADZINSKAYA (BLR)
Stalvira ORSHUSH (RUS)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Iryna HUSYAK (UKR)

Canada's 59kg world champion Linda MORAIS will make her debut down at 57kg at the Matteo Pellicone. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Linda MORAIS (CAN)
Ningning RONG (CHN)
Lissette Alexandra ANTES CASTILLO (ECU)
Eman Essam Guda EBRAHIM (EGY)
Graciela SANCHEZ DIAZ (ESP)
Elena Heike BRUGGER (GER)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Laura MERTENS (GER)
Ramona GALAMBOS (HUN)
Emese BARKA (HUN)
Pooja DHANDA (IND)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Marina SIMONYAN (RUS)
Iryna CHYKHRADZE KHARIV (UKR)
Alina AKOBIIA (UKR)
Allison Mackenzie RAGAN (USA)
Jenna Rose BURKERT (USA)
Betzabeth Rebeca SARCO COLMENAREZ (VEN)

59kg
Krystsina SAZYKINA (BLR)
Andrea GRASRUCK (GER)
Anhelina LYSAK (UKR)

Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) will compete for the first time since becoming the first wrestler from Kyrgyzstan to win a senior-level world title. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

62kg
Veranika IVANOVA (BLR)
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Michelle Christina FAZZARI (CAN)
Jia LONG (CHN)
Maria Victoria BAEZ DILONE (ESP)
Lydia PEREZ TOURINO (ESP)
Luisa Helga Gerda NIEMESCH (GER)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Sara DA COL (ITA)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Liubov OVCHAROVA (RUS)
Inna TRAZHUKOVA (RUS)
Yuliia TKACH OSTAPCHUK (UKR)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Macey Ellen KILTY (USA)
Mallory Maxine VELTE (USA)
Kayla Colleen Kiyoko MIRACLE (USA)
Nathaly Josefina GRIMAN HERRERA (VEN)

65kg
Petra Maarit OLLI (FIN)
Gabriella SLEISZ (HUN)
Hsin Ping PAI (TPE)
Oksana KUKHTA HERHEL (UKR)

68kg
Luz Clara VAZQUEZ (ARG)
Yauheniya ANDREICHYKAVA (BLR)
Maryia MAMASHUK (BLR)
Danielle Suzanne LAPPAGE (CAN)
Feng ZHOU (CHN)
Xiaoqian WANG (CHN)
Koumba Selene Fanta LARROQUE (FRA)
Anna Carmen SCHELL (GER)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Dalma CANEVA (ITA)
Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT)
Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS)
Alla CHERKASOVA (UKR)
Alina BEREZHNA STADNIK MAKHYNIA (UKR)
Victoria Christine FRANCIS (USA)
Tamyra Mariama MENSAH (USA)
Maria Jose ACOSTA ACOSTA (VEN)

72kg
Anastasiya ZIMIANKOVA (BLR)
Nadine WEINAUGE (GER)
Maria SELMAIER (GER)

London Olympic champion and reigning 72kg world champion Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) will be bumping up to 76kg with hope of adding a third consecutive Olympic medal to her resume. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Kseniya DZIBUK (BLR)
Vasilisa MARZALIUK (BLR)
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Qian ZHOU (CHN)
Paliha PALIHA (CHN)
Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
Epp MAEE (EST)
Aline ROTTER FOCKEN (GER)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Zsanett NEMETH (HUN)
Kiran KIRAN (IND)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Ekaterina BUKINA (RUS)
Hui Tsz CHANG (TPE)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Adeline Maria GRAY (USA)
Andrimar Daniela LAZARO DIAZ (VEN)

#WrestleBudapest

Kusaka, Losonczi shine on final day of Budapest Ranking Series

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 9) -- The final day of the Ranking Series with seven Greco-Roman weight classes. Four Olympic weights will be in action -- 67kg, 77kg, 87kg and 97kg -- with ranking points to be earned.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER

Incredible session of wrestling. The finals are set and Iran is likely to have a few wrestle-offs for the Paris Olympics

14:30: Ali CENGIZ (TUR) and David LOSONCIZ (HUN) wrestle in the 87kg semifinal. Cengiz and Losonciz shared the World Championships gold after Losonciz won an appeal for a judge's error. But in the rematch here, Losonciz pins Cengiz in the second period after racing to a 5-0 lead. He knows what it means! This is the first time the two have wrestled after that World Championships final

14:10: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) with a stepout in the second period to beat world silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) 2-1 and enter the 77kg final against Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) who defeated Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) 1-1 

13:50: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) has defeated world champion Luis ORTA (CUB)! OH WAIT WHAT?! What did we just witness here! Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) was clearly the better wrestler for five minutes and 58 seconds. He led 6-0 at the break but gave up a four pointer in the second as Orta closed the gap to 6-4. Iran challenged the call asking for two points for counter but lost to make the score 6-5. Esmaeili did well to keep the lead but for the last two seconds. As Orta dropped his guard, Esmaeili began celebrating but Orta launched a massive throw for four. It was originally not scored as the clock expired but Cuba challenged the call. On review, the move was completed with 0.1 seconds remaining on the clock. Esmaeili is inconsolable.

13:35: 63kg world champion Leri ABULADZE (GEO) hands Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) a 6-1 loss at 67kg. A big setback for Geraei and his Olympic dreams. He would now hope that Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) fails to win the gold medal here and the two get to have a playoff later in the evening.

13:25: David LOSONCZI (HUN) gives up a turn from par terre in the second period but that is not enough for Mohammadhossein MAHMOODI (IRI) to win their 87kg bout. Losonczi had a 5-0 lead from the first period and he looked in control of the bout.

13:22: Zoltan LEVAI (HUN) has given a walkover to Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) in their 77kg quarterfinal. Akbudak will now wrestle Aik MNATSAKANIAN (BUL) for a spot in the final.

13:00: Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) may feel he has been hard done here against Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) at 77kg. Geraei defended two par terre positions and led 1-1 on criteria with 23 seconds left on the clock. He made an arm throw but had no contact with Suleymanov who was awarded two points and two more for a turn. Geraei was not defending thinking the referees would call it a risk. Iran challenged for the same but it called points and Geraei dropped his bout 6-1.

12:55: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) beats Mohammad Reza MOKHTARI (IRI) at 77kg to enter the semifinals. He will now wait for the winner of Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) and Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI). 

12:40: World champion Luis ORTA (CUB) and Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN) now wrestling at 67kg. Orta launches a big four-pointer on the edge for the early lead. He then is then awarded a point for Sogabe's passivity. No turn in par terre but he scored a takedown to lead 7-0 at the break. Sogabe is unable to break Orta's defense in the second period. Orta closes out the match 7-1.

12:00: A tough opening round for world champion Ali CENGIZ (TUR) as he needs six minutes to beat Payton JACOBSON (USA) 6-1 at 87kg. He is on his way for a clash with David LOSONCIZ (HUN). Both were awarded the World Championships gold medal after Hungary won an appeal for a referee error in the final

11:40: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) continues to chip away at 77kg. He beats Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) 6-0 to advance to the 1/8 finals. In the same weight class, Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) has set up a 1/8 final with Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE).

11:30: A minute and 29 seconds is all Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) needs to win 8-0 against Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) in their round two bout at 55kg. Azizli looking absolutely dominant so far.

11:05: Mohmmadreza GERAEI (IRI) did not look his best in his opening match against Souleymen NASR (TUN) at 67kg as he failed to perform his throw from par terre. Nasr was called for negative wrestling twice which gave Geraei a 4-0 lead. But a lost challenge from Gereaei and par terre in the second period made it 4-2. Geraei holds on to that score to win. Iran's second wrestler at 67kg, Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) rolls to a 10-0 win over Nestor ALMANZA (CHI) in no time.

10:55: World champion Luis ORTA (CUB) shows up and rolls over David MANYIK (HUN) for a technical superiority win at 67kg. He earns a quarterfinal date with Kyotaro SOGABE (JPN).

10:50: Nao KUSAKA (JPN) dominates his first bout over Abd Elkrim OUAKALI (4), winning 11-3 and marching on at 77kg. He will face Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) next. In the same weight class, a quick finish as Zoltán LEVAI (HUN) pins Levente LEVAI (HUN).

10:40: Poya DAD MARZ (IRI) has been trying to get the better of Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) at 55kg but he will have to wait another day for that as Azizli beats Dad Marz in the first bout at 55kg. On Mat A, Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) beats Marat GARIPOV (BRA).

10:30: Long day ahead in Budapest with some top matches scheduled. Nao KUSAKA (JPN), Geraei brothers, Ali CENGIZ (TUR), David LOSONCIZ (HUN), Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) are among the stars to be on the mat.