#NFRoundup

NF Roundup Blog, Jan. 4-10

By United World Wrestling Press

The Iran Wrestling Premier League concluded its 2020 season as superstars Hassan YAZDANI and Mohammad Ali GERAEI earned brilliant victories for their teams.

The Iran Mall team captured  the title in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. 

Iran Mall defeated newcomer team Esteghlal 7-3 in the final match. At 86kg, the Olympic and world champion Yazdani recorded technical fall victory over Sajad GHOLAMI, 11-1.

In Greco-Roman, Iran Mall downed Azad University, 7-3.

Geraei

At 77kg, two-time world bronze medalist Mohammad Ali GERAEI beat rival Boroumand ASLAN, 6-4. The ABDEVALI brothers earned two technical fall victories against their rivals in 63 and 82kg.

Freestyle Final Standings
1. Iran Mall
2. Esteghlal
3. Ghaemshahr Wrestling Association
4. Azad University

Greco-Roman Final Standings
1. Iran Mall 
2. Azad University
3. Sina Sanat Izeh 
4. Foulad Oxin

Freestyle Final Match: Iran Mall df. Esteghlal, 7-3
57kg- Reza Atri(Iran Mall) df. Nader Hajaghania (Esteghlal), 6-2
61kg- Majid Dastan (Iran Mall) df. Mohammad Ramezanpour (Esteghlal), 8-3
65kg- Morteza Ghiasi (Esteghlal) df. Meysam Nasiri (Iran Mall), 6-1
70kg- Amir Hossein Hosseini (Iran Mall) df. Mohammadreza Sargou (Esteghlal), 8-0
74kg- Ali Savadkouhi (Esteghlal) df. Mostafa Hosseinkhani (Iran Mall), 3-0
79kg- Hamidreza Zarrinpeykar (Esteghlal) df. Peyman Yarahmadi (Iran Mall), 2-2
86kg- Hassan Yazdani (Iran Mall) tf. Sajad Gholami (Esteghlal), 11-1
92kg- Kamran Ghasempour (Iran Mall) df. Ali Mojerlou (Esteghlal) by injury forfeit
97kg- Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian (Iran Mall) df. Alireza Rekabi (Esteghlal), 7-0
125kg- Amir Hossein Zare (Iran Mall) df. Abbas Foroutan (Esteghlal), 4-0

Greco-Roman Final Match: Iran Mall df. Azad University, 7-3
55kg- Reza Khedri (Iran Mall) df. Sajad Abbaspour (Azad University), 6-4
60kg- Alireza Nejati (Iran Mall) df. Omid Arami (Azad University), 6-3
63kg- Saman Abdevali (Iran Mall) tf. Hossein Abbasi (Azad University), 8-0
67kg- Danial Sohrabi (Azad University) df. Mohammad Elyasi (Iran Mall), 5-4
72kg- Ali Arsalan (Iran Mall) tf. Amir Abdi (Azad University), 8-0
77kg- Mohammad Ali Geraei (Iran Mall) df. Boroumand Aslan (Azad University), 6-4
82kg- Saeid Abdevali (Iran Mall) tf. Mehdi Mohammadzadeh (Azad University), 8-0
87kg- Naser Alizadeh (Azad University) df. Mehdi Fallah (Iran Mall), 4-2
97kg-  Mehdi Bali (Azad University) df. Mehdi Aliyari (Iran Mall), 2-2
130kg- Amin Mirzazadeh (Iran Mall) df. Amir Ghasemi Monjazi (Azad University), 4-1
 

World Champs Burroughs and Taylor to Square off Saturday
World champions Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and David TAYLOR (USA) will headline Flo Wrestling's January 9 11-match event.

Burroughs, the four-time world champion and London Olympic gold medalist at 74kg, is making the significant bump up to 86kg -- the weight in which Taylor won his '18 world title. "The two of us are always looking for ways to push the sport forward, so I think this is a cool event," said Burroughs. He continued, saying, "For both of us, this match is a big stamp on our legacy and how people will look at us moving forward."

It'll be the fifth time the pair of world champions have squared off in their storied careers. Burroughs owns a 4-0 record, with his last win coming in '14. Taylor, in looking for his first win over Burroughs, said, "This match is personal for me. Anytime you get to wrestle someone who has beaten you -- it's personal."

In addition to the freestyle meeting of world champions, the night's co-main event will also feature a matchup of world gold medalist. 

Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA), the reigning world champion at 68kg, is moving up to 76kg, where she'll face five-time world champion and leg-lace queen Adeline GRAY (USA).

For complete coverage of the event, visit www.flowrestling.org.

Complete Match Order
155lbs - Mitch McKee vs Tristan Moran
61kg - Ronna Heaton vs Desiree Zavala
215lbs - Nate Jackson vs Wynn Michalak
61kg - Seth Gross vs Zane Richards
143lbs - Ethan Lizak vs Matt McDonough
65kg - Nahshon Garrett vs Joey McKenna
51kg - Emily Shilson vs Erin Golston
152lbs - James Green vs Pat Lugo
97kg - J'den Cox vs Hayden Zillmer
76kg - Adeline Gray vs Tamyra Mensah-Stock
86kg - Jordan Burroughs vs David Taylor

#UnitedWorldWrestling

Paris Olympics: Wrestling breaks new barriers, expands reach across continents

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (August 22): More than half a million new fans in the digital community. An astounding 100 million engagements. And a remarkable 134 percent increase in social media impressions compared to Tokyo 2020.

At the Paris Olympics, it was a gold medal for wrestling.

UWW

On the mat, legends were born, records were set, and some moments would be remembered for ages. Off it, the sport broke new barriers, expanded its reach and engaged with a diverse audience as the United World Wrestling digital channels witnessed unprecedented growth during the Games.

The UWW’s online platforms recorded an impressive 11.2 percent increase in followers, adding over 508,000 new fans to its digital community. Compared to the growth in followers during the Tokyo Olympics, this figure represents a staggering 125 percent increase.

A large part of this surge was seen on Instagram, where the UWW gained 217,000 new followers. Facebook was a close second, adding 183,000 new followers while TikTok, the platform known for its short, engaging content, added 61,400 new followers. The growth across all platforms highlights the effectiveness of the UWW’s content strategy.

The inspiring clip of Greco-Roman star Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), who won Iran’s first gold medal in the Paris Olympics drove the maximum engagement on Instagram. Saravi, who won a bronze medal in Tokyo, beat Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) 4-1 in the 97kg final.

Another Iranian, Rahman AMOUZAD, one of the most feared wrestlers in the 65 kg freestyle, went viral with a video in which he proclaimed himself the ‘king’. This post had the second-highest engagement while a slick clip of Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) was the third-most viewed, captivating the viewers and leading engagements as well as interactions.

These videos – and many others shared across UWW’s social media channels – resonated strongly with audiences, garnering record-breaking views. Overall, there were 330 million impressions, a remarkable rise of 134 percent compared to the Tokyo Olympics.

Moreover, the content also achieved 100 million engagements, and a 71 percent increase in reach compared to the previous Olympic Games. This surge in interaction underscores the high level of interest and excitement generated by UWW’s coverage of the Olympic wrestling events.

The video content drove UWW’s social media success. Across all platforms, UWW’s video content garnered over 156 million views, an extraordinary 205 percent increase compared to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

YouTube, in particular, saw significant traction with over 21 million views. This success was fueled by a mix of short and long-form videos apart from live streaming, with shorts emerging as the most popular content format.

With more than one million views, the YouTube video of AMAN (IND) getting his revenge over Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) with a win in the preliminary round. Aman, who won a bronze medal, had lost to Abakarov at the 2023 World Championships.

Chamizo’s video, Don't play with fire #WrestleParis, which went viral on Instagram was also a huge hit on YouTube with hundreds of thousands of viewers, making it the second-most watched video on the platform.

The Day Three highlights show which revisited one of the biggest upsets of the competition – Vinesh PHOGAT (IND) defeating Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the women’s 50 kg first round – got the third-highest views on YouTube.

The UWW’s vibrant social media strategy was complemented by a robust email marketing campaign, which ran daily throughout the Olympic Games. The ongoing CRM campaigns helped boost engagement across Web, App and UWW+.