#WrestleKrasnoyarsk

Saturday's Ivan Yariguin Freestyle and Women's Wrestling Finalists Determined

Friday, January 28, 2022 - 16:50 By Russian Wrestling Federation

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KRASNOYARSK, Russia (January 27) -- The second day of action at the '22 Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin just wrapped up. The stage is set for Saturday's finals matchups 65kg, 79kg and 125kg, as reported by www.wrestrus.ru.

At 65kg, Olympic medalist and world champion Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS) and the world and European champion Zagir SHAKIEV (RUS) did not fly to Krasnoyarsk due to illness. The winner of the European championship Nachyn KUULAR did not come out on the mat either. World and European meadlist Akhmed CHAKAEV(RUS)  lost in the quarterfinals to Ramazan FERZALIEV (RUS), who reached the final. His opponent in the main fight will be Shamil MAMMADOV (RUS).


In the non-Olympic weight of 79kg, Radik VALIEV (RUS) and Malik SHAVAEV (RUS) will meet in the final. Valiev defeated the American Alex DIERINGER (USA) in the semifinals, and before that, he was stronger than the world medalist Gadzhi NABIEV (RUS). Shavaev overcame Akhmed USMANOV (RUS) and Dmitry ZAIDINOV (RUS) (who defeated Kakhaber KHUBEZHTY (RUS)) during the tournament.

At heavyweight, the Russian final will take place between, Anzor KKIZRIEV (RUS) and Vitaly GOLOEV (RUS). It should be noted that the winner of the 2020 World Cup Shamil SHARIPOV (RUS) lost in the 1/8 finals to Vitaly GOLOEV (RUS), and the medalist of the European Championship Alan KHUGAEV (RUS) lost to Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ). Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (RUS) did not take part in the competition after being removed by a doctor.

On the women's wrestling side of the competitions, the finalists were determined at 53kg, 57kg and 62kg.

Saturday's Women's Wrestling Finals Matchups:
53kg: GANBAATAR Otgonzhala (MGL) vs. Bolortuya BAT-OCHIR (MGL)
57kg: Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS) vs. Helen MAROULIS (USA)
62kg: Macy KILTY (USA) vs. TSERENCHIMED Sukhee (MGL)

Saturday's Freestyle Finals Matchups
65kg: Shamil MAMMADOV (RUS) vs. Ramazan FERZALIEV (RUS)
79kg: Radik VALIEV (RUS) vs. Malik SHAVAEV (RUS)
125kg: Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) and Vitaly GOLOEV (RUS)

Friday's Final Results:
57kg. Ramiz GAMZATOV (RUS) df. Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS), 5-2
61kg - Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS) df.Fedor BALTUEV (RUS), 9-8
70kg - Victor RASSADIN (RUS) df. Anzor ZAKUEV (RUS), 9-4

For up-to-date news, highlights results from this year's Ivan Yariguin, visit www.wrestrus.ru.

#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.