#WrestleKrasnoyarsk

Sunday's Ivan Yariguin FS and WW Finals Set

By Russian Wrestling Federation

KRASNOYARSK, Russia (January 29) -- The third day of action at the '22 Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin just wrapped up. The stage is set for Sunday's finals matchups 74kg, 86kg, 92kg and 97kg, as reported by www.wrestrus.ru.

The 74kg bracket turned out to be a real "meat grinder." Two-time world champion Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) beat Nikita SUCHKOV (RUS) and David BAEV (RUS), but then lost to Chermen VALIEV (RUS), who reached the final. In the gold-medal bout, he will be opposed by Jason NOLF (USA), who in the semi-final knocked out the winner of the World and European Championships Timur BIZHOEV (RUS) in 45 seconds.

At 86kg, world medalist Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) could not overcome the first round opponent. He lost to the representative of Kazakhstan Azamat DAULETBEKOV. Amanula RASULOV (RUS) made it to the finals from the top of the competition, where he will face Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS), who had no equal today.

In the 92kg bracket, it was not easy to single out one of the wrestlers. Tamerlan TAPSIEV (RUS) and Azamat ZAKUEV (RUS) will compete for the gold of the Yarygin tournament. They broke the resistance of Alan BAGAEV (RUS) and Azamat ZAKUEV (RUS), respectively, in equal fights in the semifinals.

Finally, at 97 kg, Kyle SNYDER (USA) confidently reached the final, and in the main fight he will compete with Shamil MUSAEV (RUS), who defeated the world Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO) in the semifinals. Note that Musaev has already won the Yarygin tournament - in 2019, while Snyder won in '17 and '18.

On the women's side of the competition, Sunday's finals were set for 72kg and 76kg.

Sunday's Freestyle Finals:
74kg.- Jason NOLF (USA) vs. Chermen VALIEV (RUS)
86kg - Amanula RASULOV (RUS) vs. Dauren KURUGLIEV (RUS)
92kg - Tamerlan TAPSIEV (RUS) vs. Guram CHERTKOEV ( RUS)
97kg - Kyle SNYDER (USA) vs. Shamil MUSAEV (RUS)

Sunday's Women's Wrestling Finals:
72kg - ERKH AMAR (Davaanasan (MGL) - Ksenia BURAKOVA (RUS)  
76kg - Ksenia DZIBYUK (BLR) - Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)

Freestyle Final Results (After Day Three):
57kg. Ramiz GAMZATOV (RUS) df. Akhmed IDRISOV (RUS), 5-2
61kg - Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RUS) df.Fedor BALTUEV (RUS), 9-8
65kg - Shamil MAMMADOV (RUS)  df. Ramazan FERZALIEV (RUS), 8-6
70kg - Victor RASSADIN (RUS) df. Anzor ZAKUEV (RUS), 9-4
79kg - Radik VALIEV (RUS) df. Malik SHAVAEV (RUS), 3-1
125kg - Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) df. Vitaly GOLOEV (RUS), 8-7

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

#UWWAwards

UWW Breakout Wrestlers of 2025: Hidlay, Farokhi, Onishi

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 14) -- The 2025 Breakout Wrestlers of the Year were not the ones anyone circled heading into the season. They weren’t the favorites, or the ones analysts picked to walk away from the season as world medalists.

They were the outsiders, largely unproven and underestimated. But that all changed in a single season when they smashed expectations, catapulting themselves into world-wide stardom with world-title runs that nobody saw coming.

Freestyle Breakout Performer of the Year: Trent HIDLAY (USA)

Before 2025, Hidlay had never climbed to the top of a podium at an international event. His  2025 season even began with more doubt than promise, dropping his second match of the year to rising Azeri phenom Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) at the Zagreb Open. But that loss lit a fuse. From that moment on, the 26-year-old didn’t just improve -- he transformed.

Hidlay unleashed a stunning 13-match win streak and collected gold medals at the Pan-American Championships, the Budapest Ranking Series and the World Championships. Along the way, he knocked off giants -- Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE), Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), and Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), just to name a few.

Then came the finale: a world finals comeback for the ages. Down and all but finished, Hidlay stormed back to defeat Amanula GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (UWW). In one year, Hidlay didn’t just win -- he arrived.

Greco-Roman Breakout Performer of the Year: Gholemreza FAROKHI (IRI)

When opportunity knocked, Farokhi wasn’t just there to answer it, he was there to kick the door off its hinges. The 23-year-old stepped into Iran’s senior lineup for the first time in his career and tore through anyone in front of him -- whether it was at 82kg or 87kg.

Farokhi bulldozed his way to gold medals at the two World Championships he participated in. He racked up a perfect 17-0 record, including 11 technical superiority wins and six decisions, sweeping gold at the World Championships, U23 World Championships, the Islamic Solidarity Games, and the Zagreb Open Ranking Series.

Women’s Wrestling Breakout Performer of the Year: Sakura ONISHI (JPN)

At 19 years old, Onishi entered the senior circuit with massive goals but had zero experience and zero fear. In mere months, she became a problem no one had an answer for.

Onishi tore through the season with a flawless 15-0 record, capturing titles at the Senior and U20 World Championships, the Asian Championships, and the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series. Her dominance wasn’t subtle -- it was exactly what you’d expect from a Japanese women’s wrestler -- 11 tech falls, three pins, and a decision, outscoring opponents 158-17.