#NFRoundup

UPDATED: NF Roundup Blog, March 9 - March 14

Tuesday, March 9, 2021 - 14:11 By United World Wrestling Press

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The Russian National Freestyle Championships are underway in Ulan-Ude and the first three gold medals were claimed on Friday night. Dagestani wrestlers  Zavur UGUEV and Magomed KURBANOV claimed 57kg and 92kg golds, respectively, while Alania's Artur NAIFONOV won gold at 86kg.

Day Two Finals Results

57kg: Zavur UGUEV df. Nachyn MONGUSH, 9-5
86kg: Artur NAIFONOV df. Dauren KURUGLIEV, 1-1  ⠀
92kg: Magomed KURBANOV df. Anzor URISHEV, via forfeit

Day Two Semifinal Results

70kg
GOLD: Israil KASUMOV vs. Evgeny ZHERBAEV 
SEMIFINAL: Israil KASUMOV df. Abdula AKHMEDOV, 10-0
SEMIFINAL: Evgeny ZHERBAEV df. Chermen VALIEV, 13-4

74 kg
GOLD: Zaurbek SIDAKOV vs. Razambek ZHAMALOV
SEMIFINAL: Zaurbek SIDAKOV df. Timur BIZHOEV, 5-3
SEMIFINAL: Razambek ZHAMALOV df. Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV, 2-1 

125 kg
GOLD: Atsamaz TEBLOYEV vs. Sergey KOZYEV 
SEMIFINAL: Atsamaz TEBLOYEV  df. Baldan TSYZHIPOV, via injury default
SEMIFINAL: Sergey KOZYEV df. Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV, 5-1 ⠀

Follow all the action from the Russian National Freestyle Championships on www.wrestrus.ru.

Yazdani and Atri Book Tickets to Tokyo Olympic Games

Rio Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) defeated Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) to win Iran's 86kg team trial for Tokyo Olympic Games.

Yazdani earned his first point from an inactivity on behalf of Ghasempour, then ended the first period with a 3-0 lead after a successful takedown.

In the second period, Ghasempour responded with two points of his own. He scored a single-leg takedown but it wasn’t enough for the two-time U23 world champion as Yazdani earned another takedown and won the match, 5-2.

The then-22-year-old achieved gold at the Rio Olympics and will now be looking to become Iran's first-ever two-time Olympic champion.

“We are both from a town (Jouybar) and even train at the same club. We know each other very well and it makes the match even more difficult,” said Yazdani after his win over Ghasempour. The Olympic champ added, “In such a close match, the winner will be the wrestler who has makes fewer mistakes and is more ready. I hope the most deserving wrestler is the one who'll compete at Tokyo Olympic Games.”

“Because of the COVID crisis, we were in full quarantine and weren't allowed to leave the national team's training camp. The situation has tough, but that's what we have to do for out Olympics preparations.”

In the second Olympic trails match, '19 Asian champion Reza ATRI (IRI) met '19 cadet world champion Rahman AMOUZAD KHALILI (IRI) for the 57kg spot.

The 18-years-old Khalili opened the match with a single leg takedown and led 2-0. In the second period, he extended his lead to 4-2, but Atri's experienc showed up in the last :30 seconds as he scored four points -- stealing the match, 6-4. 

Iran has earned six combined Olympic spots in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman. In freestyle, Iran earned three Olympic berths at the '19 World Championships at 57kg, 86kg and 125kg, while the Greco-Roman team has qualified 60kg, 77kg and 130kg for the Olympics.

The focus for Iran turns to the Olympic Qualification events, as they'll look to qualify the remaining six weights. 

#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.