#WrestleSantiago

USA opens Pan-Am Games with four golds

Wednesday, November 1, 2023 - 21:39 By Eric Olanowski

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SANTIAGO, Chile (November 1) --- The United States had an impressive opening-day showing in Chile at the Pan-American Games, going an unblemished 11-0 and winning four golds.

Kyle SNYDER (USA), Mason PARRIS (USA), Zane RICHARDS (USA) and Tyler BERGER (USA) were the four Americans who reached the top of the podium on Wednesday.

Snyder picked up three lop-sided wins en route to his third Pan-Am Games titles. The Olympic champion scored technical superiority wins against Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN), Maxwell LACEY (CRC) and Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB). Snyder’s blanked Randhawa and Lacey, but gave up a four-point throw against Silot Torres, winning the 97kg finals bout 14-4.

Snyder is now a three-time Pan-American Games gold medalists, winning it all in 2015, '19 and '23.

At 125kg, Mason PARRIS (USA) closed out his three-win day with a chippy 2-0 win over Jose DIAZ (VEN) in the 125kg finals. Parris, the reigning world bronze medalists, and Diaz traded heavy hands for the duration of six-minute bout, but it was ultimately Parris’ two-point first period that determined the match.

Zane RICHARDS (USA) rebounded after a tumultuous World Championships to take 57kg Pan-Am Games gold. Richards’ toughest bout came in the semifinals, where he defeated Darian CRUZ (PUR), 8-2. In addition to his win over the Puerto Rican, Cruz also tech falled Juan RAMIREZ (DOM) and Oscar TIGREROS (COL) on his way to winning gold.

Tyler BERGER (USA) kept the clean slate alive for the United States on Wednesday night after upending Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB, 3-0, in the 74kg finals. Berger scored a shot clock point before finishing a two-point attack with nine seconds left in the first period.

Thursday’s opening round matches begin at 10:00 (local time), with the bronze and gold-medal bouts begin at 16:00.

RESULTS:

57kg
GOLD - Zane RICHARDS (USA) df. Oscar TIGREROS (COL), 10-0
BRONZE - Darian CRUZ (PUR) df. Ramirez Beltre JUAN RUBELIN (DOM), via forfeit
BRONZE - Diversent Martinez OSMANY (CUB) df. Almendra HERNAN DAVID (ARG), via fall

74kg
GOLD - Tyler BERGER (USA) df. Franklin MAREN CASTILLO (CUB), 3-0
BRONZE - Anthony Jose MONTERO CHIRINOS (VEN) df. Anthony VALENCIA (MEX), 7-2
BRONZE - Adam THOMSON (CAN) df. Luis BARRIOS ROCHEZ (HON), 6-5

97kg
GOLD - Kyle SNYDER (USA) df. Arturo SILOT TORRES (CUB), 14-4
BRONZE - Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN) df. Maxwell LACEY (CRC), 7-6
BRONZE - Cristian SARCO (VEN) df. Matias URIBE (CHI), 10-0

125kg
GOLD - Mason PARRIS (USA) df. Jose DIAZ ROBERTTI (VEN), 2-0
BRONZE - Catriel MURIEL (ARG) df. Jonovan SMITH (PUR), 7-6
BRONZE - Aaron JOHNSON (JAM) df. Elison ADAMES (DOM), 5-1

#AmateurMMA

Historic Amateur MMA World Championships kicks off in Novi Sad

Saturday, October 18, 2025 - 09:17 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 18) -- The first-ever Amateur MMA World Championships kicked off in Novi Sad Serbia in men's and women's.

The three-day event began with preliminary rounds and with quarterfinals, semifinals and finals scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

The World Championships is live on uww.org and on Instagram.

Here are a few top photos from day one on Friday:

AMMAScott HEATHCOTE (CAN), blue, and Aayush DIPU (IND) showing some early kicks during their match. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The matches are of nine minutes divided into three rounds of three minutes each with two breaks of one minute each between the three periods.

AMMAFront rolls for the win. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The are fought without a headgear but with protective gloves. Other part of the uniform includes tight-fitting rash guards, shorts, and the fights are fought barefoot.

AMMAUp in the air. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Athletes are allowed to wear mouthguards. However, the mouthguards cannot be of red color.

AMMAIt's all about respect in the end. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The UWW Amateur MMA is competed in various weight classes:

Men's (U20, U23, Seniors): 57kg, 62kg, 66kg, 71kg, 77kg, 84kg, 93kg, 100kg, 130kg
Women's (U20, U23, Seniors): 50kg, 53kg, 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 75kg, 80kg, 90kg

AMMAThe coach improvised there. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The various types of victories include: Submission, Knockout (KO), Technical Knockout (TKO), Disqualification (DSQ), Forfeit, Judge’s Decisions.

AMMAWin or lose, the reaction can't give it away. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In certain cases, there can be draws in the bouts. Draw decisions occur in the following scenarios:
- Unanimous Draw: all three judges score the bout equally
- Majority Draw: two judges score the bout as a draw
- Split Draw: each judge scores the bout differently, resulting in an overall draw
- Technical Draw: awarded when a bout is prematurely stopped due to injury from an intentional foul after continuing, and subsequent injury forces stoppage from either legal or illegal actions with scores equal or insufficient for a clear winner.

Resolving Draws

If a winner must be declared (e.g., elimination rounds) and a draw occurs on the judges’ scorecards, the following criteria apply, in order:
1. The athlete who had points deducted for fouls loses the bout
2. If no fouls occurred, the athlete who won any single round by the largest margin (e.g., one round 10-8 versus two rounds 10-9) wins the bout.
3. If neither of these criteria resolves the draw, the Mat Chairman polls judges to vote for the winner. The athlete receiving the majority of judge votes is declared the winner. This decision is final and cannot be appealed