#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW Appeal Committee concludes investigation into Olympic qualification match

Wednesday, May 29, 2024 - 15:00 By United World Wrestling Press

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 29) -- The United World Wrestling (UWW) Appeal Committee has reached a decision regarding the appeals filed against the UWW Disciplinary Chamber's ruling dated April 23, 2024, concerning the officiating of Match 266 (ITA vs AZE) at the European OG Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan.

After carefully considering the statements from the refereeing officials involved (Alexei Bazulin, Roman Pavlov, Ibrahim Cicioglu, Kamel Bouaziz, and Casey Goessl), the reports of the two review panels, and the opinions of impartial refereeing experts, the Appeal Committee concluded that there was no indication of bias in the officiating of the match. The issues identified were determined to be related to refereeing errors and technical aspects of officiating.

To ensure a fair and proportionate outcome, the Appeal Committee has referred the case back to the UWW Disciplinary Chamber for reconsideration. The Disciplinary Chamber has been instructed to reassess the appropriate sanctions, if any, based solely on the refereeing errors and technical officiating issues in accordance with the relevant UWW rules and regulations.

Considering the above, the Disciplinary Chamber revisited the case and issued the following decision:

Considering the above, in particular, that the appeal panel found that “there is no indication of bias amounting to a breach of the fundamental principles of integrity and fair play in the officiating of Match 266” and that “since this case is about the refereeing errors and questionable decisions of a technical nature”, pursuant to the UWW Regulations and rules the Disciplinary Chamber renders the following revised sanction:

  1. The suspension against the refereeing delegates (Mr. Bouaziz, Mr. Cicioglu, Mr. Goessl) is reduced until 31 May 2024; notwithstanding the foregoing, the refereeing delegates are reinstated in the selection for the Olympic Games and may be considered, subject to the final selection by the Refereeing Commission and the UWW Bureau, to officiate only as mat chairmen during the Games.
  2. The suspension against Mr. Bazulin is reduced until 31 May 2024; notwithstanding the foregoing, Mr. Bazulin is reinstated in the selection for the Olympic Games and may be considered, subject to the final selection by the Refereeing Commission and the UWW Bureau, to officiate as referee during the Games.
  3. The suspension against Mr. Pavlov is reduced to the same period as the judge’s, i.e. until 30 September 2024.

The UWW remains committed to upholding the integrity of the sport and ensuring that all competitions are conducted fairly and in accordance with the rules and regulations.

#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