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UWW Hosts First-Ever Event Organization Workshop in Panama City

Friday, January 28, 2022 - 12:45 By United World Wrestling Press

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PANAMA CITY, Panama (January 28) -- In Panama City from January 21 to 24, the first Event Organization Workshop organized by United World Wrestling Sports Department with the collaboration of the national Olympic Committee of Panama finalized successfully.

The workshop was aimed to the National Federations that plan to hold Continental Championships during 2022 and 2023.

“It is essential for the UWW to provide the tools and knowledge to our National Federations in order to increase the quality in the delivery of our competitions and continue to put Wrestling at the top. With the support of the local sports’ authorities and the dedication of my talented colleague Yuri Meier, this first workshop was a success” said Jean-Daniel REY, UWW Sports Director.  

Some of the topics discussed were the benefits of organizing an event, planning, bidding process, functional areas, among others.

The main focus of this Workshop is to work with the countries that have already been awarded as a host country for major events in the Americas in 2022, 2023, and potentially 2024. UWW wants to give the National Federations the tools and knowledge to deliver their events successfully and to provide a follow up with all them to assess and support them in the process.

Panama was strategically selected to host the workshop because it is a country with a lot of potential, its geographical location and the organizational level that has both the National Federation and the National Olympic Committee of Panama shown, was a key factor in the logistical aspect of the Workshop.

PAN
Attendees of the first-ever Event Organization Workshop stand together after the conclusion of the workshop. (Photo: United World Wrestling) 

Ms. Damaris YOUNG, President of the National Olympic Committee of Panama, was awarded the Golden Boot as a token of gratitude for her support and commitment to Wrestling in the continent.

Guillermo DIAZ GUTIÉRREZ, President of the Mexican Wrestling Federation and UWW Americas Executive Board member, expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of this first event, "This Workshop opens the way for us to continue to improve the organizing of national and international events, in addition to getting to know the new requirement and regulation of the organizations for our futures events", he affirmed.

The three facilitators who delivered the Workshop were Yuri MAIER, UWW Sports and Development Officer, Eduardo PEREZ TÉLLEZ, UWW Americas Event Manager, and Jesús SALAZAR GARDUÑO, UWW Americas IT Manager.

The Americas is the first continent to hold this Workshop, as part of a pilot project for host cities. The next Workshop will be held in Rome, Italy, where the U17 World Championships will take place. As in Panama, the National Federations participating will be the ones with future or potential events to host whether a Continental o World Championships.

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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.