#WrestleBratislava

Valiev tops Sidakov; Uguev, Ramazanov win European golds

Wednesday, April 9, 2025 - 23:16 By Vinay Siwach

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (April 9) -- It took Chermen VALIEV (ALB) five bouts, a tense European Championships final, a challenge decision in his favor and a some incredible skill but he finally managed to beat world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW).

Valiev and Sidakov clashed in the final of the European Championships in Bratislava on Wednesday, and the Albanian came out as a 4-2 winner, winning for the first time against Sidakov in five bouts and becoming a European champion at 74kg.

"I've faced Zaurbek before," Valiev said. "Until now, he always came out as the winner. Today, I managed to win, and I'm really happy about that. Zaurbek and I have been good friends since childhood, I have a lot of respect for him. But today, I guess luck was more on my side."

Chermen VALIEV (ALB)The final sequence between Chermen VALIEV (ALB) and Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW) which resulted in a Valiev win. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

The two last clashed in the Russian National Championships which Sidakov won 3-2. But Valiev has since moved to Albania, won a bronze medal at 74kg at the Paris Olympics and emerged as one of the biggest names at 74kg.

Sidakov, world champion in 2023 at the weight class, had wrestled at the European Championships once before -- in 2016 at 70kg but did not win a medal.

In the final, Sidakov held the criteria lead 1-1 when Valiev was put on the activity clock again but he managed to drive Sidakov out of bounds during the 30-second period and get a point for a 2-1 lead.

With 50 seconds left on the clock, Sidakov went for a deep ankle pick, but got countered by Valiev for two-point exposure. Both continued the scramble and Sidakov managed to get a reversal for one point. However, it was initially scored two points for Sidakov which made it 3-2 for Sidakov before the referees awarded two for Valiev and a reversal point for Sidakov. That made the score 4-4 with Sidakov leading on criteria with six seconds remaining.

However, Albania challenged the call and on review, the 44-second scramble was awarded as two points for Valiev and a reversal point for Sidakov which gave Valiev a 4-2 lead to defend which he did. Sidakov limped off the mat which was later confirmed as a knee injury.

"The final was really tough for me, very intense match right up until the last second," he said. "Even at the end, it wasn’t clear who would get the score. But the score was given in my favor. I prepared hard and gave it 100 percent, put everything into my training. And today, God rewarded me with a gold medal."

Valiev, a former world U23 champion, is now focused on winning the senior world title and said that the gold medal in Bratislava will be a motivation to win in the Zagreb event in September.

"I’ll start preparing for the next competition," he said. "The main goal this year is the World Championships, and I hope to get there healthy and ready. I’ll keep that gold medal in my mind and keep pushing forward."

With that loss Sidakov, Tokyo Olympic champion at 74kg, suffered his first since 2018 when he lost Hetik CABALOV (SRB) in the Ivan Yaryguin Ranking Series.

While Sidakov suffered a loss, fellow Tokyo Olympic champion Zavur UGUEV (UWW) pulled off another last-second thrilling win over Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) to win his first-ever European gold medal.

Uguev, who was struggling with form in recent past and finished without a medal at the World Championships last year, rebounded with a 7-5 victory in the 61kg final to win gold.

"I’m truly happy," Uguev said. "I had even forgotten what it feels like to be called up to the top of the podium."

The final got off to a mesmerizing start with Uguev suplexing Harutyunyan during the Armenian's activity period. He was awarded two points for the move but he challenged for four points but lost, making the score 3-1.

In the second period, Uguev tried to pass behind for a takedown but Harutyunyan got hold of his leg and tripped him for four points to claim a 5-3 lead. Uguev was not giving up though. As Harutyunyan tried pushing him out, Uguev hit a underhook throw for two points to make the score 5-5 but Harutyunyan led on criteria for his bigger technique.

This was settled in the final minute when Uguev got on a single leg attack, elevated and finished with a takedown with 25 seconds left. He defended his 7-5 lead to win the gold medal.

"I had said it was going to be an interesting match and it really was," he said. "I got thrown unexpectedly early on and had to catch up. I was working, pushing forward, but I wasn’t worried — I believed I could close the gap, even though I couldn’t at first."

Uguev had three European medals, a bronze and silver, in the past having lost to Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE) in 2017 and 2018. But he came a two-time world and Olympic champion. 

"I was lying down and a thought came to me," he said. "I looked back and realized -- I didn’t actually have a European medal yet. And I thought, “Now it’s time. I have to win one.”

Since winning the gold at 57kg at the Tokyo Games, Uguev has two fifth-place finishes at the World Championships internationally. But with the win on Wednesday, Uguev put his hat in the ring for the world title later this year.

Denis TSARGUSH, who was in the corners of both Sidakov and Uguev, said that Sidakov's loss a bit difficult to digest.

"We performed well overall. It’s just that the final match with Zarubek left a bit of a bitter aftertaste," he said. "He could have won but Chermen also wrestled really well."

Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL), Paris 2024 Olympic champion was also in action on Wednesday and he scored a thrilling 9-5 win against Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) in the 86kg final.

Kadzimahamedau was leading in 5-1 after he had scored two takedowns and Ramazanov got going only in the final minute. He scored a takedown with a leg-hold before turning Kadzimahamedau four times to make it 9-5. Ramazanov got Kadzimahamedau.

"All my thoughts were about winning — I really didn’t want to lose," Ramazanov said. "If the match had ended like that, without me giving it my all, it would’ve been incredibly disappointing. That’s why I switched into full gear — I wasn’t thinking about tactics anymore, I was just pushing forward. I would rate my performance around 6 out of 10. There were a lot of strong athletes."

Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL)Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) gut wrenches Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) for the win in the 86kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

With the win, Ramazanov won his second European title and he also avenged his 2019 79kg final loss at the European Championships.

"I wanted to avenge for past losses, but it wasn’t about proving anything," he said. "I just always try to choose the toughest opponents — especially the ones I’ve lost to before."

Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) won his fourth European Championships gold medal. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

At 92kg, three-time European champion Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) added a fourth after he sneaked through the final against Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 6-5.

Kurugliev, who also has a European Games gold medal, opened the final with an ankle pick for a takedown in the first thirty second of the bout and maintained till the break. There was no points scored in the bout until the last 25 seconds.

Nurmagomedov asked for a takedown but he lost the challenge which gave Kurugliev another point. He soon scored a stepout to cut the lead to 3-1 and as he tried to score another, Kurugliev circled and scored a go-behind as Nurmagomedov thought he completed the stepout.

A challenge would have helped Nurmagomedov at this point but he had already used it and Kurugliev's lead swelled to 5-1.

Nurmagomedov got a takedown with a ankle pick for two point and he got another point for Kurugliev's fleeing, making the score 5-4. The bout resumed in par terre with four seconds on the clock but Nurmagomedov failed to score a turn and lost the final.

 Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) scores the winning throw against Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO) during the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling)

The European Championships had a different winner at 125kg in 13 years as Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) needed a buzzer-beating front body throw for four to defeat Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO), 7-7, in the final.

Meshvildishvili thus became the first wrestler not named Taha AKGUL (TUR) or Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) to win the 125kg gold medal since 2012.

Manashvili was  leading 7-3 with seven seconds remaining when Meshvildishvili scored a reverse exposure throw for four, awarded only after the Azerbaijan side challenged.

Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) with Taha AKGUL (TUR) during the European Championships. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

The win also captured the Freestyle team title for Azerbaijan over Georgia. The two countries were tied at 94 points and the winner of 125kg would take his country to the top of the podium.

Meshvildishvili's win gave Azerbaijan 119 points for the top spot while Georgia was second with 114 points. Turkiye finished third with 73 points.

 

Photo

RESULTS

61kg
GOLD: Zavur UGUEV (UWW) df. Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 7-5

BRONZE: Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) df. Dzmitry SHAMELA (UWW), 3-1
BRONZE: Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB) df. Leomid COLESNIC (MDA), 11-0

74kg
GOLD: Chermen VALIEV (ALB) df. Zaurbek SIDAKOV (UWW), 4-2

BRONZE: Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) df. Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL), 6-4
BRONZE: Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) df. Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN), 3-0

86kg
GOLD: Magomed RAMAZANOV (BUL) df. Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW), 9-5

BRONZE: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df. Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL), 4-2
BRONZE: Artur NAIFONOV (UWW) df. Eugeniu MIHALCEAN (MDA), 10-0

92kg
GOLD: Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) df. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 6-5

BRONZE: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) df. Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (UWW), 5-0 
BRONZE: Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR) df. Ahmed BATAEV (BUL), 8-6

125kg
GOLD: Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE) df. Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO), 7-7

BRONZE: Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW) df. Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN), 5-2
BRONZE: Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL) df. Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE), 8-0

#WrestleTirana

Kayaalp's 13: New Golden Standard Set in Europe

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 15:27 By United World Wrestling Press

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TIRANA, Albania (April 20) -- On Tuesday evening in Tirana, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) did something that for years existed and was expected to continue to exist only as a hypothetical.

He won his 13th European title in Tirana on Tuesday, beating Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1, in the 130kg European Championships. 2026 joined 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) turns Darius VITEK (HUN) in the 130kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

As the referee raised his powerfully sculpted right arm in triumph, Kayaalp raised the ceiling in Greco-Roman. He moved past the legendary Aleksandr KARELIN’s 12 European gold medals, the last of which he had won in 2000. Generations of wrestlers had competed, won and lost, knowing all the while that that number would outlast them. Until Kayaalp finally eclipsed it.

The moment itself wasn’t dramatic in the way history is often expected to be. Just a raised hand, a nod and a lap of honor around the mat with the Turkish flag around his shoulders. That’s been the story of Kayaalp’s career.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) speaks to the media after winning the gold medal at the European Championships. (United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

Born in Yozgat, in central Turkey, Kayaalp would have inherently understood the role of wrestling in Turkish sporting heritage and the place champions of the sport have historically held in the nation. He would have grown up in the shadow of two-time Olympic and eight-time European champion Hamza YERLIKAYA, who defined Turkish wrestling in the 1990s and like everyone else in the sport, under the global shadow of Karelin.

Slowly and methodically Kayaalp would try to match them. His career has been relentless and consistent rather than spectacular. Since his first European gold in 2010, won as a twenty-year old, Kayaalp has claimed titles across two decades. He’s adapted through rule changes, generations of opponents, and brutal physical wear and tear of time itself.

Apart from his European titles, he has five World Championships gold medals, and three Olympic medals -- a bronze in London 2012, silver in Rio 2016, bronze again in Tokyo 2020. Every time a major medal was to be decided over the past decade and a half, Kayaalp would with almost absurd reliability be counted in the mix.

Riza KAYAALP (TUR)Riza KAYAALP (TUR) with Taha AKGUL (TUR) at the medal ceremony in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

For all of Kayaalp’s longevity, his career has always carried the one obvious gap compared to Karelin or Yerlikaya -- no Olympic gold. That absence will still be there. That gap is unlikely to close any time soon. As such the European mark became a milestone within his grasp. Or in the last few years, a milestone just out of grasp.

Indeed, for Kayaalp the title will provide a sense of closure. He had equalled Karelin’s record at the 2023 European championships in Zagreb. Prior to that tournament, he had in an interview with Anadalou Agency spoken of equalling Karelin’s record, breaking it at the 2024 European Championships and finally finishing his career on a high note with a gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But things would not go as planned. At the 2024 European Championships, Kayaalp was pinned in the final by Sergey SEMENOV (UWW) -- only the second final he had ever lost in Europe. A few months later despite qualifying for the Olympics he was unable to compete due to a medication issue linked to treatment for persistent tinnitus. His appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was upheld, clearing the way for his return. He would describe the period as the toughest of his career.

But the ordeal had left him with a new purpose and a desire to exit the stage on his own terms.

“For an athlete with so many titles, this was the worst thing that could happen,” he said. “Because of a simple issue, we faced a huge problem. But I always believed I would overcome it, return to my job and leave the sport on my own terms,” he had told Anadalou Agency at the start of 2026 when he made his return to international competition at the Zagreb Ranking series earlier this year.

“There was fatigue before. In this 18-month period, my desire to work came back stronger. I was already motivated to be champion. Now it is even greater. I feel renewed,” he had said.

While Kayaalp has said he would compete until the 2028 Olympics, he had also spoken of the unfinished business he had had in Europe. “I was so close,” he said. “Fourteen finals, 12 European titles, one more for the record, and then something unwanted happens. But everything is resolved. To bring that record to my country would mean a lot,” he had said then.

He had come close once and fallen short. That could have been the ending -- a near miss against an immortal number. Instead, with his 13th European title, Kayaalp gets to tell his story. He stands alone as the most decorated European wrestler of all time.

Records though exist to be broken. At some point, inevitably, another wrestler will look at Kayaalp's number and decide to chase it. But at least for some time, records exist to define limits. For over a quarter of a century that limit was Karelin’s 12. Now it’s Kayaalp’s 13.