#WrestleBudapest

WATCH: 10 Greco-Roman Finals from European Championships

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (April 7) -- The European Championships saw 10 Greco-Roman champions being crowned. One of them, Riza KAYAALP (TUR), won his 11th European title and is now two away from breaking the all-time record 12.

Azerbaijan won the team title over Turkey while Georgia finished third in the title race. Azerbaijan had all ten wrestlers in medal bouts with eight coming home with at least a medal. Only two wrestlers failed to win a medal in Budapest.

Watch all the 10 gold medal bouts from the European Championships.

55kg GOLD - Eldaniz Azizli (AZE) vs Nugzari Tsurtsumia (GEO)

Azizli wrestled his rival and world champion from 2019 Nugzari Tsurtsumia (GEO). Prior to this meeting, the two had wrestled each other four times with Azizli enjoying a perfect 4-0 record over Tsurtsumia. He extended that record to 5-0 when he won 8-2 in the 55kg final.

Azizli got the point for his opponent's passivity and a roll gave him a 3-1 lead. Tsurtsumia tried exposing with a head pinch but in turn, ended up giving two points. In the same action, Azizli scored two more and led 7-1 with two minutes remaining before closing out the bout 8-2.

 

60kg GOLD - Kerem Kamal (TUR) vs Edmond Nazaryan (BUL)

Kerem KAMAL (TUR) was third time lucky in the final as he won the gold after previously losing two finals in 2020 and 2021. But in his third final in three years, he defeated former European champ Edmond NAZARYAN (BUL) 5-0 to win at 60kg.

 

63kg GOLD - Leri Abuladze (GEO) vs Taleh Mammadov (AZE)

Georgia did have a gold medalist Saturday as U23 World champion Leri Abuladze (GEO) added a European title to his resume. He wrestled Taleh Mammadov (AZE) in the 63kg final and controlled it well. His one scoring action in par terre in the second period was enough to give him a 3-1 win over Mammadov, his first in two meetings.

 

67kg GOLD - Murat Firat (TUR) vs Krisztian Vancza (HUN)

Murat FIRAT (TUR) denied Krisztian VANCZA (HUN) a gold medal at home. In the close final, Firat used an exposure close to the zone to win 3-1. Vancza had his chance to take the lead when Firat was called passive but he did not manage to score any points from par terre in the second period.

 

72kg GOLD - Robert Attila Fritsch (HUN) vs Shmagi Bolkvadze (GEO)

Robert FRITSCH (HUN) upset Rio bronze medalist Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO), 3-2, at the 72kg final. In one of the closest bouts of the tournament, Bolkvadze led 1-0 at the break for a passivity point. But Fritsch bounced back with a gut wrench from par terre to lead 3-1. A reversal point for Bolkvadze but his lead to 3-2 but he managed to hang on for the win.

 

77kg GOLD - Malkhas Amoyan (ARM) vs Yunus Emre Basar (TUR)

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) won the 77kg European title. The world champion at 72kg was making his debut at 77kg and wrestled Yunus Basar (TUR) in the final. He was called passive and gave up a gut wrench to trail 3-0 at the break. But he got the same action using a chest wrap in the second period to lead 3-3 on criteria.

Turkey challenged the call asking for a leg foul but the judges found no negative wrestling which gave another point to Amoyan, extending his lead 4-3 with two minutes remaining.

The silver medalist from Warsaw European Championships was again called passive but this time Basar could not get any exposure from par terre as Amoyan let out a loud scream to celebrate his maiden gold at the continental championships.

 

82kg GOLD - Rafig Huseynov (AZE) vs Gela Bolkvadze (GEO)

In a historic feat, Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE) became the first-ever Azerbaijan wrestler to win three European titles. Wrestling Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) in the 82kg final, Huseynov gave up a point for passivity but defended the par terre position. Georgia asked for a challenge for Huseynov's fleeing but lost it. Huseynov got the second point from Bolkvadze's passivity and kept the 2-1 lead to win the gold.

 

87kg GOLD - Turpan BISULTANOV (DEN) vs Nicu OJOG (ROU)

Bisultanov won the gold for Denmark at the European championship, outscoring his opponents 35-0 over two days and with his crowd-pleasing style became a fan favorite in Budapest. Wrestling Nicu Ojog (ROU) in the 87kg final, Bisultanov took only one minute and 13 seconds to finish the bout 8-0. In his four bouts, he did not wrestle the full six minutes in any, spending just over 13 minutes on the mat.

 

97kg GOLD - Kiril MILOV (BUL) vs Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)

Kiril MILOV (BUL) upgraded from his silver in 2019. With fond memories of Budapest, he changed the color of his medal with an error-less performance in the final against Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN), 4-1. Milov got the match-deciding gut wrench in the second period to defeat the former U23 world champion Savolainen who won the title in Budapest three years ago.

 

130kg GOLD - Riza KAYAALP (TUR) vs Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)

Riza Kayaalp (TUR) is on a mission to break Alexander Karelin (RWF) record of 12 European gold medals. He took another step closer to that by winning his 11th gold in Budapest. The four-time world champion defeated Danila Sotnikov (ITA), 4-0 in the 130kg final using a head-pinch exposure when the Italian was trying to push him out.

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Flashback: Iran, U.S. opened season with success

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (January 18) -- United World Wrestling's 2026 season will kick off with the Ranking Series in Zagreb February 4. The recent memories of Zagreb may be the September World Championships but the 2025 season also kicked off with the Ranking Series in the Croatian capital.

Iran and the United States had strong performances in the first of the four stops of the Ranking Series, a theme which continued throughout the 2025 season as the U.S. dominated Freestyle while Iran dominated Greco-Roman.

Women's Wrestling participants were less in numbers but still saw U.S. and UWW wrestlers share gold medals.

Here's a trip down memory lane of the 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Series before the 2026 season kicks off:

WATCH ZAGREB OPEN 2025 TOP BOUTS HERE

Freestyle

A young Iranian team snapped four gold medals in Zagreb with Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) winning gold at 61kg, Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) winning at 65kg, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) became champion at 92kg and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) winning the 125kg gold.

For the U.S., Spencer LEE (USA) kicked off the season with 57kg with gold, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) won at 86kg and Kyle SNYDER (USA) at 97kg. Both Valencia and Snyder went on to win gold at the World Championships later in the season.

Azerbaijan, Slovakia and France won one gold each, with Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) winning at 70kg for Azerbaijan, Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) winning gold at 74kg, and Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) winning at 79kg for France.

Iran dominance began when Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) won gold at 61kg, beating the likes of Nuraddin NUVROZOV (AZE), Nashon GARRETT (USA), Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) and Ebrahim KHARI (IRI). Javan would later win a silver medal at the World Championships. At 65kg, Ebrahim held his own in a thrilling final against Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to grab the second gold for Iran.

Young superstars Firouzpour and Masoumi put up a show to win gold medals at 92kg and 125kg respectively.

Lee was making a returning to competition six months after winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. He won the Zagreb Open gold with rather ease. For the U.S., Valencia saw himself win gold at 86kg outscoring his opponents 35-4 in four bouts. In the final, Valencia defeated world bronze medalist Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 8-0.

Snyder opened his season with a 33-1 scoring run in three bouts at 97kg in Zagreb. In the final, he easily defeated Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI).

Heybatov gave early warnings to the 70kg field by winning gold in Zagreb, a run which included wins over Austin GOMEZ (MEX), two back-to-back wins over Iranian wrestlers including a 12-1 one again Sina KHALILI (IRI) in the final. The two would wrestle again towards the end of the year at the U23 World Championships. Heybatov won that final with a 9-4 score.

Two veterans, Salkazanov and Khadjiev, were at their best in the opening Ranking Series tournament. Salkazanov blanked everyone, including winning 4-0 against David CARR (USA) in the final, to win 74kg gold.

Khadjiev had a tougher bat but managed to win the 79kg gold with a 5-3 win over Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) in the final. The French wrestler would later win silver at the European Championships.