Weekly FIVE!

Weekly FIVE! April 02, 2018

Monday, April 2, 2018 - 12:21 By Eric Olanowski

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Reviewing Bill Farrell results, Commonwealth Games team announcements and this weekends Freestyle World Cup. 

1. USA Wins Six Golds, Dieringer Named MOW at Bill Farrell
The United States, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan each had wrestlers capture gold medals at the Bill Farrell Memorial International which was held at the New York Athletic Club in New York City, United States.

For the second time in as many tournaments, American Alex DIERINGER (USA) took home the 79kg gold medal. Up from 74kg, Dieringer is a little over a month removed from going 5-0 and outscoring his competition 42-5 at the Outstanding Ukrainian Memorial in Kiev. In the Outstanding Ukrainian Memorial finals, Dieringer defeated Olympic bronze medalist Yabrail HASANOV (AZE), 7-3.

This weekend, Dieringer was named the Bill Farrell Most Outstanding Wrestler after three wins, which included a fall over 2015 world fifth-place finisher, Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) in the 79kg finals.

FINAL RESULTS
57kg - Samat NADYRBEK (KGZ) df. Tim LAMBERT (USA), 11-0
61kg - Jon MORRISON (USA) df. Tyler GRAFF (USA), 6-5
65kg - Evan HENDERSON (USA) df. Ilman MUKHTAROV (FRA), via fall (0:26) 
70kg - Sayatpek OKASOV (KAZ) df. Kyle RUSCHELL (USA), 6-3
74 kg - Thomas GANTT (USA) df. Dan VALLIMONT (USA),11-0
79kg -  Alex DIERINGER (USA) df. Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
86kg - Joe Rau (Minnesota Storm) round-robin winner
97kg - Ty WALZ (USA) df. Deron WINN (USA), 4-2
125kg - Inkar YERMUKAMBET (KAZ) df. Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ), 4-2

2. Canada and Nigeria Announce Commonwealth Games Teams
Canada and Nigeria each revealed the 12 representatives who will compete at the 2018 Commonwealth Games which takes place in Gold Coast, Australia on April 11-13, 2018.

Defending Commonwealth Games championships, Olympic gold medalist Erica WIEBE (CAN) and Olympian Korey JARVIS (CAN) lead a Canadian team that won seven gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

World finalist Odunayo ADEKOROYE (NGR) and 2018 African champion Melvin BIBO (NGR) head Nigeria’s 12 participants. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Nigeria medaled in 11 out of 12 weight classes, including two gold medal performances by Adekuoroye and Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI AMINAT (NGR).

3. Mongolia and India Round Out World Cup Teams
Due the the the U.S. Embassy not being able to provide expedited appointments for sporting events, the Russian Wrestling Federation has been forced to withdraw from this week’s 2018 Freestyle World Cup.

To fill the voided team slots, USA Wrestling and the tournament organizers have extended invitations to Mongolia and India. Both of which have accepted and have begun the visa process.

4. Six Olympic Medalists Set to Compete at Freestyle World Cup
Six Olympic medalists from Azerbaijan and the United States will be in action this weekend at the World Cup.

The three Olympic medalists who will be competing for Azerbaijan are Haji ALIYEV (AZE), Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) and Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE). Sharifov, a two-time Olympic medalist won Olympic gold in London and bronze in Rio. Aliev and Hasanov each snagged bronze medals at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

The three men for the United States who boast Olympic medals are Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), J’den COX (USA) and Kyle SNYDER (USA). In London, Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) captured gold and in Rio Kyle SNYDER (USA) won gold while Cox finished with the bronze.

5. Session One 57kg World Finals Rematch 
The United States and Japan will meet in session one of the World Cup and the first match of the day is a rematch of the 57kg 2017 World Championships gold-medal bout between Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN) and Thomas GILMAN (USA).

In the world finals, 2017 Breakout Wrestler of the Year Yuki Takahashi captured his first world title by using three two-point moves to win the bout, 6-0. Takahashi scored his first two points from a caution-and-two and ended the match by picking up two defensive takedowns.

Weekly FIVE! In Social Media 

1. Have a productive week!?? Japanese wrestlers training? Всем плодотворной недели! Тренировка японских спортсменок? ?@saori___yoshida

2. #FlagFriday with Olympic champion S. SHARIFOV (AZE). Sharifov is entered at 92kg for next weekends World Cup.

3. Alexander KARELIN is ready for the European Champ’s ... are you?! #dagestan2018

4. “The days that break you are the days that make you???.” @mohsenhajipour
روزهایی که تو را می شکنند روزهایی هستند که تو را می سازند ???

5. “Cela semble toujours impossible jusqu’à ce qu’on le fasse...” @koumba_larroque

#UWWAwards

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.