Weekly FIVE! December 31, 2018
Monday, December 31, 2018 - 19:00 By Eric Olanowski
Reviewing the release of tomorrow's Best Wrestler of Year award and the revamped Ranking Series structure. Also taking a look at the potential Snyder and Sadulaev round three matchup at the Ivan Yarygin in three weeks.
1. Best Wrestler of the Year Award to be Released on January 1
United World Wrestling will open up the new year by releasing the “2018 Best Wrestler of the Year” award for one wrestler from freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women’s wrestling.
The winners of the Best Wrestler of the Year award were each 2018 world champions that accumulated the highest number of points during the year with the newly approved calculation of points.
The freestyle award winner finished the year with 112 points, two Ranking Series titles, a Pan-American gold medal and reached the top of the podium for the first time at the World Championships.
The Greco-Roman Best Wrestler of the Year had 82 points, medaled at a pair of Ranking Series events, and won the world title for the second time.
The Women's Wrestling Best Wrestler of the Year wrapped up the 2018 season with 110 points and won gold medals at the Klippan Lady Open, the European Championships, and the World Championships.
2. Wrestling Revamps Ranking Series System, Names 2019 Host Locations
The United World Wrestling Bureau has approved new regulations for the 2019 Ranking Series. The recommendations were brought forward by the Technical Commission at a meeting last week in Belgrade.
The most important changes to the 2019 Ranking Series centered around the allocation of points at world championships, continental championships, and Ranking Series events. The points were rebalanced to emphasize participation, and success, at the world and continental championships.
New worldwide rankings have been updated on the United World Wrestling website. The 2018 World Championships results are the basis of the rankings, as each year the world championships results will be the first points for the following year.
The seeding process for the World Championships and Olympic Games will now also include a field of the top four wrestlers in each weight category with lower seeded athletes bumping up, should one of the top four not participate in the world championships. The previous version of the world championships did not replace top seeds when they were absent of the competition.
3. Gray and Adar, Otoguro and Punia Among Match of the Year Award Winners
United World Wrestling designated a freestyle, Greco-Roman, and women’s wrestling match for the 2018 Matches of the Year.
4. Ivan Yarygin Kicks Off Ranking Series Events In Three Weeks
The Ranking Series events will kick off in a little over three weeks on January 24 with the Ivan Yarygin in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, a competition long hailed as the “Toughest Wrestling Tournament in the World.” The 2019 edition is already creating a response, with top-level wrestlers from around the world committed to the competition, including 97kg rivals Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) and Kyle SNYDER (USA).
Though they won't be official entries until 24 hours before competition, the early list will be released after registration closes in 10 days.
5. Potential Snyder and Sadulaev Round 3 Set for Ivan Yarygin
The wrestling world patiently waited over a year for one of the most anticipated matchups of 2018 between the four-time world and Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) and three-time world and Olympic champion Kyle SNYDER (USA).
That doesn't seem to be the case heading into 2019 after Snyder took to Instagram to inform Sadulaev that he's heading to Krasnoyarsk to compete at the Ivan Yarygin with hopes of a rematch after getting pinned by "The Tank" in the 97kg gold-medal bout of the 2018 World Championships.
Snyder tagged Sadulaev in that post with the comment, “Round 3. Lets do it. Krasnoyarsk, Russia." Sadulaev quickly responded, saying, ”Buddy Snyder, I understand your condition, but I advise you to approach the trilogy with a cool head. And then suddenly the psyche will suffer. On the way to Tokyo 2020 we will meet again.”
The pair of superstars are each returning Yarygin champions. Snyder won his second Yarygin title a season ago at 97kg, while Sadulaev also won his second title, but down at 92kg. If they were to meet in the finals of the Yarygin, it would be at 97kg.
Weekly FIVE! In Social Media
1. Big Move Monday !
2. Top-10 2018 amateur video? Тоp-10 любительских видео 2018 года✊
3. #SundaySmiles ? horses_dag05 <<Ко лбу лошади привязано добро до Судного дня>> Подписывайтесь братья группа о лошадях в Дагестане ?
4. #ScoreThat - Who came out on top of this exchange? Was it red or was it blue?
5. Over this week @unitedworldwrestling will share our most popular videos and photos from 2018 В течении этой недели мы будем делиться с вами лучшими публикациями 2018 года. #thebestof2018 #лучшееиз2018
Haruna OKUNO (JPN) was one of seven Japanese wrestlers to win a U23 women's wrestling title. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)
Razambek ZHAMALOV (RUS) helped Russia claim their fourth freestyle world title across all divisions with an 8-1 victory over Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) in the 74kg finals. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)
Three-time world and Rio Olympic champ Risako KAWAI (JPN) will compete at 57kg at the Women's Wrestling World Cup. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan) 
Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) (Photo: Tony Rotundo)
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