#WrestleMorelia

Ayyoub de Canada Gana el Botin de Oro en #WrestleMorelia

By Taylor Miller

MORELIA, Mexico – En el último día del Campeonato Panamericano de Cadetes, Ismail AYYOUB (CAN) ganó el Botín de Oro en estilo libre masculino después de un día exitoso en Morelia, México.

Ayyoub ganó el título en 80 kg, derrotando a John BEST (USA) en la final, 10-3.

USA ganó las otras nueve medallas de oro, de Daniel Sheen con 45 kg, Joey Fischer con 48 kg, Nico Provo con 51 kg, Jacob Rundell con 55 kg, Jesse Mendez con 60 kg, Robert Pérez III con 65 kg, John Best con 71 kg, Michael Misita con 92 kg y Braxton Mikesell con 110 kg.

Sheen, Fischer, Méndez, Pérez, Best, Misita y Mikesell ganaron sus segundos oros este fin de semana al reclamar títulos en Grecorromana el viernes.

En la clasificación por equipos, USA ganaron con 245 puntos, seguidos de México con 138 puntos y Canadá con 134 puntos.

Team standings
1. USA – 245
2. Mexico – 138
3. Canada – 134
4. Peru – 83
5. Brazil – 65
6. Ecuador – 61
7. Guatemala – 57
8. Argentina – 46
9. Colombia – 38
10. Panama – 38

45 kg
GOLD – Daniel SHEEN (USA)
SILVER - Esteban MORALES MAYANCHA (ECU)
BRONZE - Carlos HERNANDEZ PEREZ (MEX)

48 kg
GOLD – Joseph FISCHER (USA)
SILVER - Treye TROTMAN (CAN)
BRONZE - Helisson QUEIROZ BRESSON (BRA)

51 kg
GOLD – Nico PROVO (USA)
SILVER – Enrique HERRERA HUACRE (PER)
BRONZE - Luisaldo CORTEZ GARCIA (MEX)
BRONZE - Marlon GODINEZ PEREZ (GUA)

55 kg
GOLD – Jacob RUNDELL (USA)
SILVER - Fotis PAPADOPOULOS (CAN)
BRONZE - Miguel GASPAR RIVAS (ECU)
BRONZE - Erick BARROSO BAUTISTA (MEX)

60 kg
GOLD – Jesse MENDEZ (USA)
SILVER - Jan LOPEZ SOLIS (MEX)
BRONZE - Peter MCCRACKIN (CAN)

65 kg
GOLD – Robert PEREZ III (USA)
SILVER - Stone LEWIS (CAN)
BRONZE - Jonnathan PEREZ CASTELLANOS (GUA)
BRONZE - Matias MUNOZ RAMIREZ (CHI)

71 kg                                                                       
GOLD – John BEST (USA)
SILVER - Lautaro SEGHESSO (ARG)
BRONZE - Carlos SEVILLANO GONGORA (ECU)
BRONZE -  Malhcon PINEDA CUNIL (GUA)

80 kg
GOLD - Ismail AYYOUB (CAN)
SILVER – Jack DARRAH (USA)
BRONZE - Juan ITURRIZA RUIZ (MEX)

92 kg
GOLD – Michael MISITA (USA)
SILVER - Jorge DE LA O OLAN (MEX)
BRONZE - Gabriel DE SOUSA SILVA (BRA)

110 kg
GOLD – Braxton MIKESELL (USA)
SILVER - Axel ORTEGA LUNA (MEX)
BRONZE - Diego NOLE AZABACHE (PER)

#UWWAwards

UWW Comebacks of the Year 2025: Uguev, Maroulis, Amoyan

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 18) -- United World Wrestling’s 2025 Comeback Wrestlers of the Year are three wrestlers who refused to let their careers be defined by defeat and setbacks.

Freestyle Comeback Wrestler: Zaur UGUEV (UWW)

There was a time not too long ago where Uguev career trajectory was pointing him in the direction of becoming the greatest lightweight of this generation, but he hit a slump in 2023 and 2024, finishing fifth at the World Championships.

This year, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medalist returned to top form. He went from an afterthought to one of the sport's most dominant wrestlers -- reclaiming world gold for a third time in his career and first time since the 2019 World Championships with a 11-2 win over Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) in the 61kg finals.

"This is a very joyful event in my life -- I am once again on the top of the podium," Uguev said. "I am very happy and grateful to my team, my coach, my sparring partners, our national team -- thanks to everyone who played a part in my victory."

Women’s Wrestling Comeback Wrestler: Helen MAROULIS (USA)

For most, 2021 seems like yesterday. But for Maroulis, it’s been a grueling four years of waiting and working to reclaim her spot a top the world ranks. Despite having to completely change her style of wrestling due to lack of conditioning that stemmed from an allergic reaction to antibiotics before the World Championships, Maroulis found a way to bolster her resume with a fourth world title -- adding to her career wins 2015, 2018, and 2021, not to mention her three Olympic medals.

She did so with three quick pins in Zagreb before inside tripping Il-Sim SON (PRK) in dramatic fashion, stealing the world title as the clock expired.

After the match, the 11-time world and Olympic medalist said, "I had to really, really dig deep for that and, I don't know, before the last exchange started, I just had to dig deep and find it. It was just some scramble flurry and just that it came out my way. I'm grateful."

Greco-Roman Comeback Wrestler: Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)

Like Maroulis’ four-year battle to get back to the top, Amoyan found himself fighting an uphill battle to regain world gold since his last title-winning run in Oslo in 2021. But after moving up from 72kg to 77kg, he struggled. He fell one match short of his goal at the World Championships in 2022 and 2023, and again at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games where he settled for a bronze medal.

But 2025 was different as the 26-year-old put on arguably the greatest Greco-Roman performance of the Zagreb World Championships, capping off his run to a second world title with an unexpected 9-1 thumping of reigning Olympic gold medalist Nao KUSAKA (JPN).

"I became a world champion back in 2021 [at 72kg], but I really wanted to become world champion at 77kg. For two years, I struggled with injuries, and nothing was going as it should. Thankfully, at this World Championships I was prepared -- mentally, physically, and functionally -- and by God's grace I managed to triumph and become a two-time world champion."