WORLD CLUBS CUP

Bimeh Razi Wins Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup

Saturday, December 16, 2017 - 15:28 By Ali Feizasa

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The host team, Bimeh Razi Isfahan (IRI) defeated Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI), 8-2 to capture the 2017 Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup title.

Defending champions, Sina Sanat started strong, winning the first two bouts. It was Saman ABDVALI’s (IRI) win at 63kg that gave Bimeh Razi their first win. Artem SURKOV (RUS) tied the match for Bimeh Razi after besting Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) at 67kg. 2017 world bronze medal winner, Mohammad Ali GERAEI’s (IRI) 10-0 victory over 2015 Asian champion Ali ARSALAN gave Bimeh the 3-2 lead.

Despite a tough first period, Russian two-time Olympic champion, Roman VLASOV (RUS) picked up a technical superiority victory over U-23 World bronze medal winner, Payam BOYERI (IRI).

 In one of the most interesting matches of the night, 2017 75kg world bronze medalist Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) beat Sina Sanat’s 2017 80kg world champion, Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM), 6-2.

Bimeh’s Iranian youngster, Mehdi FALLAH (IRI) had a great performance, downing Rio Olympics silver medalist, Zhan BELENYUK (URK), 1-0, which ultimately secured Bimeh Razi’s second Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup title.

Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (IRI) and Shahab GHOUREH JILI (IRI) finished the match with two victories, giving Bimeh Razi the 8-2 victory over Sina Sanat.

In the third place match, Buyuksehir (TUR) defeated Georgian Club (GEO), 6-4, while Moscow (RUS) beat Shohadaye Modafe Haram Qom (IRI), 8-2 to place fifth.

The results of final day of Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup:

Final Match: Bimeh Razi Isfahan (IRI) df. Sina Sanat IZEH (IRI), 8-2
55kg- Reza KHEDRI (Sina) df. Moslem NADERI KHADEM (Bimeh), 2-1
60kg- Meysam DELKHANI (Sina) df. Mehrdad MARDANI (Bimeh) , 3-2             
63kg- Saman ABDEVALI (IRI) TF. Behnam MORADI  (Sina), 9-1
67kg- Artem SURKOV (Bimeh) df. Mohammadreza GERAEI (Sina), 5-2
72kg- Mohammad Ali GERAEI (Bimeh) TF. Ali ARSALAN (Sina), 10-0
77kg- Roman VLASOV (Bimeh) TF. Payam BOYERI (Sina), 10-1
82kg- Saeid ABDVALI (Bimeh) df. Maksim MANUKYAN (Sina), 6-2
87kg- Mehdi FALLAH (Bimeh) df. Zhan BELENYUK (Sina), 1-097kg- Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (Bimeh) TF. Hassan ARYANEJAD (Sina), 10-0
130kg- Shahab GHOUREH JILI (Bimeh) df. Mehdi NOURI (Sina) by forfeit

Third place match: Buyuksehir (TUR) df. Georgian Club (GEO), 6-4
55kg- Muslum ALINLI (TUR) TF. Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), 11-1
60kg- Hammet RUSTEM (TUR) Pinned Beka BALANCHIVADZE (GEO)
63kg- Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO) df. Fatih UCUNCU (TUR), 4-2
67kg- Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) df. Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO), 4-0
72kg- Yunus OZEL (TUR) df. Ramazi ZOIDZE (GEO) , 8-1
77kg- Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR) Pinned Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO)
82kg- Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) df. Varlami KVARATSKHELIA (GEO), 2-1
87kg- Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR) by forfeit
97kg- Kukuri KIRTSKHSLIA (GEO)  df. Irfan METE (TUR), 8-4
130kg- Levani ARABULI (GEO) df. Fatih BASKOY (TUR), 4-0

Semifinal results
Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI) df. Georgian Club (GEO), 8-2
55kg- Reza KHEDRI (IRI)df.  Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO), 4-1
60kg- Shirzad BEHESHTI TALA (IRI) TF. Beka BALANCHIVADZE (GEO), 9-0
63kg- Behnam MORADI  (IRI) TF. Dato CHKHARTISHVILI (GEO), 9-0
67kg- Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO) df. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM/Sina Sanat Team), 3-2
72kg- Ali ARSALAN (IRI) TF. Ramazi ZOIDZE (GEO) , 9-0
77kg- Payam BOYERI (IRI) TF. Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO), 8-0
82kg- Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM/ Sina Sanat Team) TF. Varlami KVARATSKHELIA (GEO), 9-0
87kg- Zhan BELENYUK (UKR/ Sina Sanat Team) df. Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO), 3-0
97kg- Kukuri KIRTSKHSLIA (GEO) Pinned Hassan ARYANEJAD (IRI)
130kg- Levani ARABULI (GEO) df. Mehdi NOURI (IRI) by forfeit.

Bimeh Razi (IRI) df. Buyuksehir (TUR), 8-2
55kg- Moslem NADERI KHADEM (IRI) df. Muslum ALINLI (TUR), 3-1
60kg- Mehrdad MARDANI (IRI) df. Hammet RUSTEM (TUR), 13-6                 
63kg- Fatih UCUNCU (TUR) Pinned Saman ABDEVALI (IRI)
67kg- Hossein ASADI (IRI) df. Atakan YUKSEL (TUR) by forfeit
72kg- Farshad BELFEKE (IRI) df. Yunus OZEL (TUR), 2-1
77kg- Roman VLASOV (RUS/ Bimeh Team) df. Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR), 4-0
82kg- Saeid ABDVALI (IRI) df. Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), 3-1
87kg- Mehdi FALLAH (IRI) df. Metehan BASAR (TUR) by forfeit
97kg- Irfan METE (TUR) df. Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (IRI) by forfeit
130kg- Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO/ Bimeh Team) df. Fatih BASKOY (TUR), 5-0


Fifth Place match: Moscow (RUS) df. Shohadaye Modafe Haram Qom (IRI), 8-2
55kg- Aleksei KINZHIGALIEV (RUS) TF. Mehdi GHORBANI (IRI), 11-0
60kg- Sergey EMELIN (RUS) TF. Reza MORADI (IRI), 10-1       
63kg- Sanal SEMENOV (RUS) Pinned Mehdi MORAD HASELI (IRI)
67kg- Pavel SALEEV (RUS) Pinned Aliakbar PASALARI (IRI)
72kg- Denis MURTAZIN (RUS) TF. Ali SOLEYMANI (IRI), 8-0
77kg- Hadi ALIZADEH (IRI) wins by forfeit
82kg- Roman YUSIPOV (RUS) df. Mohammad Reza REZAEI (IRI), 6-2
87kg- Mehdi EBRAHIMI (IRI) df. Aleksei MISHIN (RUS) by forfeit
97kg- Musa EVLOEV (RUS) df. Omid EFTEKHARI ASL (IRI), 3-0
130kg- Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS) TF. Parsa NAZARI (IRI), 9-0

Seventh place match: Dinamo (ARM) df. Samsun (UKR), 6-4

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI) df. Dinamo (ARM), 6-4
55kg- Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM) TF. Sergii STOROZHENKO (UKR), 8-0
60kg- Murad HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) Pinned Andriy MARTYNYUK (UKR), 3-0
63kg- Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)df. Anton KUTSENKO (UKR), 9-2
67kg- Aleksan MIKAYELYAN (ARM) df. Fevzi MAMUTOV (UKR), 6-1
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV (UKR) Pinned Armen HAKOBYAN (ARM), 8-4
77kg- Ruben GHARIBYAN (ARM) df. Keyvan REZAEI (IRI), 10-6
82kg- Argishti ABGARYAN (ARM) df. Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR),2-2
87kg- Iurii SHKRIUBA (UKR) df. Gegam TORGOMYAN (ARM), 6-4
97kg- Mykola KRYSOV (UKR) TF. Vagharsak MINASYAN (ARM), 9-0
130kg- Mykola KUCHMII (UKR) df. Edgar KHACHATRYAN (ARM), 4-1

Ninth place match: Olympic Hopes (ROU) df. Busapest SC (HUN), 5-4
(Both team had no wrestler at 82kg)
55kg- Florin TITA (ROU) TF. József ANDRASI (HUN), 11-2
60kg- Razvan ARNAUT (ROU) df. István VANCZA (HUN), 6-1
63kg- Bence KOVACS (HUN) TF. Teodor HORATAU (ROU), 12-1
67kg- István KOZAK (HUN) TF. Irinel BOTEZ MIHAI (ROU), 8-0
72kg- Martin TOTH  (HUN) TF. Boanta NICOLAE (ROU), 10-0
77kg- Adrian AGACHE (ROU) wins by forfeit
82kg- Both team didn’t have wrestler
87kg- Samuel OJOG NICU (ROU) TF. Bence MARTIN(HUN), 9-0
97kg- Róbert ÉRSEK (HUN) df. Constantin PIRVAN DORIN (ROU), 1-1
130kg- Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU) df. Almasi FERENC (HUN), 4-0

 

Wrestling 2026 Season Preview: Freestyle, Women's Wrestling, Greco-Roman

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - 11:11 By Vinay Siwach

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 2) -- The 2025 World Championships in Zagreb marked a turning point in international wrestling as 18 first-time world champions were crowned, signaling the arrival of a new generation well before the qualification cycle for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games begins.

A few scenes in Zagreb showed what the titles meant. A women’s champion hugging anyone she could find, a Freestyle winner delivering revenge, and a Greco-Roman champion lifting a nation’s pride. Now, 2026 will determine whether those champions can turn a breakthrough into sustained dominance, or if the veterans will reclaim control.

For traditional powers like the United States, Iran, and Japan, maintaining dominance will be harder than ever as more countries close the gap.

In Women’s Wrestling, Japan is being challenged by the DPR Korea, while in Freestyle the U.S. and Iran remain the central rivalry. In Greco-Roman, Iran is undoubtedly the best team in the world but Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are closing the gap as another strong season approaches.

As wrestling moves toward LA 2028, 2026 becomes the year where storylines start to stick. The UWW Pro Series is part of that shift, taking its final shape before launch. Wrestlers will be rewarded for their ranks for the year and will stand a chance to win a grand prize.

The fans can follow wrestling with United World Wrestling through UWW+ on uww.org, Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube.

Freestyle

A Sadulaev vs Yazdani final at the World Championships. A match-up like no other can happen in 2026.

The 2026 season begins with a question: when will Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) return? A dream match against Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) is now firmly on the cards. Yazdani, the 2016 Olympic champion at 74kg, is now competing at 97kg, ten years later. Sadulaev, who won Olympic gold at 86kg in Rio, moved to 97kg soon after that gold.

The Iranian may compete at the Zagreb Open or at the Tirana Ranking Series. If the return is delayed, world silver medalist Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) will likely carry the weight for Iran early in the season.

At the same time, several major stars are preparing comebacks. Olympic champion Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) is expected to return after recovering from shoulder surgery, while Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) is also set to resume competition, most likely around May.

READ THE FULL FREESTYLE PREVIEW HERE

Women’s Wrestling

Japan captured five of the 10 medals on offer at the World Championships and nothing less is expected from its wrestlers. But out of the first four weight classes, it managed to win only one gold and missed out on medals in two of them.

Missing a medal at 50kg is rare for Japan. It happened in 2009, then in 2019 and in 2025. So what can be expected from the best country in Women's Wrestling or perhaps wrestling?

The DPR Korea, China, India, Ukraine and the United States keep challenging Japan at various competitions but it has managed to hold its own. With the gap closing, 2026 will be a similar story.

Continental Championships will be the first test for countries building towards the year-ending World Championships. But these tournaments can also witness the returns of a few wrestlers. Yui SUSAKI (JPN), Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), Amit ELOR (USA), Maria YEFREMOVA (UKR), and possibly VINESH (IND).

Additionally, several medal contenders are shifting weight classes in 2026, opening their paths to medals at the World Championships and later at the Olympics.

READ THE FULL WOMEN'S WRESTLING PREVIEW HERE

Greco-Roman

Iran ruled Greco-Roman in 2025 with dominant performances at all levels, and it was not even close. Barring that one battle with Uzbekistan at the U17 World Championships, Iran remained untouched. In 2022 and 2023, it showed signs of long-term dominance and in 2024, it won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Then in 2025, it won team titles at all age-group levels.

At the World Championships in Zagreb, it won four gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Out of the 10 wrestlers, eight won medals, missing only at 77kg and 60kg. Will 2026 be Iran's year again?

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) and Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) make the core team. World champion Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) has been the latest sensation, going unbeaten in 2025 and winning the U23 world gold at 87kg. Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI) is also a proven wrestler at 87kg having won an Olympic and world silver.

Iran has a second team which can challenge any established star in the world. U20 and U23 world champion Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) is a wrestler waiting for his turn at 130kg. Hedayati is getting closer to beating Mirzazadeh in selection for the Iran team.

Payam AHMADI (IRI), Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) and Ahmadi VAFA (IRI) are already part of the team while younger stars wait for their turns.

But there has been an influx of talent in Greco-Roman in the new cycle especially with Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Japan, Armenia and UWW wrestlers stepping up.

READ THE FULL GRECO-ROMAN PREVIEW HERE