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

 

#WrestleBudapest

World C'ships hopefuls battle it out in Budapest Ranking Series

Monday, July 14, 2025 - 14:51 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 13) -- The Budapest Ranking Series, held at this time of year, serves as the primary team selection event for most countries heading into the World Championships. Rather than conducting domestic trials, nations use this international competition to identify their top wrestlers for each weight class.

Georgia, Hungary, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan will be among the top countries looking to finalize their Greco-Roman teams during the July 17-20 tournament in Hungary capital.

Azerbaijan, one of the strongest Greco-Roman nations, is bringing all three of its 2024 world champions. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE), the 55kg world champion, and Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), the 63kg world champion, are both entered at 60kg. Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE), the 72kg world champion, will compete at 77kg alongside Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE).

Mammadli is on a hot streak, having claimed European and world titles in 2024 before adding the 2025 European gold at 60kg. Meanwhile, Azizli, a European silver medalist at 55kg, enters the 60kg bracket for two key reasons: to challenge Mammadli and avoid a significant weight cut.

Ganizade and Suleymanov did not win medals at the European Championships but will battle it out at 77kg in Budapest to make the team.

Paris Olympic bronze medalist and European champion Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) is at 72kg, up from his preferred 67kg as he prepares for the World Championships without forcing himself to reduce weight.

Similarly, hosts Hungary will have tough battles among local wrestlers. European 72kg champion Levente LEVAI (HUN) is moving up to 77kg and his brother Zoltan, a regular at 77kg, is now at 82kg. But so is world silver medalist Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) and it will be toss-up between the two to make the World Championships team.

The 87kg continues to be a heavily contested weight class as Tamas LEVAI (HUN), Istvan TAKACS (HUN) and European champion David LOSONCZI (HUN) are entered and the winner is likely to take the spot for the Zagreb Worlds.

At 130kg, Darius VITEK (HUN) and Koppany LASZLO (HUN) will fight it out for the spot.

The competition, however, won't be limited to these team selection battles. Many other top wrestlers are also entered, aiming for final preparations before the World Championships in Zagreb from September 13-21.

Here's the breakdown of each weight class:

55kg: European champion Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW) will be the favorite in the bracket which also has 2024 European champ Artiom DELEANU (MDA), United States phenom Jayden RANEY (USA), Mongolia Ranking Series winner Anil MOR (IND) and world bronze medalist Jasurbek ORTIKBOEV (UZB).

The Budapest tournament will be a big test for teenagers Mor and Raney as they compete at the senior level.

60kg: Apart from Azizli and Mammadli, Pridon ABULADZE (GEO), world U20 medalist SUMIT (IND), Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ), former world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA), European silver medalist Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), Sadyk LALAEV (UWW), Anvar ALLAKHIAROV (UWW) and world U23 champion Alisher GANIEV (UZB) rack up a stacked bracket.

Mammadli will still be the favorite, coming in as the European champion. He will also be keen on avenging his Zagreb Open loss to Mehroj BAKHRAMOV (UZB). Azizli, who has tried to make 60kg before in his career, will have a big task as he has struggled to match up against bigger-sized wrestlers at this weight class.

Tibilov made the finals in Bratislava but lost to Mammadli. He will be keen on getting a rematch in Budapest. Lalaev, who lost to Tibilov, has a chance to avenge that loss to the Serbian. He also has to battle it out with Allakhiarov as both are fighting for a spot at the World Championships as UWW wrestlers in Zagreb.

Ganiev, who has impressed with world U23 gold and Asian Championships silver, can be a problem for others in the bracket.

63kg: Red-hot Kerem KAMAL (TUR) will try to maintain his winning streak of 2025 as he enters the fourth tournament of the year. He won gold in Tirana, Bratislava and Ulaanbaatar in dominant fashion. He will be in Budapest at 63kg as the favorite.

European silver medalist Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) has a chance to avenge his loss in the final to Kamal but a strong bracket means he has bigger hurdles as well.

World U23 champion Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA), Aref MOHAMMADI (QAT), Dinislam BAMMATOV (UWW) and Sergey EMELIN (UWW) are entered to gain ranking points in Budapest.

67kg: With Jafarov moving up to 72kg for this tournament, former world champions Leri ABULADZE (GEO) and Sebastian NAD (SRB) along with a few others can win the gold.

Abuladze needs to win gold to make the World Championships over European bronze medalist Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO) who will also look to beat his compatriot and earn his ticket to Zagreb.

Kazakhstan's world U23 champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) has not shown the same form since winning the world gold in 2023. He has a chance to be in Zagreb with good performance in Budapest. He also has Din  KOSHKAR (KAZ) fighting for the same spot.

Add Ruslan BICHURIN (UWW) to the bracket as he can easily take the gold medal to surprise the field at 67kg.

Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO)Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) is a world U23 champion at 72kg. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

72kg: Three Georgians are entered at 72kg -- Iuri LOMADZE (GEO), Otar ABULADZE (GEO), Giorgi CHKHIKVADZE (GEO). The winner will get the spot on the Georgian team for the World Championships but the challenge is to win the tournament.

Lomadze failed to win a medal at the European Championships which created an opportunity for world bronze medalist Abuladze and world U23 champion Chkhikvadze to enter the race for a spot on the team.

Former world champion Ali ARSALAN (SRB), who missed out on a medal at the Europeans, would be keen on getting back to winning ways before the World Championships where he won bronze last year.

Jafarov won't be too worried about his result here as he neither gains ranking points nor is his Azerbaijan team spot in danger.

77kg: Both Ganizade and Suleymanov have a chance to make the world team for Azerbaijan. Even if Ganizade misses the podium, he will most likely be back to 72kg. Still, it spices up the 77kg in Budapest.

Levai, who won 72kg European gold, will be challenging the 77kg field in Budapest as he prepares for the World Championships. His win in Bratislava has forced his brother Zoltan to move to 82kg. Levai has rock-solid defense and can score points from different positions.

But big-throwing wrestlers like Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), Sergei STEPANOV (UWW) and Sergei KUTUZOV (UWW) are entered in the competition.

Gutu missed the European Championships and his place was taken by Alexandru SOLOVEI (MDA). Now, both are fighting for the 77kg spot for Moldova. Asian champion Aram VARDANYAN (UZB) will be hoping to build on his gold, his first-ever in any championships. 

Other significant names include Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR), Yunus BASAR (TUR) and Kamal BEY (USA).

82kg: European champion Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) will be challenged more than the Euros in Budapest. While he has mastered the European field, the Asian wrestlers can pose some unique challenges.

Jalgasbay BERDIMURATOV (UZB) and Samandar BOBONAZAROV (UZB) are the big names entered from Asia. Also add the two Kazakhstan wrestlers, Dias KALEN (KAZ) and Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ). World U23 silver medalist Beka MELELASHVILI (USA) will also be a tough competitor from the U.S.

Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), Erik SZILVASSY (HUN) and Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) are some of the European stars.

87kg: Always regarded as the toughest weight class in Greco-Roman, the 87kg doesn't have a clear favorite. Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN) will only be at his third competition this year after he won the Zagreb Open early in the year and then the invitational Thor Masters last month. It remains to be seen how rusty he looks coming back from the break.

Hungarian trio -- Levai, Takacs and Losonczi -- are fighting it out for the spot on the team and Losonczi will be the favorite to win, like last year.

The biggest challenge will come from Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW), Alan OSTAEV (UWW) and Aues GONIBOV (UWW). Only one of the three can be at the World Championships and that will add motivation for them to win the tournament.

Marcel STERKENBURG (NED) and Exauce MUKUBU (NOR) are also entered as they look to earn some ranking points for World Championships.

Islam ABBASOV (AZE), Ivan HUKLEK (CRO), Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ), Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ) and Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) are also in the bracket, making it even more unpredictable.

97kg: A mini-battle for Azerbaijan will be between Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE) and Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE), while Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) and Magomed MURTAZALIEV (UWW) will vie for UWW spots. Sargasian suffered a surprising loss at the European Championships but will hope to make the world team.

Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) and Alex SZOKE (HUN) are other big names in the competition.

130kg: European silver medalist Hamza BAKIR (TUR) will be the favorite to win the gold medal at 130kg despite the presence of Beka KANDELAKI (AZE),  Heiki NABI (EST), Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ) among others.

Hungary has Darius VITEK (HUN) and Koppany LASZLO (HUN) competing for the 130kg spot for Hungary. 

Mihail KAJAIA (SRB) is a surprise entry at 130kg from Serbia as he seems to struggle to make the 97kg weight class

The United States has three entries -- Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA), Aden ATTAO (USA) and Courtney FREEMAN (USA).