#YasarDogu2018

Burroughs and Chamizo Set to Clash in Yasar Dogu Finals, Alborov Beats Two Olympic Champs on Road to Finals

By Eric Olanowski

ISTANBUL, Turkey (July 27) - The second installment of Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Frank CHAZMIO (ITA) is scheduled for tomorrow’s 74kg Yasar Dogu finals after both wrestlers finished the opening day with three solid performances apiece.

This time around, expect the conditions to be a little more conducive to wrestling, as they will compete indoors at the Bağcılar Olympic Sport Hall on a dry mat.

The two superstars who combine for ten world and Olympic medals met outdoors in May’s highly anticipated Beat the Streets finale, now known as “Slip Gate,” due to lack of footing which stemmed from the condensation build up on the mat.

In that Beat the Streets match-up, Burroughs “slipped” past Chamizo and scored the 6-5 come-from-behind victory.

Chamizo, the two-time world champion, and Rio Olympic bronze medalist commanded the 4-0 lead after a pair of first-period takedowns from a slide-by and a counter-offensive high-crotch. But, with short time remaining in the opening period, Burroughs, the London Olympic champion picked up his first two points and closed the Italian wrestlers lead to 4-2.

The second period belonged to America's four-time world champion, as he capped off the match by blasting through Chamizo with his patented double leg, ultimately winning the bout, 6-5.

After the match, both wrestlers admitted that the mat conditions were not ideal and caused a lot of issues.  Burroughs ended  the interview by looking at Chamzio and saying “Go back down to 70kg.”

In addition to Burroughs, fellow American's Thomas GILMAN (USA) and David Morris TAYLOR (USA) made the finals in their respective weight classes.   

 Aslanbek ALBOROV (AZE) defeated two Olympic champions on his way to the 97kg gold-medal bout. (Photo by Max Rose Fyne)

Meanwhile, Aslanbek ALBOROV (AZE), the 2017 world bronze medalist went 3-0 and beat a 2017 European champion and two Olympic champions on his way to making the 97kg finals.

Alborov opened his day against fellow countryman, Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE) who is a two-time Olympic medalist, winning the gold in London and bronze in Rio.

The 2017 world bronze medalist came out on top 1-0 in a match-up that likely determined who is going to represent Azerbaijan in October at the 2018 World Championships in Budapest.

Alborov continued his run into the quarterfinals, picking up the dominant 9-2 win over 2017 European Champion, Riza YILDIRIM (TUR).

Moving to the semifinals, Alborov avenged his 2017 World Championship semifinals loss to 2016 Rio Olympic champion, Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA), picking up the 3-3 win on criteria. 

In the gold-medal bout, Alborov will wrestle U23 world champion and Asian runner-up, Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI). 

The finals are scheduled to take place on Saturday at 5:30 PM local time.  

RESULTS 
Freestyle 
57kg 

GOLD -  Thomas GILMAN (USA) vs. Dzmichyk RYNCHYNAU (BLR) 

BRONZE - Winner 251 vs. Taras MARKOVYCH (UKR) 
BRONZE - Winner 252 vs. Vicky VICKY (IND) 

65kg
GOLD -  Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE) vs. Mehran NASIRIAFRACHALI (IRI) 

BRONZE - Winner 253 vs. Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ) 
BRONZE - Winner 186 vs. Hassan MORADGHOLIEI (IRI) 

74kg
GOLD - Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) vs. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) 

BRONZE - Winner 185 vs. Saeid DADASHPOURKERIKALAEI (IRI) 
BRONZE - Winner 233 vs. Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ) 

86kg
GOLD - David Morris TAYLOR (USA) vs. Murad SULEYMANOV (AZE) 

BRONZE - Winner 214 vs. Ahmet BILICI (TUR) 
BRONZE - Winner 232 vs. Fatih ERDIN (TUR) 

97kg
GOLD -  Aslanbek ALBOROV (AZE) vs. Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) 

BRONZE - Winner 235 vs. Valerii ANDRIITSEV (UKR) 
BRONZE - Winner 215 vs. Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA) 

Women's Wrestling 
50kg 

GOLD - Sarra HAMDI (TUN) vs. Oksana LIVACH (UKR) 

BRONZE - Winner 254 vs. Semkiv ILONA (UKR) 
BRONZE - Georgina Suzana SEICARIU (ROU) vs. Ciricu EMILIA (MDA) 

55kg
GOLD -  Pinki PINKI (IND) vs. Olga SHNAIDER (UKR) 

BRONZE - Siwar BOUSETTA (TUN) vs. Nurufe NURUFE (TUR) 

59kg
GOLD - Sofiia BODNAR (UKR) vs. Olena KREMZER (UKR) 

BRONZE -  Yuliya PISARENKA (BLR) vs. Sangeeta BALALI (IND) 

65kg 
GOLD - Netreba IRYNA (AZE) vs. Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR) 

BRONZE -  Mariia ILCHYSHYN (UKR) vs. Elis MANOLOVA (AZE) 
BRONZE - Winner 213 vs. Geeta GEETA (IND) 

72kg 
Round 3 -  Rajni RAJNI (IND) vs. Beste ALTUG (TUR) 

#WrestleBudapest

Must-watch storylines from Budapest Ranking Series

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 4) -- As the Budapest Ranking Series gets underway Thursday in the Hungary capital, a few intriguing storylines will be seen on the mats. Countries will be finalizing their Olympic line-ups, a few star wrestlers are returning to competition while others are competing for the ranking points.

Here are the top storylines that no wrestling fan should miss at the Budapest Ranking Series which will be live on uww.org using UWW+.

Iran's dilemma

A wrestle-off is set to be held by Iran in Budapest to decide on the Paris Olympic team. Tokyo Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) won the spot by winning bronze at the World Championships. But Saeid ESMAEILI LEIVESI (IRI) won the Asian Championships to lay his claim for the 67kg gold medal.

60kg will also see a wrestle-off as Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI) is set to face Amirreza DEHBOZORGI (IRI) to decide who goes to the Paris Games.

Also, Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) is wrestling!

Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) will wrestle for the first time since winning gold medal at the Asian Games. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Sachiko Hotaka)

Yazdani returns

Undoubtedly Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) returning to competition is the big show in Budapest. Since winning the silver medal at the World Championships in Belgrade, Yazdani has wrestled only once, winning the gold medal at the Asian Games. A shoulder injury kept him out for eight months but Yazdani will be wrestling at 86kg on Thursday.

Before the Ranking Series, there were talks in Iran about a potential clash of Yazdani against 92kg world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) who is looking to make the Paris Olympic team for Iran. But Iran decided to send Yazdani alone and will assess his performance before deciding on a trial between the two.

Ziqi FENG (CHN)Ziqi FENG (CHN) gave a scare to Yui SUSAKI (JPN) in the Asian Championships final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

China's problem of plenty

China rarely sends a portion of its team to the Ranking Series. But it has sent only five wrestlers for Budapest, all in Women's Wrestling. Three wrestlers are entered at 50kg and two at 57kg, expected for a wrestle-off.

Yu ZHANG (CHN), Jiang ZHU (CHN) and Ziqi FENG (CHN) are fighting for the Paris Olympic spot at 50kg. Feng won the quota for China by winning the bronze medal at the World Championships in Belgrade.

Qi ZHANG (CHN) and Kexin HONG (CHN) will wrestle off for the spot at 57kg. Hong won the quota at the Asian Olympic Qualifier in Bishkek. But Zhang, a world champion at 59kg, won the Asian Championships, a run that also had a win over Risako KINJO (JPN) in the first round.

Jamalov's switch

Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) has been waiting for his Uzbekistan debut which will finally happen in Budapest. Jamalov will take the mat at 74kg and can also face Bekzhod ABURKHAMANOV (UZB), meaning that their match can also be a wrestle-off.  Jamalov has not wrestled at an international event since finishing fifth at the 2021 European Championships but has previously shown that he can win against any top wrestler on his day.