#UWWAwards

Burroughs and Chamizo, Snyder and Sadulaev Headline Biggest Rivalries of the Year

Wednesday, December 19, 2018 - 13:05 By Eric Olanowski

Share this article

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 19) -- United World Wrestling has named four of the Biggest Rivalries of the Year. There were two in freestyle, and one in Greco-Roman and women's wrestling.

The freestyle season saw more than one top-level rivalry, so a pair were selected for this category. The first freestyle rivalry selected was the 74kg showdown between Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA), and the second was Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) and Kyle SNYDER (USA).

The 74kg rivalry was kickstarted on social media when Burroughs, the five-time world and Olympic champion, posted an Instagram photo that was captioned, “If you want to be the king, you have to beat the king.” The message was of course directed at two-time world champion, Chamzio, who was coming up to 74kg after winning the 2017 world title at 70kg.

After trading social media blows, May’s Beat the Streets in New York City was the stage selected to host the first match between the pair of superstars. Chamizo commanded the early 4-0 lead in that Beat the Streets match but was outscored 6-1 in the final four minutes of the bout, losing the match, 6-5. Chamizo scored his revenge in the second match, outlasting the London Olympic champion in front of a sold out Bağcılar Olympic Sports Hall at the Yasar Dogu in Istanbul, Turkey, evening the series at one match apiece. 

The rubber match took place in the bronze-medal bout of the World Championships and not in the gold-medal bout as everyone expected heading into Budapest. In that match, Burroughs edged Chamizo, 4-4 on criteria and took the 2-1 series lead.

The second biggest freestyle rivalry of the year was between Russia’s four-time world and Olympic champion, Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Kyle Snyder, the three-time world and Olympic champion. Snyder scored the 6-5 come-from-behind win when the pair battled for the 97kg individual world title in Pairs in 2017. More importantly, Snyder's win gave the Americans their first team title in 22 years. 

Sadualev got his revenge in the finals of the 2018 World Championships by pinning the returning world champion and put the icing on the cake for the Russian Federation to win the freestyle team title. 

Perhaps no weight category was more competitive in 2018 than women’s wrestling’s 76kg. Lead by reigning world champion, Yasmin ADAR (TUR), four-time world champion, Adeline GRAY (USA), and Rio Olympic champion, Erica WIEBE (CAN). It was the American Adeline Gray who prevailed and won her fourth world title. 

In Greco-Roman, Kyrgyzstan’s Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) was looking for redemption coming into the Junior World Championships the American Kamal Ameer BEY (USA) was victorious in the 2017 junior world finals. Makhmudov dominated the bronze-medal bout at the Junior World Championships and picked up the 8-1 win. 

We had to wait an entire year to see some of the rivalries, but that may not be the case heading into 2019. Snyder wasted no time in letting the wrestling world know when a potential #SnyderLaev3 could happen, announcing that he'll head to Krasnoyarsk, Russia, in January to compete at the 2019 Ivan Yarygin - a tournament in which Sadulaev is expected to be entered. 

The next award to be released will be the Comeback Athletes of the Year which will come out on Saturday. 

UWW and Iran sign MoU to bring Chouke under Associated Styles

Sunday, April 20, 2025 - 13:07 By United World Wrestling Press

Share this article

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (April 20) — United World Wrestling and the Iran Wrestling Federation took a significant step to promote Choukhe, signing a four-year Memorandum of Understanding.

The MoU will enable both organizations to work together to promote and protect Chouke, a traditional form of wrestling, under the UWW Associated Styles.

Both UWW and the Iranian federation will also work to develop Chouke under their umbrella. This agreement's objective is to facilitate the protection, development, and promotion of Chouke. As per the agreement, both parties will hold regular meetings to exchange ideas and share knowledge.

Chouke is a traditional form of wrestling in Iran with wrestlers performing on mud in a marked circular ring. Each bout is of five minutes with more than one bout conducted at the same time. In case of a tie with a one-minute break, three minutes of extra time are added. Within three minutes, the wrestler who earns the first point will be the winner.

This style of wrestling does not allow the wrestler to touch his opponent's legs. The bout can only be fought with grips above the waist. There are different ways to score points in Chouke.

One point is awarded for a takedown, two points are awarded if a throw is completed outside the ring, and one if completed inside. Most other moves award only one point. A fall occurs when even one shoulder touches the ground.

Both wrestlers have to wear the official clothes to compete in Chouke. A t-shirt, a special jacket and a short are considered to be official outfit. The shirt must be long enough to go below the waist and the sleeves be long till the elbow. A strong cloth belt must be tied around the waist of the wrestlers and is fixed at the back and the wrestlers compete barefoot.

The old form of wrestling has a special place in Iranian history, and the agreement will help with its growth and development in Iran. UWW's commitment to work closely with the Iran federation for Chouke is in line with its vision to grow and promote all the traditional forms of the oldest form of the sport.