#WrestleBaku

Five matches we need to see at the GR World Cup

By Eric Olanowski

BAKU, Azerbaijan (October 27) --- The Greco-Roman portion of the 2022 calendar comes to a close November 5-6 in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. The Greco-Roman World Cup entries feature a mixture of credentialed veterans who own a combined eight world titles and a youthful group of rising stars ready to make their mark on the senior level.

With the insane level of talent headed to Baku, there will be some great matches on the two-day slate. Some matches we’ve seen before, while others we’ll see for the first time. Here are five potential matchups we'd like to see at next weekend in Baku.

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5. 55kg - Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) vs. Poya DAD MARZ (IRI)

Azizli and Dad Marz head into Baku fresh off winning world titles.

Azizli was arguably the most dominant Greco-Roman wrestler at the World Championships in Belgrade. He added a second world title to his credentialed resume and further established himself as the weights top wrestler after outscoring his four opponents 34-0.

Dad Marz is two weeks removed from winning gold at the U23 World Championships, where he cruised past all four of his opponents en route to 55kg title.

Iran and Azerbaijan are in opposite groups. Depending on how the group stage plays out, this match will take place on November 6.

4. 77kg - Zoltan LEVAI (HUN/ All-World Team) vs. Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE)

After facing devastating heartbreaks in Serbia, Levai and Suleymanov are poised to make some noise at the World Cup, and nothing would ease the pain of facing defeat more than picking up a win over a fellow world silver medalist.

These two met once before, and that was in the finals of the 2020 European Championships, where Suleymanov picked up the 3-1 win over Levai.

In addition to Levai having that European finals loss on his mind, he’ll also be thinking about his last loss, which came in Serbia. The Hungarian, who finished the season ranked third in the world, is fresh off punching his ticket to the world finals but he suffered an upsetting 8-0 first-period loss to Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ).

Meanwhile, Suleymanov, after reaching the 2021 world finals, lost to Idris Hanpasaevic IBAEV (GER) in their opening round meeting at the World Championships and failed to bring home a second consecutive world medal.

The All-World team Azerbaijan are in Group A. This match will take place during the third session on November 5 at 19:30 (local time).

3. 72kg - Mate NEMES (SRB) vs. Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)

This will be the first of two matchups between a Serbian reigning world champion and an Azerbaijani wrestler who is ranked No. 1 in the world. The second will be between 67kg, where Sebastian NAD (SRB) will take on Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE).

This would be the first meeting between Nemes and Ganizade.

In his last outing, Nemes shocked the world by pulling off the biggest upset of the ’22 season, taking out defending world and Olympic champion Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) to win the 67kg world gold on home soil.

Ganizade rounded out his 2022 season as the top-ranked wrestler in the world at 72kg. The 23-year-old fell to Ali ARSALAN (SRB) in the finals of the World Championships and settled for a silver medal. Outside of his Belgrade silver, Ganizdae also won a bronze medal at the European Championships and a silver medal at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event.

Serbia and Azerbaijan are both in Group A. This match will take place during the first session on November 5 at 10:00 (local time).

2. 67kg - Sebastian Nad vs. Hasrat Jafarov

This would be a matchup of the reigning world champion at 63kg and the top-ranked wrestler in the world at 67kg. It’ll also be a rematch from the bronze-medal bout from the 2022 European Championships.

Nad is coming off one of the most surprising world title runs in recent memory. The 25-year-old’s breakout performance in Belgrade was highlighted by wins over 2021 world runner-up Leri ABULADZE (GEO) and 2022 European silver medalist Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE).

But it seems that Nad’s days competiting down at 63kg were short lived. He was without question the biggest 63kg wrestler in Belgrade, and after struggling immensely to make weight in Serbia, he’s moving back up to his natural weight of 67kg, where he wrestled in all five senior competitions prior to the 2022 World Championships.

Jafarov, after going 11-2 on the season, heads into the World Cup as the top-ranked wrestler in the world at 67kg. The 20-year-old star won gold at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event and bronze medals at the World and European Championships.

In their last meeting at the 2022 European Championships, Jafarov defeated Nad for the European bronze medal and owns the upper hand coming into Baku.

Serbia and Azerbaijan are both in Group A. This match will take place during the first session on November 5 at 10:00 (local time).

1. 82kg - Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) vs. Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE)

Fellow world champions Akbudak and Huseynov are ranked first and second in the world at 82kg, respectively, and could meet for a third time in their career.

Coming into Baku, they’ve split their pair of previous meetings.

Akbudak, the 2022 82kg world champion, opened up his ’22 campaign with three wins in Istanbul, but none bigger than his dominate 9-0 win over the Huseynov in the semifinals of the Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event.

Prior to that, Huseynov, the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist and ’21 world champion, edged his Turkish rival, 2-1, to claim the Oslo world title.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are in opposite groups. Depending on how the group stage plays out, this match would take place on November 6.

Catch all the action from Baku, live on the United World Wrestling app or on www.uww.org.

#WrestleSamokov

U20 World Championships Freestyle Day 1 Results and Highlights

By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 17) -- The U20 World Championships kicks off in Samokov, Bulgaria on a Sunday. Four weight classes will be in action -- 70kg, 74kg, 97kg and 125kg.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | U20 WORLD PREVIEW

19:22: In the final match of the day one of the U20 World Championships, Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) manages to hang on to his 1-1 criteria lead against former world U17 champion Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE). Mohmmad Nezhad got the one point for passivity in the second period which gave him the criteria.

19:15: A mini-upset in the 125kg semifinal as Asian U20 Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) beats Cole MIRASOLA (USA), 11-0, inside the first period. Two excellent counter takedowns from Kassimbek and then a locks Mirasola's legs around his head and turns him twice. A double-leg to finish things.

19:10: Returning bronze medalist at 97kg Justin RADEMACHER (USA) gets the better of European U20 champion Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO). Rademacher led 4-3 at the break but then scores a takedown for two points to start the second period, add another go-behind and another single-leg to takedown to lead 10-3. Petriashvili gets an attack for  two points but Rademacher is relentless in his wrestling and three more takedowns to win 16-5 and reach the final.

18:55: Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) hangs on for an 11-9 win over VISHAL (IND) who had Magomedov in all sorts of trouble. Magomedov led 10-4 when Vishal mounted a comeback against absolutely broken Magomedov. He scored a takedown and Magomedov was cautioned for a singlet foul which made it 10-7. As the bout was restart in par terre, India challenged for two more points but the referee had blown the whistle before control from Vishal. That challenge gave enough breathing time to Magomedov to managed to hang on to his lead and win 11-9 at 97kg.

18:40: Raul CASO (ITA) cannot repeat his heroics in the semifinal against Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ) at 74kg. Caso was down 3-2 and almost got a takedown but Akylebkov sneaks out and then Caso jumps over for control but the Kyrgyz wrestler is stands up quickly. Akylebkov wins 3-2. Italy challenge for two points but never there. One more point for Akylebkov

18:30: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) survives a scare against Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN) in the 74kg, pulling off a 7-3 win. However, it was Yamaguchi who threatened to score in the final 25 seconds when Khaniev was leading 3-3 on criteria. Yamaguchi hit a double-leg attack and planed Khaniev who did not landed in danger and exposed Yamaguchi for two points. Yamaguchi tried a desperate throw in the final 15 seconds but Khaniev blocked it for two more points to win and enter the final at 74kg.

18:20: Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) has had a dream run in Samokov and he has made it to the 70kg finals after beating Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE) in the semifinals. What a turnaround after finishing 18th last year at the World U20 Championships. He rallies with three takedowns in the second period against Aghazada to win 7-4.

18:10: PJ DUKE (USA) is into the final! He beats Erfan ELAHI (IRI) 2-2 on criteria. Elahi gets the first point after Duke is put on activity clock but Duke gets a takedown when Elahi tries a stepout and lead 2-1. A stepout in the second period for Elahi to make it 2-2 but Duke leads on criteria. Elahi does not realize that he is down on criteria and doesn't really attack in the final minute. Duke beats Elahi 2-2 and enters hte final at 70kg

The semifinals will begin at 18:00 hours local time

13:40: Cole MIRASOLA (USA) downs Inal GAGLOEV (UWW) in the final bout of the session. Mirasola with a takedown to start off the scoring in the bout. he He added a stepout to lead 3-0 at the break. No more action in the second period and Mirasola wins 3-0 and enter the 125kg semifinal against Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ).

13:30: Ashab DADAEV (FRA) thought he is winning against Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the 97kg quarterfinals but he was down 3-2. Petriashvili had a takedown and stepout while Dadaev scored a stepout and a point for lost challenge from Petriashvili.

13:20: Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) beats Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA) 11-4 at 125kg and storms into the semifinals in which he will face Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) who defeated Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI (GEO) 5-0 in the quarterfinals

13:15: Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ), the Asian U20 champion, pins Baejoon JANG (KOR) in the 125kg quarterfinals. Kassimbek has lost two world U17 finals and now has a chance to win at U20 level.

13:10: European fifth-placer Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) hands Islam KAZHAROV (UWW) a 8-3 loss. Big win for Gaidarli who finished 18th last year but has a silver medalist from 2024 European U20 Championships.

13:05: Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) keeps a strong defense after taking a 4-1 lead against Sungkar SEIDAKHMET (KAZ) at 70kg and wins 4-2. Elahi will face PJ DUKE (USA) in the semifinals after the U.S. wrestler defeated Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA), 14-4, in the quarterfinals. This was Duke's third victory via fall or technical superiority. Nakaev had some good scrambles but Duke managed to finish better.

12:40: Raul CASO (ITA) with a takedown in the final second to beat Parvinder SINGH (IND) at 74kg. Caso had just six seconds to score two points to win 5-4.

12:37: European U20 silver medalist Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) with a quick fall over Ruije LI (CHN) at 125kg. The former world U17 champion is looking for a U20 world title.

12:35: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) got on board with a passivity point against Manuel WAGIN (GER) in their 74kg quarterfinal. Wagin could not get his duckunders going in that match as Khaniev underhooks were solid. Khaniev avenges his European U20 semifinal loss by beating Wagin 10-0

12:27: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO), with his brother and Olympic champ Geno cheering from the stands, works a good 10-0 win over Andriyan VALKANOV (BUL) at 97kg.

12:20: Incredible comeback from Asian U20 champ Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) against Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL) at 125kg. In a rematch of the Asian U20 final which the Kazakh wrestler won, Kassimbek breaks Darmaabazar and wins 15-12 after being down 12-5 at the break.

12:15: A third U.S. vs Turkiye head-to-head match today. Returning bronze medalist at 97kg Justin RADEMACHER (USA) is countered by Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR) a couple of times in the first period but he holds a 6-6 lead for his four-pointer. The second period is very straightforward as Rademacher gets the leg lace to lead 10-6. Benekli gets two points on board but Rademacher ultimately gets the fall with a 17-8 score. The head-to-head score is 3-0 for U.S.

12:05: Returning fifth-place Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE) brings down Asian U20 champion Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI), beating the Iranian 7-5. He led 5-5 on criteria and Alizadeh tried to hit a takedown but Karavanos counters with a takedown and wins at 97kg.

11:40: Noah LEIBOWITZ (JPN) begins with a 5-0 win over Aitenir MAKSATOV (KGZ) at 97kg. Leibowitz is one of the more exciting talents in Japan heavyweight and right behind Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)

11:30: Unlikely that PJ DUKE (USA) will be stopped in Samokov! He pins Gabriel SANCHEZ (MEX) in his second bout and has stormed to the quarterfinals at 70kg.

11:20: European U20 silver medalist Raul CASO (ITA) hangs on for a 9-8 wins at 74kg over Asian U20 champion Mahdi MAMIVAND (IR). A four-pointer at the start of the match keeps him ahead. 

11:10: A potential final but we have it in 1/8 as returning silver medalist Ladrion LOCKETT (USA) takes on European U23 champion Ismail KHANIEV (UWW). Both trade stepout and Lockett leads 1-1 at the break. Khaniev gets another stepout for a 2-1 lead. Lockett is called for aggressive push and gets caution. Khaniev gets another point to make it 3-1. Khaniev is given another stepout but U.S. challenges the call. But clear stepout from Lockett and challenge is lost. A 5-1 lead for Khaniev with 24 seconds remaining. A stepout is all Lockett gets and Khaniev wins 5-2.

10:55: Big match at 74kg! European U20 champion Manuel WAGIN (GER) takes on senior European bronze medalist Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) at 74kg. Novruzov put on the shot clock but he scores a takedown after breaking Wagin's chest wrap and lead 2-0 at the break. Wagin gets on the leg in the second period but gets only a stepout. He adds another and a fleeing caution for Novruzov for Wagin to lead 3-2. Two beautiful duckunders from Wagin and earned two takedowns to lead 7-4. He wins the bout 7-2.

10:40: Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI), a former world U17 champion, almost made a mess of his first bout at 70kg against SAGAR (IND). He led 6-1 before Sagar tries to make a comeback against a tiring Elahi. A stepout for Sagar makes it 6-3 but only 13 seconds left. Elahi gives up another stepout and docked a point for fleeing, score changes to 6-5. But Sagar can't get two points to win in the final three seconds.

10:25: PJ DUKE (USA) hits the leg lace over Umut USLU (TUR) in his first bout to win 11-0 at 70kg. Duke will be on the senior U.S. team as well for the World Championships, a spot he won after beating Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) in the trials.

10:20: Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN) leg laces Catalin SPINU (MDA) to get the win at 74kg, a weight class which has good wrestlers on the same side. Asian U20 champion Mahdi MAMIVAND (IRI) breaks Aliaksandr VIARBITSKI (UWW) to win 9-2, eight of his points were scored in the second period.

10:10: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) and Ladrion LOCKETT (USA) roll to 10-0 win over Vatan ANNAORAZOV (TKM) and Tolui MUNKHBAT (MGL) respectively. Novruzov has to work little harder but wins against Stiliyan DZHOROV (BUL)

10:00: What a line-up to start the day in Samokov! Ismail KHANIEV (UWW), Ladrion LOCKETT (USA) and Aghanazar NOVRUZOV (AZE) all in action on three actions at 74kg.