#WrestleYakutsk

Freestyle World Cup Rosters

By Eric Olanowski

YAKUTSK, Russia (March 13) - United World Wrestling has released the full rosters for the 2019 Freestyle World Cup, which begins Saturday, March 16, in Yakutsk, Russia. 

The host nation will compete this weekend in Group A. For Russia to earn top-billing in 2019, the home side will need to win a Group A side which includes a resurgent Cuban team, Japan, and Turkey. 

The United States heads up Group B but faces steep competition from a Georgia squad rife with former world and Olympic champions, including two-time defending heavyweight world champion Geno PETRIASHVILLI. A young Iranian team and ever-improving Mongolia squad fill out Group B. 

Groups
Group A - RUS (1), CUB (4), JPN (5), TUR (8)
Group B - USA (2), GEO (3), IRI (6), MGL (7)

Unofficial Schedule 
March 16 (Saturday) 
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh in 
11:00 - First round matches 
16:00 - Opening ceremony 
16:30 - Second round matches

March 17 (Sunday) 
08:30 - Medical examination and weigh in 
11:00 - Third round matches  
13:30 - Fifth - sixth, seventh-eighth place matches 
15:15 - Third-fourth place match 
17:00 - Final, award ceremony

Russia's three-time world and Olympic champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV was added to the host nation's roster last weekend. He'll join Russia's other reigning world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV as a team captain. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne)

Group A 

Russia (2018 World Championships: 1st place) 
57kg - Muslim SADULAEV                   
57kg - Aryian TIUTRIN             
61kg - Zelimkhan ABAKAROV
61kg - Ramazan FERZALIEV                    
65kg - Gadshimurad RASHIDOV 
65kg - Viktor RASSADIN                        
70kg - David BAEV                  
70kg - Anzor ZAKUEV   
74kg - Zaurbek SIDAKOV                    
74kg - Timor BIZHOYEV        
79kg - Magomed RAMAZANOV          
79kg - Husej SUUNCEV
86kg - Vladislav VALIEV                      
86kg - Dauren KURUGLIEV                  
92kg - Magomed KURBANOV             
92kg - Alikhan ZHABRAILOV               
97kg - Abdulrashid SADULAEV                 
97kg - Vladislav BAITSAEV 
125kg - Zelimkhan KHIZRIYEV 
125kg - Pavel KRIVTSOV 

Cuba (2018 World Championships: 4th place) 
57kg - Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA
61kg- Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ
65kg - Alejandro Enrique VALDES TOBIER
70kg - Franklin MAREN CASTILLO
74kg - Jeandry GARZON CABALLERO
79kg - Reinier PEREZ ABREU
86kg - Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA
92kg - Lazaro Daniel HERNANDEZ LUIS
97kg - Reineris SALAS PEREZ
125kg - Oscar PINO HINDS

Japan (2018 World Championships: 5th place) 
57kg - Yuki TAKAHASHI
61kg - Yudai FUJITA
65kg - Daichi TAKATANI
70kg - Kojiro SHIGA
74kg - Yuhi FUJINAMI
74kg - Yuto MIWA
79kg - Yuta ABE
86kg - Sohsuke TAKATANI
92kg - Atsushi MATSUMOTO
97kg - Naoya AKAGUMA
125kg - Nobuyoshi ARAKIDA
125kg - Katsutoshi KANAZAWA

Turkey (2018 World Championships: 8th place) 
57kg - Ali KARABOGA
61kg - Munir Recep AKTAS
65kg - Cengizhan ERDOGAN
70kg - Serhat ARSLAN
74kg - Nazim Selami KARA
79kg - Abdulkadir OZMEN
86kg - Fatih ERDIN
92kg - Suleyman KARADENIZ
97kg - Ali BONCEOGLU
125kg - Abdullah OMAC

Reigning world bronze medalist TUMENBILEG Tuvshintulga (MGL) leads a Mongolian squad that's looking to improve on their sixth-place finish from the past four years. (Photo: Max Rose-Fyne) 

Group B

United States (2018 World Championships: 2nd place) 
57kg - Zane RICHARDS
57kg - Zachary SANDERS
61kg - Nicholas MEGALUDIS
65kg - Zain RETHERFORD
70kg - Jason CHAMBERLAIN
74kg - Isaiah MARTINEZ
79kg - Thomas GANTT JR
86kg - Samuel BROOKS
92kg - Hayden ZILLMER
97kg - Kyven GADSON
125kg - Anthony NELSON

Georgia (2018 World Championships: 3rd place) 
57kg - Lasha LOMTADZE
61kg - Tornike KATAMADZE
65kg - Amiran VAKHTANGASHVILI
70kg - Mirza SKHULUKHIA
74kg - Zurabi ERBOTSONASHVILI
79kg - Davit KHUTSISHVILI
86kg - Tarzan MAISURADZE
92kg - Dato MARSAGISHVILI
97kg - Mamuka KORDZAIA
125kg - Rolandi ANDRIADZE

Iran (2018 World Championships: 6th place) 
57kg - Alireza SARLAK
61kg - Iman SADEGHIKOUKANDEH
65kg - Morteza GHIASI CHEKA
70kg - Meisam NASIRI
74kg - Reza AFZALIPAEMAMI
79kg - Mojtaba ASGHARI OSMAVANDANI
86kg - Mersad MARGHZARI
92kg - Hossein SHAHBAZIGAZVAR
92kg - Mohammadjavad EBRAHIMIZIVLAEI
97kg - Alireza GOODARZI
97kg - Ali SHABANIBENGAR
125kg - Komeil GHASEMI
125kg - Amin TAHERI

Mongolia (2018 World Championships: 7th place) 
57kg - TUMENBILEG Tuvshintulga
61kg - GANSUKH Otgonbaatar
65kg - BATCHULUUN Batmagnai
70kg - GANZORIG Mandakhnaran
74kg - BAT ERDENE Byambadorj 
79kg - PUREVJAV Unurbat
86kg - ORGODOL Uitumen
92kg - BAASANTSOGT Ulziisaikhan 
97kg - ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul
125kg - DORJKHAND Khuderbulga

#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series Day 5 Recap

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (March 2) -- The final day of Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series will see Greco-Roman action in six weight classes. 55kg, 60kg, 72kg, 82kg, 97kg and 130kg wrestlers will be on the mat.

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | DAY 4 RESULTS

16:15: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) and Hamza BAKIR (TUR) enter the final at 130kg. Mirzazadeh scores a gut wrench from par terre against Wenhao JIANG (CHN) to lead 3-0 at the break. Jiang gets the forced par terre advantage in the second period but no points from the position for him. Mirzazadeh wins 3-1.

Bakir had Tokyo silver medalist Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) in the semifinal. Kajaia gets the par terre in first period but doesn't turn Bakir, who got the par terre position in the second period but can't turn. Bakir holds the 1-1 criteria lead for the win.

16:00: Kiril MILOV (BUL) with a front headlock exposure for two and he led Alex SZOKE (HUN) 3-1. Szoke got the third passivity and as he tried to gut wrench Milov, he got stuck on the mat and Milov pinned him to enter the 97kg final.

He will take on Giorgi MELIA (GEO) in final after the Georgian defeated Markus RAGGINGER (AUT) 5-2. Melia blocked a turn from Ragginger and got two points. Ragginger got both the passivity calls and led 2-0 before the defended throw from Melia. Ragginger challenged for a defensive foul but lost it as Melia got another point and lead 3-2 with 1:30 remaining on the clock. Ragginger needs two points for a win. Melia with a stepout with 54 seconds remaining to lead 5-2. Ragginger fails to breakthrough and drops the semifinal.

15:50: Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) defends from par terre when Ramon BETSCHART (SUI) got the third passivity and keep his 2-1 lead to enter the 82kg final. He will face Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) in the final after he got a gift from Svetoslav NIKOLOV (BUL) who committed two offensive leg fouls and was cautioned out of the semifinal.

15:35: Mehmet SAHIN (TUR) enters the 72kg final with a 9-0 technical superiority win over Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ). He will face Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) who beat Otar ABULADZE (GEO) 6-3 which may give him a look in the Georgian team for the European Championships.

15:20: Quick finishes to the 60kg semifinals! Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO) with two headpinch front throws to beat Haodong TAN (CHN) 8-0 and enter the final.

Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) brings out two reverse suplexes from par terre to beat Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ) 9-0. Lost challenge from Kyrgyzstan makes it 10-0

15:10: Emre MUTLU (TUR) with a huge four-point throw and then a turn from par terre as he leads Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ) 7-0 at the break in the 55kg semifinals. But Mamyrbekov storms back with two suplexes for two points each to make it 7-5. A challenge from Kazakhstan asking for a foul from Mutlu but there isn't any. A lost challenge makes it 8-5 for Mutlu with a minute remaining. Mutlu defends his lead and wins 8-5.

In the other semifinal, Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) was attacking from the start and earned two turns from par terre to lead 6-0 at the break Yersin ABYIR (TUR). Lolua also pulls out a good defense to keep it 6-1 when he was put on par terre in the second period. Abyir scores three points but a 6-4 win for Lolua.

The semifinals begin at 15:00 hours local time

14:40: Two turns from par terre for Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) to lead 5-1 and he may have thought that it was enough for a win. However, Shahin BADAGHI (QAT), of Iranian origin, scores a takedown to make it 5-4. Bolkvadze scores a stepout however Badaghi challenges and wins as Bolkvadze pulled his singlet. Badaghi down 5-4 with 1:21 left in the 82kg quarterfinal. Badaghi challenges for a headbutt but this time loses the challenge which makes Bolkvadze's score 6-4 whihc is also the winning score.

14:30: Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) with a five-pointer as he moves into the semifinals at 60kg! Shiotani blanks Ziyue XI (CHN) 11-0. 

14:20: Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) with a grand-amplitude over Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) for five points. Sleiva blocked with his hands which gives to more to Lomadze who leads 7-0 at the break. Sleiva can manage only two points in the second period as Lomadze wins 7-2

14:10: Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) pulls out his best defense from par terre and stops Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) from turning him in the second period. A turn would have surely given Knystautas a 3-3 criteria lead. But Mirzazadeh wins 3-1

14:00: China has brought some hammers here! Haodong TAN (CHN) pins Paris Olympian Enes BASAR (TUR) at 60kg. Tan got the third passivity [no points are awarded for third passivity in Greco] and got a defensive foul from Basar. He then turned him and held Basar on the mat for a fall.

13:45: Ziyue XI (CHN) takes out Victor CIOBANU (MDA) at 60kg! What a performance from Xi. He defended his par terre position before scoring a correct throw from par terre in the second period to lead 3-1. Ciobanu gave up a stepout with 40 seconds remaining to fall behind 4-1. Ciobanu challenged so a foul but there was none. Xi gets a 5-1 lead. Ciobanu could not find a way to break Xi who wins 5-1 at 60kg.

13:35: Hamza BAKIR (TUR) scores an 8-0 win over Yuta NARA (JPN) at 130kg. Bakir has been impressive so far as he prepares himself for the big challenge at the European Championships. 

13:25: Tokyo Olympic silver medalist at Greco-Roman 130kg Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) turns Elias KUOSMANEN (FIN) from par terre to lead 3-0 at the break before defending his position from forced par terre in the second and win 3-1 at 130kg.

13:10: The world is missing out on Yu SHIOTANI (JPN). A series of reverse lifts from par terre and Shiotani has Ergi UKU (ALB) in all sorts of trouble. An 11-0 win for Shiotani.

13:07: Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) brings out a reverse lift slam on Ji LENG (CHN) to score four points and snatch the win 4-2 against Leng who is a little dumbfounded with that move. Top move from Sleiva

13:05: Ali ARSALAN (SRB) can't find a way to break Iuri LOMADZE's (GEO) defense and drops his 72kg bout 5-1. Lomadze with a defensive block when Arsalan was trying to score on him.

12:50: Kyrgyzstan wrestlers are out here demoralising big star. Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ) takes out Selcuk CAN (TUR) at 72kg. After leading 5-0, Khamzaev defended well from par terre and gave up only two points. Can made it 5-5 with a push out but Khamzaev keeps the criteria win.

12:40: Former European champion Kiril MILOV (BUL), who wrestled at Paris Olympics at 130kg, drops down to his natural 97kg, and he dominates Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED) 6-1. He scored two turns from par terre in the first period while Sterkenburg failed to do so in the second.

12:05: Hamza BAKIR (TUR) gets two par terre positions in the match and he scored three turns to beat 8-0 Laga BAYI (CHN) at 130kg. He expected to be the heir apparent to Riza KAYAALP (TUR) for Turkiye

11:50: Olympic bronze medalist Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) using his aggressive style against Heiki NABI (EST) for a 4-0 win at 130kg. While he did the par terre in the first period, he asked for standing in the second.

11:45: Yu SHIOTANI (JPN) gives a reality check to U20 world champion Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI) of the senior level. Shiotani was in forced par terre in the first period but he didn't let Ahmadi Vafa score. The referees were about to give Ahmadi Vafa the second par terre which may have made Ahmadi Vafa relax as he gave up a takedown. A reversal in the same sequence was scored one point for Ahmadi Vafa. But Shiotani with a big lift and throw for two points. Shiotani challenges and gets two more points for a foul from Ahmadi Vafa to lead 6-2. From par terre, Shiotani would score three more points and lead 9-4 with 35 seconds on the clock.

Ahmadi Vafa threatened to cause an upset as he scored a takedown and a turn to make it 9-6 before Shiotani blocked the next turn for two points. He then score another exposure and held Ahmadi Vafa on the mat for a fall.

11:35: Ali ARSALAN (SRB), world bronze medalist at 72kg, impresses with a 4-4 win over Levente LEVAI (HUN). Levai led 3-0 at the break but Arsalan with a headpinch for four. Levai blocked his second attempt. A stepout in the end gave Levai another point but Arsalan won 4-4 on criteria.

11:31: Selcuk CAN (TUR), wrestling at 72kg, with an impressive 7-3 win against Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN). Can with a top defense from par terre to keep Peltokangas at bay

11:25: Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) needed two successful challenges to remaining in the opening match at 97kg against Alex SZOKE (HUN) who committed two offensive leg fouls. Szoke still had a 7-1 lead at the break. Savolainen managed two points in the second period but failed get a move on. Szoke with a 7-3 win.

11:00: Greco-Roman all day as the final day of the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series is here. Long day ahead but some classic match ups in various weight class. By the way, rain is back in Tirana.