#WrestleBudapest

Higuchi, Kiyooka reach finals at Budapest Ranking Series

By Vinay Siwach

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 6) -- The final Ranking Series before the Olympics kicks off in Budapest. Seven weight classes in Freestyle will be in action with top wrestlers in all the weight categories. The ranking, and ultimately the seeds for the Olympics will be determined after this Ranking Series.

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13:25: Abbas EBRAHIMZADEH (IRI) blanks Haji ALIYEV (AZE) 6-0 in the 65kg semifinal. Top win for the Iran wrestler who will now wrestle Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) for the gold medal. Kiyooka defended well against a storming Austin GOMEZ (MEX) in the second period to win 12-6.

13:00: AMAN (IND) moves into the final of the 57kg after a 14-4 technical superiority win over Aryan TSIUTRYN (AIN). He will wrestle world silver medalist Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) for the gold medal. Higuchi was in all sorts of trouble in his semifinal against Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) when the Azerbaijan wrestler used a high chest wrap to lead 8-0. But Higuchi managed to defend the last turn. He scores a takedown and uses a gut wrench to finish the bout 18-8 inside the first period.

12:45: An upset from Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) as he pins Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) in the 125kg final. Petriashvili looks in some trouble with his elbow and has called for a medical timeout. But the pin takes him out of the final. 

12:40: Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) with a stunning late exposure takedown to beat Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI) 3-2 and enter the 97kg final. On Mat C, the 92kg world champion Rizabek AITMUKHAN (KAZ) looked like entering the final when he led 5-0 against Magomedkhan MAGOMEDGOV (AZE) but the Azerbaijani world silver medalist came back to beat him 15-7.

12:30: Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) with a fall over Nahshon GARRETT (USA) after building a 10-1 lead in the 61kg semifinal. He will wrestle the winner of Shahdad Ali KHOSRAVI (IRI) and Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) for the gold medal.

12:15: That will sting Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) for some time. Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) pins Abdullaev in the 57kg quarterfinal and sets up a semifinal against Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) who defeated Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ) 11-0 in the quarterfinal.

12:12: Haji ALIYEV (AZE) cannot find a way past Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) at 65kg! After building a 4-1 lead at the break, he hits a huge four-pointer on Aliyev to steer clear and win 9-3.

12:00: Mason PARRIS (USA) was checked by Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO) on different occasions but Parris won the 125kg bout 9-2. The Georgian, who qualified for the Paris Olympics at 97kg, is wrestling at 125kg in this Ranking Series.

11:45: Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), who got a walkover in his first bout, works to a technical superiority win over Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (AIN) at 125kg. Moments later, at 57kg, AMAN (IND) rolls to an 11-1 win over Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)

11:35: World champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) drops his Round 2 bout! Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) scores three technical points to lead 3-0 but Muszukajev's takedown cuts the lead to 3-2 with 30 seconds left on the clock. Kiyooka defends well and hits a counter takedown in the end, adding lace to win 7-2.  

11:27: Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) does not show up for his Round 2 bout against Haji ALIYEV (AZE) at 65kg. A big result for Aliyev who is now poised to finish at the top of group A.

11:25: Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) dominates Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) at 61kg and wins 18-5 to advance. Harutyunyan will come down to 57kg for the Paris Olympics.

11:20: Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM), wrestling at 70kg instead of his preferred 65kg, rolls to an 11-0 victory at Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ). The ranking points won at 70kg will not be added to the ranking points of Tevanyan at 65kg.

11:15: Paris-bound wrestler Gulomjon ABDULLAEV (UZB) comes back from a 2-0 deficit to beat Ali Hossein MOMENIJOUJADEH (IRI) 6-2 at 57kg. He will wrestle Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) in the quarterfinals.

11:00: Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) with a top 9-2 win over Evan HENDERSON (USA) at 70kg. The Armenian controlled the bout throughout for the win. 

10:50: World champion Iszmail MUSZUKAKEV (HUN), wrestling for the first time since winning the World Championships, begins with a solid 6-2 win over Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB). He keeps it under control despite many attacks from Jalolov.

10:45: Haji ALIYEV (AZE) vs Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) felt like a long bout! Aliyev got a 1-0 lead at the break for Kiyooka's inactivity. Kiyooka got one point in the second period but Aliyev scored a counter just after the clock expired to lead 3-1. A stepout for Kiyooka with 17 seconds left on the clock. He needed a takedown to win and tried for one but Aliyev bodylocked for a takedown to win 5-2.

10:35: Austin GOMEZ (MEX), qualified for the Olympic Games at 65kg, begins with a 10-0 rout of Gyoergy SZILAGYI (HUN). The 65kg wrestlers are drawn in round-robin and will be wrestling again.

10:30: The first bouts in Budapest are crazy. Austin GOMEZ (MEX) is on Mat C but on Mat B, it's world champion Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) against Umidjon JALOLOV (UZB) and on Mat C, it's Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN) vs Haji ALIYEV (AZE).

#WrestleBudapest

Budapest Ranking Series 2025 Entries: Freestyle

By United World Wrestling Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (June 25) -- The final Ranking Series stop of the year -- Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial -- is here. Like its previous editions, the tournament will be held in Budapest, Hungary from July 17 to 20.

Close to 500 wrestlers are expected for the tournament which will begin with Freestyle on July 17. All medal bouts will be held on the same day.

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The competition will be held on four mats and two-kilogram allowance will be given to all wrestlers, according to Ranking Series rules. This is the final event in which wrestlers can earn Ranking Series points and earn a seed for the World Championships in September.

Wrestling will begin at 1030 hours local time and the medal bouts will begin at 1700 hours local time every day. For full schedule of the tournament, click here.

Note: The entries are preliminary and can change until 72 hours before the draw of respective style. For final entries, refer to arena.uww.org.

World Championships Tickets

Freestyle

57kg
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Peter HAMMER (CRC)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Luka GVINJILIA (GEO)
Niklas STECHELE (GER)
RAHUL (IND)
Milad VALIZADEH (IRI)
Abzal OKENOV (KAZ)
Abylaikhan ALMUKHAMEDOV  (KAZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Sunggwon KIM (KOR)
Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX)
Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB)
Bekir KESER (TUR)
Luke LILLEDAHL (USA)
Aryan TSIUTRYN (UWW)

61kg
Georgii OKOROKOV (AUS)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Daviti ABDALADZE (GEO)
Balazs RACZ (HUN)
UDIT (IND)
Reza MOMENI (IRI)
Ebrahim KHARI (IRI)
Takara SUDA (JPN)
Darkhan YESSENGALI (KAZ)
Adil OSPANOV (KAZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Joseph SILVA (PUR)
Dylan SHAWVER (PUR)
Emrah ORMANOGLU (TUR)
Seth GROSS (USA)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (UWW)

65kg
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Alibeg ALIBEGOV (BRN)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA)
Nika ZAKASHVILI (GEO)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Gamzatgadzsi HALIDOV (HUN)
Zoltan MIZSEI (HUN)
SUJEET (IND)
Yasin REZAEI (IRI)
Colin REALBUTO (ITA)
Sherkhan ABIL (KAZ)
Nursultan SADYK (KAZ)
Junsik YUN (KOR)
Krzysztof BIENKOWSKI (POL)
Abdulmazhid KUDIEV (TJK)

70kg
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Abbas EBRAHIMZADEH (IRI)
Sina KHALILI (IRI)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Meirzhan ASHIROV (KAZ)
Yegor ANCHUGIN (KAZ)
Austin GOMEZ (MEX)
Patryk OLENCZYN (POL)
Zelimkhan MUTSUKHAEV (POL)
Viktor VOINOVIC (SRB)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Brandon CANNON (USA)

74kg
Chermen VALIEV (ALB)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Magomed KHANIEV (AZE)
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Adam THOMSON (CAN)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Reza SHAKERI (IRI)
Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN)
Alibek ABDIKASSYMOV (KAZ)
Yeldos KUANYSHBAY (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Sangho HAN (KOR)
Daegil HAN (KOR)
Szymon WOJTKOWSKI (POL)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
David CARR (USA)

79kg
Khidir SAIPUDINOV (BRN)
Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Luka CHKHITUNIDZE (GEO)
Lucas KAHNT (GER)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
CHANDERMOHAN (IND)
Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI)
Fariborz BABAEI (IRI)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Nurlan BEKZHANOV (KAZ)
Michael LABRIOLA (PUR)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Magomet EVLOEV (TJK)
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR)
Levi HAINES (USA)

86kg
Simon MARCHL (AUT)
Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE)
Taran GORING (CAN)
Aiden STEVENSON (CAN)
Rakhim MAGAMADOV (FRA)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Tornike SAMKHARADZE (GEO)
Patrik PUESPOEKI (HUN)
Zeteny GANGL (HUN)
Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI)
Nurzhan ISSAGALIYEV (KAZ)
Gyeongyeon LEE (KOR)
Paulius LESCAUSKAS (LTU)
Cezary SADOWSKI (POL)
Igor SZUCKI (POL)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW)

92kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Magomed SHARIPOV (BRN)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE)
Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN)
Krisztian ANGYAL (HUN)
Mobin AZIMI (IRI)
Benjamin HONIS (ITA)
Arystan KARABEK (KAZ)
Filip SZUCKI (POL)
Trent HIDLAY (USA)
Alperen TOKGOZ (TUR)
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (UWW)

97kg
Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN)
Adlan VISKHANOV (FRA)
Merab SULEIMANISHVILI (GEO)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
VICKY (IND)
Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI)
Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Juhwan SEO (KOR)
Domantas PAULIUSCENKO (LTU)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Resul GUNE (TUR)
Jonathan AIELLO (USA)
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (UWW)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI (AZE)
Gabriel DE SOUSA (BRA)
Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN)
Georgi IVANOV (BUL)
Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN)
Milan KORCSOG (HUN)
Milan GELLEN (HUN)
Nursultan AZOV (KAZ)
Gyeongmin KIM (KOR)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Jonovan SMITH (PUR)
Efe Anil AL (TUR)
Trent David HILLGER (USA)
Demetrius THOMAS (USA)
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (UWW)