rankings

Kazakhstan, Hungary Have Pair of New No.1's in World Greco-Roman Rankings

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (July 3) -- The July 2018 Ranking Series for Greco-Roman has some faces at the top of the rankings. Kazakhstan and Hungary have two new No.1-ranked wrestlers. 

Kazakhstan wrestlers Almat KEBISPAYEV (67kg) and Khussein MUTSOLGOV (87kg) earned No.1 rankings. Kebispayev has had a very strong year, winning gold medals at the Takhti Cup and Asian Championships, and most recently a bronze at the Grand Prix of Hungary. Mutsolgov, a silver medalist at the Asian Championships, recently placed fifth at the Grand Prix of Hungary.

Hungarian upperweights Balazs KISS and Lam BALINT climb to No.1 at 97kg and 130kg respectively. They join fellow Hungarian Balint KORPASI (72kg) atop the rankings.


Kiss, a returning world bronze medalist, recently captured a gold medal at the Grand Prix of Hungary after picking up a bronze at the European Championships in late April. Balint is coming off a bronze-medal performance at the Grand Prix of Hungary. He also won medals this year at the World Military Championships and Cerro Pelado International. Korpasi, a 2016 world champion, is coming off a gold-medal performance at the Grand Prix of Hungary. 

Kyrgyzstan wrestlers K. ZHOLCHUBEKOV (60kg) and U. AMATOV (63kg) remain No.1. Zholchubekov won a gold medal at the Grand Prix of Hungary after winning a bronze at the Asian Championships and gold at the Takhti Cup.  Amatov has earned medals at the Takhti Cup (bronze), Asian Championships (silver) and Grand Prix of Hungary (bronze). 

Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) holds his No.1 ranking at 77kg after adding a silver medal at the Grand Prix of Hungary to go along with a silver at the Asian Championships and a gold at the Takhti Cup.


Other No.1-ranked wrestlers include Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) at 55kg and Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL) at 82kg. 

For more on the Ranking Series format, be sure to check out this article

View all the rankings on United World Wrestling's homepage.

55kg
1. Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) // 30 Points
2. Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ) // 30 Points
3. Abdelkarim FERGAT (ALG) // 27 Points
4. Reza KHEDRI (IRI) // 24 Points
5. Liguo CAO (CHN) // 24 Points

60kg
1. K. ZHOLCHUBEKOV (KGZ) // 50 Points
2. Luis Alberto ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) // 35 Points
3. Sergey EMELIN (RUS) // 27 Points
4. Murad MAMMADOV (AZE) // 25 Points
5. Shinobu OTA (JPN) // 23 Points

63kg
1. U. AMATOV (KGZ) // 41 Points
2. Hassan Hassan Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY) // 29 Points
3. Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU) // 28 Points
4. Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR) // 26 Points
5. Zaur KABALOEV (RUS) // 24 Points

67kg
1. Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ) // 52 Points
2. Ismael BORRERO (CUB) // 47 Points
3. Artem SURKOV (RUS) // 32 Points
4. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) // 30 Points
5. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) // 28 Points

72kg
1. Balint KORPASI (HUN) // 57 Points
2. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) // 49 Points
3. Adam KURAK (RUS) // 33 Points
4. Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE) // 31 Points
5. Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) // 29 Points

77kg
1. Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) // 38 Points
2. Ariel FIS BATISTA (CUB) // 34 Points
3. Roman VLASOV (RUS) // 34 Points
4. Viktor NEMES (SRB) // 32 Points
5. Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) // 30 Points

82kg
1. Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL) // 40 Points
2. Laszlo SZABO (HUN) // 31 Points
3. Atabek AZISBEKOV (KGZ) // 30 Points
4. Zarko DICKOV (SRB) // 29 Points
5. Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) // 29 Points

87kg
1. Khussein MUTSOLGOV (KAZ) // 37 Points
2. Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO) // 33 Points
3. Bekkhan OZDOEV (RUS) // 31 Points
4. Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB) // 29 Points
5. Kristoffer Zakarias BERG (SWE) // 29 Points

97kg
1. Balazs KISS (HUN) // 44 Points
2. Orkhan NURIYEV (AZE) // 42 Points
3. Cenk ILDEM (TUR) // 38 Points
4. Luillys Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN) // 34 Points
5. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) // 33 Points

130kg
1. Lam BALINT (HUN) // 42 Points
2. Ciurariu alin ALEXUC (ROU) // 40 Points
3. Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) // 36 Points
4. Behnam mahdizadeh ARPATAPEH (IRI) // 34 Points
5. Riza KAYAALP (TUR) // 27 Points


 

#WrestleTirana

Proud to Break Karelin's Record: Says Kayaalp After 13th European Gold

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 21) -- Soon after he broke Aleksandr KARELIN's record of 12 European Championships gold medals, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) was asked to go through the journey of winning 13 European gold medals in his career.

Kayaalp gave a smirk before going on to replay his journey from his first European Championships title in 2010.

"When you look back, you realize you’ve made 15 finals," Kayaalp said after winning the 130kg gold medal in Tirana. "Back then, I was just thinking whether I could win one or two medals. But then, making the final every time at the European Championships, it’s like a child being born and growing up to 15 years old.

"That’s how long this journey has been. It’s difficult. It requires great consistency. It requires respect for what you do."

UWW Plus

READ MORE: Kayaalp's 13 - New Gold Standard in Europe

Kayaalp's consistency led him to 15 European Championships finals from which he won 13, taking him past Karelin's record. Apart from 2026, Kayaalp won gold in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2010.

"It’s an incredible feeling," he said. "This was my 15th final, and in my 15th final, I achieved my 13th title. I truly believe I’ve set a record that will be very difficult to break. This title is especially valuable to me because achieving such long-term and consistent success -- especially in Europe, where there are very strong nations -- is not easy. I’m very proud to have broken such a big record."

READ MORE: Riza KAYAALP Breaks Karelin's 26-Year Old Record 

Wrestling Tirana for the record, Kayaalp won four bouts, including a 1-1 criteria win against Marat KAMPAROV (UWW) in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW) bruised Kayaalp with aggressive wrestling.

"The matches were not easy. I had tough matches," he said. "One of my matches ended 1–1. In the semifinal, I can say I was subjected to some disrespect from a strong opponent in a very intense bout. But compared to those, the final match was more meaningful for me."

WATCH: All of Kayaalp's 13 European Gold Medals

But the final followed a different script as Kayaalp used his gut-wrench to beat Darius VITEK (HUN), 7-1, and finally claim the gold after falling short in 2024 and missing the tournament in 2025.

"When it became 7-0, well, I’m an athlete who doesn’t like to concede points," he said. "I don’t like giving points away, so I managed to protect that score. I can say I went through the second period quite comfortably, and having a 7–0 lead helped."

The 16-year dominance in Europe has taken a big part of Kayaalp's career but the five-time world champion believes that his commitment sets an example for the young wrestlers in Turkiye. 

"This comes from the respect I have for wrestling," he said. "If I’m going to do this, I have to do it at the highest level. I believe this success came because I always aimed to be the best. I’ve always done it with love.

"There are tens of thousands of wrestlers in Turkiye. We’ve been able to set an example for them. That’s very important. There are also many people around the world who look up to us."

WATCH: Riza KAYAALP (TUR) vs Darius VITEK (HUN)

Though they were not present in Tirana, Kayaalp dedicated his title to his wife and daughter. He shared that when he was away from wrestling, his daughter would pray for his return to the mat.

"[I want to dedicate this medal] to my wife and daughters, who have always been by my side through both good and bad times," he said. "To my family, to my father, to everyone who loves us, to my coaches, my fellow athletes, and to the Turkish people. I dedicate this great success to all of them."