#WrestleAcapulco

Live Blog: Pan-American Championships (Day One)

Thursday, May 5, 2022 - 15:02 By Eric Olanowski

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ACAPULCO, Mexico (May 5) -- The opening day of action at the 2022 Pan-Ameican Championships kicks off with Greco-Roman action at 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 72kg, 97kg and 130kg. 

Finals matches (as they come in):
55kg - Nordic style
60kg - Randon Drew MIRANDA (USA) vs. Winner 21
63kg -  Jose Alberto RODRIGUEZ HERNANDEZ (MEX) vs. Samuel Lee JONES (USA) 
67kg -  Kenedy Anderson MORAES PEDROSA (BRA) vs. Julian Stiven HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) 
72kg - Nordic style
97kg - Juan Luis CONDE IBANEZ (CUB) vs. Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) 
130kg - Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) vs. Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA) 

2:05: One of the highlights of the morning has been Samuel GURRIA VIGUERAS (MEX). He scored 14 points in his first match and is winning 4-0 against Maikol JOSEFA (DOM). The winner of this match gets Randon Miranda in tonight's 60kg finals.

1:46: Julian HORTA ACEVEDO (COL) put up seven points in the second period and will wrestle Moraes Pedrosa for the 67kg title.

1:42: Last year, Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) became the first wrestler from Honduras to win a Pan-Am title. He outscored his opponents 16-0 and will wrestle Juan Luis CONDE IBANEZ (CUB) for 97kg gold tonight.

1:32: Julian Stiven HORTA ACEVEDO (COL), after picking up a quick 10-0 win over Nilton Gonzalo Marcos SOTO GARCIA (PER), will try to stop Mexico's  Diego Alberto MARTINEZ DE LEIJA from punching his ticket to the 67kg finals in his home country. They are wrestling on Mat A.

1:20: Kenedy Anderson MORAES PEDROSA (BRA) defeated Enyer Manuel FELICIANO (DOM) by three points, putting Brazil in the gold medal matches at 67kg and 130kg.

12:45 : After upsetting the returning champion in the quarterfinals, Soghomonyan picked up a 9-0 win over  Gino Tanislado AVILA DILBERT (HON) and moved into the 130kg finals. He'll take on Cuba's 2019 world silver medalinst Pino Hines.

12:20:  Diego Alberto MARTINEZ DE LEIJA (MEX) punched his ticket to the 67kg semifinals with a 8-4 win over Hayden Daniel TUMA (USA). 

12:17:  Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA) leads reigning champion Leo Dalis SANTANA HEREDIA (DOM) by one point with less than a minute to go. That match is wrapping up over on Mat B.

11:54: The difference in the match was a gut wrench, which Pino Hines scored in the first period. He outlatsted Acosta Fernandez, 3-1, and will take on the winner of  Jacob Fredrick PHILLIPS (CAN) and Edgardo Juan LOPEZ MORELL (PUR). Currently, the Lopez Morell leads the Canadian, 7-0.

11:45: The match of the morning is coming up next on Mat B, where world medalists Pino Hines and Acosta Fernandez will collide in the 130kg quarterfinals. 

11:40: Returning champs Leo Dalis SANTANA HEREDIA (DOM) and Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) will be in action on Mat B. They'll wrestle in bouts 37 and 41, respectively. 

11:15: Pino Hinds collected a 9-0 win in the first round and will clash with Chilie's first-ever GR world medalist Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI). It's worth noting that Acosta Fernandez transferred from Cuba to Chile in 2017.

11:03: Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) returns to the mat for the first time in two years after relinquishing his 130kg starting spot to Mijian LOPEZ (CUB). He's wrestling on Mat B Tanner Richard FARMER (USA).

#AmateurMMA

Amateur MMA: Kutzli wins gold for U.S.; Ukraine best team

Saturday, October 18, 2025 - 15:18 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 19) -- It was only her fourth-ever bout but Natalie KUTZLI (USA) showed no lack of experience in defeating Oliwia STAWSKA (POL), and become a world champion at the UWW Amateur MMA World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Kutzli, the lone fighter from the United States, won by unanimous decision after three rounds against Stawska who has been on the circuit for a longder time.

"I'm just at a loss of words," Kutzli said. "I just feel so surreal."

In the final against Stawska, Kutzli opened the match with clear striking and controlled the round. She followed a similar strategy and never allowed Stawska to land cleanly. Kutzli won all three rounds in the final.

"She was a challenging fighter for sure," she said. "She was really tough. It's just such a amazing opportunity to be able to fight somebody who has that much experience. I loved every second of it."

Hailing from Michigan, Kutzli began her sports career with taekwondo before switching to wrestling. Her mother, Jeanie, would drive her from one practice to another and supported her when she switched sports.

"First person I talked to was my mom," she said. "She's just so proud of me and amazed by me and what I do and I just I made her proud and my family really proud. I do it for her in hopes of someday being in the UFC and be able to pay for my family and just be able to take care of my loved one, so that's my dream.

"From a young age, I was raised by a single mom. So I'm doing this for her and to be able to thank her and just sort of appreciation to my family."

At 57kg, Viktoriia DUDAKOVA (UWW) showed that she belongs to the big league she knocked out Justine TAILFER (FRA) in the 57kg final. The bout went to the second round but Dudakova dominated it throughout.

Dudakova and Tailfer went out of bounds in the second round with the former on top. The referee called it to center and when the bout restarted with Dudakova getting the back mount advantage, she kept her striking with Tailfer not able to defend which forced the referee to call it a knockout.

In other finals, Anna BEZHENAR (UKR) scored a victory via submission against Daria RAMANOVA (UWW) to win the gold medal at 50kg. However, two other Ukraine finalists failed to win.

Veronika SUSHINA (UWW) stormed back after a slow start to beat Yana MELNYCHUK (UKR) via split decision as two judges gave her the win to one who scored it in favor of Melnychuk as Sushina won the 61kg gold.

Khalida TIMOFEEVA (UWW) did not give any chances to the judges to score differently as she defeated Yuliia MELNYCHUK (UKR) via unanimous decision to win at 65kg and bag the gold medal.

At 80kg, Anna ERSHOVA (UWW) had one of the most dominant wins in the final as she humbled Dana DROZHZHINA (UWW), winning via unanimous decision, to claim the gold medal.

Kazakhstan also got a gold medal as Aigerim TOREKHANOVA (KAZ) dominated the final against Veronika VYKHVATEN (UWW) at 53kg to win via unanimous decision. Her strong start in the first two rounds gave her the advantage despite a strong show from Vykhvaten in the final round.

RESULTS

50kg Final
Anna BEZHENAR (UKR) df. Daria ROMANOVA (UWW), via submission

53kg Final
Aigerim TOREKHANOVA (KAZ) df. Veronika VYKHVATEN (UWW), via unanimous decision

57kg Final
Viktoriia DUDAKOVA (UWW) df. Justine TAILFER (FRA), via submission

61kg Final
Veronika SUSHINA (UWW) df. Yana MELNYCHUK (UKR), via split decision

65kg Final
Khalida TIMOFEEVA (UWW) df. Yuliia MELNYCHUK (UKR), via unanimous decision

70kg Final
Natalie KUTZLI (USA) df. Oliwia STAWSKA (POL), via unanimous decision

80kg Final
Anna ERSHOVA (UWW) df. Dana DROZHZHINA (UWW), via unanimous decision