#WrestleRome

Matteo Pellicone Entries

By Eric Olanowski

For the second consecutive year, the Italian ancient port city of Ostia will host the opening Ranking Series event of the year, the Matteo Pellcione. The "Pellicone" kicks off March 4-7 and will feature 360 athletes from 32 different countries.

57kg
Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA( CUB)
Brandon Jesus ESCOBAR AMADOR (HON)
Pankaj PANKAJ (IND)
Nurislam SANAYEV (KAZ)
Daulet TEMIRZHANOV (KAZ)
Ali M M ABURUMAILA (PLE)
Saban KIZILTAS (TUR)
Nicholas Raymond SURIANO (USA)
Joseph Daniel COLON (USA)

61kg
Anvar SUVINIITTY (FIN)
Kumar RAVI( IND)
Suraj Sanju ANNIKERI (IND)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Tyler Lee GRAFF (USA)
Ethan Ryan LIZAK (USA)


Bajrang PUNIA (IND) is one of two freestyle wrestlers looking to win back-to-back Matteo Pellicone titles. (Photo: Bajrang Punia)

65kg
Alejandro Enrique VALDES TOBIER (CUB)
Mauricio Javier SANCHEZ SALTOS (ECU)
Rohit ROHIT (IND)
Bajrang BAJRANG (IND)
Behnam Eshagh EHSANPOOR (IRI)
Daulet NIYAZBEKOV (KAZ)
Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL)
Jose Javier RODRIGUEZ COLON (PUR)
David HABAT (SLO)
Selim KOZAN (TUR)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)
Joseph Christopher MCKENNA (USA)

70kg
Vishal KALIRAMANA (IND)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ)
Mustafa KAYA (TUR)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Alec William PANTALEO (USA)


London Olympic champion Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) is on a quest to win his third Ranking Series gold medal and first since the '19 Yasar Dogu. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

74kg
Jeandry GARZON CABALLERO (CUB)
Sandeep Singh MANN (IND)
Narsingh Pancham YADAV (IND)
Jitender JITENDER (IND)
Mitchell Louis FINESILVER (ISR)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ)
Nurkozha KAIPANOV (KAZ)
Franklin GOMEZ MATOS (PUR)
Malik Michael AMINE (SMR)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Yakup GOR (TUR)
Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)

79kg
Rahul RATHI (IND)
Salvatore DIANA (ITA)
Galymzhan USSERBAYEV (KAZ)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)
Muhamed Mustafa MC BRYDE (USA)
David Vincent MC FADDEN (USA)

86kg
Clayton Steven PYE (CAN)
Hunter Jeffery LEE (CAN)
Yurieski TORREBLANCA QUERALTA (CUB)
Chahar PARVEEN (IND)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Aron CANEVA (ITA)
Simone IANNATTONI (ITA)
Yeskali DAULETKAZY (KAZ)
Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ)
Ethan Adrian RAMOS (PUR)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Zahid VALENCIA (USA)
Mark John HALL II (USA)
Myles Najee MARTIN (USA)

92kg
Gino Tanislado AVILA DILBERT (HON)
Parveen PARVEEN (IND)
Elkhan ASSADOV (KAZ)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
James Patrick DOWNEY III (USA)
 

97kg
Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE)
Reineris SALAS PEREZ (CUB)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Alireza Mohammad KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI)
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ)
Evan Amadour RAMOS (PUR)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Kollin Raymond MOORE (USA)
Hayden Nicholas ZILLMER (USA)


Rio Olympic champion Taha AKGUL (TUR) is returning to the mat for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in early '20. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

125kg
Amarveer DHESI (CAN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Amin Hossein TAHERI (IRI)
Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ)
Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Anthony Robert NELSON (USA)


Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) is 23-0 in Ranking Series events and is looking to bag his seventh RS gold. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Arjun HALAKURKI (IND)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Khorlan ZHAKANSHA (KAZ)
Andre Ricardo CARDOSO OLIVEIRA SILVA (POR)
Joshua Xavier MEDINA (PUR)
Viktor VEDERNIKOV (RUS)
Serif KILIC (TUR)
Elcin ALI (TUR)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)

60kg
Adam Takahashi MACFADYEN( CAN)
Luis Alberto ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB)
Antonio Jordan RUIZ MORA (ECU)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
Gyanender GYANENDER (IND)
Abere FETENE (ISR)
Zhanserik SARSENBIYEV (KAZ)
Antonio MARTINS CABRAL (POR)
Emin Narimanovitch SEFERSHAEV (RUS)
Ahmet UYAR (TUR)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)
Dylan Steven GREGERSON (USA)

63kg
Sachin RANA (IND)
Giovanni Paolo ALESSIO (ITA)
Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ)
Mirambek AINAGULOV (KAZ)
Aidos SULTANGALI (KAZ)
Julinho Benjamim CORREIA DJU (POR)
Marat Maksumovitch GARIPOV (RUS)
Aleksei TADYKIN (RUS)
Abdurrahman ALTAN (TUR)
Mehmet CEKER (TUR)
Samuel Lee JONES (USA)


Rio Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB) will compete at 67kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

67kg
Daniel Troy COLES (CAN)
Ismael BORRERO MOLINA (CUB)
Andres Roberto MONTANO ARROYO (ECU)
Mohamed Ibrahim Elsayed Ibrahi ELSAYED (EGY)
Mate KRASZNA I(HUN)
Krisztian Istvan VANCZA (HUN)
Ashu ASHU (IND)
Steve MOMILIA (ITA)
Nurbek KYZYROV (KAZ)
Meiirzhan SHERMAKHANBET (KAZ)
Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ)
Nazir Rachidovitch ABDULLAEV (RUS)
Enes BASAR (TUR)
Haci KARAKUS (TUR)
Atakan YUKSEL( TUR)
Raymond Anthony BUNKER III (USA)
Jamel Rasheed JOHNSON (USA)

72kg
Cristhian Alberto RIVAS CASTRO( ECU)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
Amit AMIT (IND)
Kaharman KISSYMETOV (KAZ)
Chingiz LABAZANOV (RUS)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)

77kg
Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB)
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Jakub BIELESZ (CZE)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Singh GURPREET (IND)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Riccardo Vito ABBRESCIA (ITA)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Ciro RUSSO (ITA)
Tamerlan SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Askhat DILMUKHAMEDOV (KAZ)
Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ)
Marciano George ALI (PUR)
Abuiazid MANTSIGOV (RUS)
Yunus Emre BASAR (TUR)
Furkan BAYRAK (TUR)
Fatih CENGIZ (TUR)
Patrick Harrison SMITH (USA)
Peyton Burke WALSH (USA)
Benjamin Errol PROVISOR (USA)


Reigning 77kg world champion Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) will compete up at 82kg. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

82kg
Laszlo SZABO( HUN)
Tamas LORINCZ (HUN)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Singh HARPREET (IND)
Miras BARSHYLYKOV (KAZ)
Adlan AKIEV( RUS)
Emrah KUS( TUR)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Salih AYDIN (TUR)
Terrence Mosley ZALESKI (USA)
John Walter STEFANOWICZ JR (USA)
Ravaughn Richard Ravelle PERKINS (USA)

87kg
Ioannis NARLIDIS (CAN)
Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB)
Petr NOVAK (CZE)
Ariel Andres ALFONSO RODRIGUEZ (HON)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Viktor LORINCZ (HUN)
Kumar SUNIL (IND)
Nikolay KOZHUKHOV (ISR)
Fabio PARISI (ITA)
Mirco MINGUZZI (ITA)
Simone FIDELBO (ITA)
Azamat KUSTUBAYEV (KAZ)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Bekkhan OZDOEV (RUS)
Ali CENGIZ (TUR)
Dogan GOKTAS (TUR)
Josef Patrick RAU (USA)
Alan Ernesto VERA GARCIA (USA)
Patrick Anthony MARTINEZ (USA)


Reigning two-time world champion Musa EVLOEV (RUS) is searching for his third Ranking Series title (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

97kg
Gabriel Alejandro ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUB)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON)
Balazs KISS (HUN)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Hardeep HARDEEP (IND)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Yerulan ISKAKOV (KAZ)
Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
Cenk ILDEM (TUR)
Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR)
Daniel Collett MILLER (USA)
Tracy Gangelo HANCOCK (USA)

130kg
Yasmani ACOSTA FERNANDEZ (CHI)
Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB)
Stepan DAVID (CZE)
Abdellatif Mohamed Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)
Naveen NAVEEN (IND)
Samuele VARICELLI (ITA)
Luca GODINO (ITA)
Nurmakhan TINALIYEV (KAZ)
Mansur SHADUKAYEV (KAZ)
Alimkhan SYZDYKOV (KAZ)
Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS)
Riza KAYAALP( TUR)
Adam Jacob COON (USA)
Cohlton Michael SCHULTZ (USA)
Lance Westley CATHCART (USA)


'19 world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) is one of three women's wrestling returning champions. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Patricia Alejandra BERMUDEZ (ARG)
Mariya STADNIK (AZE)
Kamila BARBOSA VITO DA SILVA (BRA)
Miglena Georgieva SELISHKA (BUL)
Madison Bianca PARKS (CAN)
Yusneylis GUZMAN LOPEZ (CUB)
Lucia Yamileth YEPEZ GUZMAN (ECU)
Meenakshi MEENAKSHI (IND)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Valentina Ivanovna ISLAMOVA BRIK (KAZ)
Emilia Alina VUC (ROU)
Ekaterina POLESHCHUK (RUS)
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RUS)
Mariia TIUMEREKOVA (RUS)
Aynur ERGE (TUR)
Whitney CONDER( USA)
Victoria Lacey ANTHONY (USA)

53kg
Diana Mary Helen WEICKER (CAN)
Samantha Leigh STEWART (CAN)
Lianna de la Caridad MONTERO HERRERA (CUB)
Luisa Elizabeth VALVERDE MELENDRES (ECU)
Nandini Bajirao SALOKHE (IND)
Divya KAKRAN (IND)
Carmen DI DIO (ITA)
Sara ETTAKI (ITA)
Assylzat SAGYMBAY (KAZ)
Tatyana AKHMETOVA AMANZHOL (KAZ)
Anzhelika VETOSHKINA (RUS)
Aleksandra SKIRENKO (RUS)
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (RUS)
Esra PUL (TUR)
Areana Louise VILLAESCUSA (USA)
Alexandra Wray HEDRICK (USA)

55kg
Jacqueline Del Rocio MOLLOCANA ELENO (ECU)
Ambra CAMPAGN A(ITA)
Aisha UALISHAN( KAZ)
Viktoriia VAULINA (RUS)


Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR), the two-time world medal winner, will compete at 57kg. (Photo: Tony Rotundo)

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES PENALBER DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Evelina Georgieva NIKOLOVA (BUL)
Taybe Mustafa YUSEIN (BUL)
Tianna Grace KENNETT (CAN)
Anju ANJU (IND)
Arianna CARIERI (ITA)
Morena DE VITA (ITA)
Rebecca DE LEO (ITA)
Aurora RUSSO (ITA)
Francesca INDELICATO (ITA)
Altynay SATYLGAN( KAZ)
Emma TISSINA (KAZ)
Nazira MARSBEK KYZY (KGZ)
Nuraida ANARKULOVA (KGZ)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Grace Jacob BULLEN (NOR)
Irina OLOGONOVA (RUS)
Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RUS)
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (RUS)
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR)
Jenna Rose BURKERT (USA)
Allison Mackenzie RAGAN (USA)

59kg
Anshu ANSHU (IND)
Sarita SARITA( IND)
Diana KAYUMOVA (KAZ)
Aleksandra NITSENKO (RUS)
Elif YANIK (TUR)
Abigail Elizabeth NETTE (USA)

62kg
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Michelle Christina FAZZARI (CAN)
Jessica Lise BROUILLETTE (CAN)
Marianna SASTIN (HUN)
Sakshi MALIK (IND)
Sonam SONAM (IND)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Sara DA COL (ITA)
Irina KUZNETSOVA (KAZ)
Ayaulym KASSYMOVA (KAZ)
Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ)
Aminat Oluwafunmilayo ADENIYI (NGR)
Valeria KOBLOVA ZHOLOBOVA (RUS)
Anzhela FOMENKO (RUS)
Cansu AKSOY (TUR)
Mallory Maxine VELTE (USA)

65kg
Nisha NISHA (IND)
Veronica BRASCHI (ITA)
Gaukhar MUKATAY (KAZ)
Aina TEMIRTASSOVA (KAZ)
Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RUS)
Henna Katarina JOHANSSON( SWE)
Asli TUGCU (TUR)


World champion Tamyra STOCK MENSAH (USA) will try to improve on her runner-up finish from last year's Matteo Pellicone. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

68kg
Sofiya Hristova GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Mimi Nikolova HRISTOVA (BUL)
Olivia Grace DI BACCO (CAN)
Yudari SANCHEZ RODRIGUEZ (CUB)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Anita ANITA (IND)
Laura GODINO (ITA)
Irina KAZYULINA (KAZ)
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Battsetseg SORONZONBOLD (MGL)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Anastasiia BRATCHIKOVA (RUS)
Valeriia TRIFONOVA (RUS)
Tindra Linnea SJOEBERG (SWE)
Asli DEMIR (TUR)
Nesrin BAS (TUR)
Forrest Ann MOLINARI (USA)
Tamyra Mariama STOCK MENSAH (USA)
Alexandria Junis GLAUDE (USA)

72kg
Yekaterina LARIONOVA (KAZ)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Marina SUROVTSEVA (RUS)
Kristina DUDAEVA (RUS)
Kadriye AKSOY (TUR)


Olympic champions Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS) and Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN) are both entered at 76kg. (Photo: Gabor Martin)

76kg
Aline DA SILVA FERREIRA (BRA)
Mariya Gerginova ORYASHKOVA (BUL)
Erica Elizabeth WIEBE (CAN)
Milaimys de la Caridad MARIN POTRILLE (CUB)
Genesis Rosangela REASCO VALDEZ (ECU)
Samar Amer Ibrahim HAMZA (EGY)
Kiran KIRAN (IND)
Eleni PJOLLAJ (ITA)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Natalia VOROBEVA (RUS)
Evgeniia ZAKHARCHENKO (RUS)
Precious Rosanna BELL (USA)

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW successfully hosts first-ever World Conference

By United World Wrestling Press

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 24) -- United World Wrestling successfully hosted its first-ever World Conference in Zagreb, Croatia from September 17 to 19.

UWW President Nenad LALOVIC welcomed all the guest to the conference, held during the World Championships in Zagreb, and led the floor with discussions on Artificial Intelligence in wrestling, Amateur MMA, developing wrestling and the impact of social media to keep wrestling at the top.

Nenad LALOVICUnited World Wrestling President Nenad LALOVIC at the World Conference. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Jake Kirkman)

"On behalf of United World Wrestling, I wish you a warm welcome in Zagreb first, but to this conference too," Lalovic said. "We had this idea maybe almost a decade ago. We were seeking for a platform, how these good relations among wrestlers and the national federations can improve our sport."

Injury prevention, weight management, career transitions for wrestlers, as well as the future of the sport were some of the key discussions during the three-day event at the Westin Hotel.

Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVICInternational Olympic Committee member and former President of Croatia Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC.

Former President of Croatia and International Olympic Committee member Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC marked her presence at the historic event in capital city of Croatia.

Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Croatia State Secretary Josip PAVIC was also present at the conference and expressed his gratitude for entrusting Croatia for hosting the championships and the conference. Croatia Wrestling Federation President Vladimir BREGOVIC, Dean of University of Kinesiology, Zagreb Prof. Mario BAIC and numerous other stakeholders marked their presence at the conference.

On day one of the conference, UWW's growth in media and digital transformation was discussed with focus on strategy, social media, partnership and equipment and new technologies. The discussion then headed to Beach Wrestling and Associated Styles with Amateur MMA and Grappling as the main topics.

Zack ERRETT

The second day of the conference saw UWW Educator Zach ERRETT explaining the rules of Beach Wrestling, International Testing Agency Senior Legal Counsel Ayesha TALPADE presenting details of anti-doping program, followed by a panel discussion.

Kuniko TANIOKA, President of the Shigakkan University in Japan, led the discussion on sport nutrition and weight management along with UWW Medical Commission members Saam FALAHATI, Ioannis BARBAS and Szabolcs MOLNAR.

Former wrestlers shared their experiences on transitioning from wrestling to other jobs. Neven and Nenad ZUGAJ were among the panellists that also included Mijain LOPEZ, Taha AGKUL, Arsen JULFALAKYAN, Don RYAN, Alexei BAZULIN, Erica WEIBE, Bruce BAUMGARTNER.

Sofia MATTSSON

Head of the United States women's team Terry STEINER presented the "coaching the women's" part on day three. He explained how to support and train women wrestlers and led the panel that also had Tanioka, Marwa AMRI, Vincent AKA, Sofia MATTSSON, Wiebe and Nadine PIETSCHMAN.

"Depending on the success of this first World Conference, we will decide if in the future it will be a biannual one or a quadrennial one. Maybe every year if you have so much to say," Lalovic said. "World Championships is the best opportunity for that because people are already here. This physical presence is always more efficient."

WorkshopA national federation workshop organized by United World Wrestling in Zagreb.

NF workshop

UWW also organized a workshop for the National Federations. UWW Sports Director Jean-Daniel REY and UWW Development Director Deqa NIAMKEY welcomed various NFs which had registered for the workshop.

Capacity building, finance and event organization were the key topics at the workshop. Croatia Wrestling Federation Secretary General Tin BREGOVIC, Professor of Kinesiology Nenad BORKOVIC, Professional Master in Social Innovation and Management Ivan BLAZEVIC led a panel discussion on the topic as they were part of the organizing committee for the World Championships in Zagreb.

Azerbaijan, Brazil, Spain and Thailand presented case studies related to event organization and the challenges of competitions.