#WrestleRome

Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series entries

By Eric Olanowski

ROME, Italy (June 14) -- The third stop on the Ranking Series calendar will travel through the cobblestone-lined streets of Rome starting next Wednesday (June 22-25) for the Matteo Pellicone. The competition will feature nearly 320 athletes from 34 different nations stretching across Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.

This will be the fourth consecutive year that the Italian Wrestling Federation's Matteo Pellcone has been featured on the Ranking Series calendar. The event was held on the Italian island of Sardinia in 2019 before relocating to the Pala Pellicone Italian Olympic Training facility in early 2020.

Next Wednesday's opening day of wrestling starts with seven Greco-Roman weight classes. The final trio of Greco and the first four women's wrestling weights will be contested on Thursday. Friday's action closes out the women's categories and welcomes in the two heaviest freestyle weights, 97kg and 125kg. The final day of the competition will be on Saturday, when the remaining eight freestyle golds will be handed out.

SCHEDULE | EVENT PAGE 

Freestyle

57kg
Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
Afgan KHASHALOV (AZE)
Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Horst LEHR (GER)
Abhishek DHAKA (IND)
Madhushika DE SILVA (SRI)
Mehmet YUCE (TUR)
Saban KIZILTAS (TUR)

61kg
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Tural Ebdul HUSEYNOV (AZE)
Adam BIBOULATOV (FRA)
Teimuraz VANISHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Ravi KUMAR (IND)
Kenneth KOECH (KEN)
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ)
Razvan KOVACS (ROU)
Ahmet TAS (TUR)
Recep TOPAL (TUR)

65kg
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Arman ELOYAN (FRA)
Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
Tornike KATAMADZE (GEO)
Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN)
Anuj KUMAR (IND)
Shamil OMAROV (ITA)

Daniel PACINO (ITA)
Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU)
Sandaruwan GUNAWARDANA (SRI)
Hamza ALACA (TUR)

70kg
Haji ALIYEV (AZE)

Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE)
Murad EVLOEV (AZE)
Marwane YEZZA (FRA)
Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO)
Mulayam YADAV (IND)
Gianluca COLETTI (ITA)
Gianluca TALAMO (ITA)
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ)
Maxim SACULTAN (MDA)
Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK)
Cuneyt BUDAK (TUR)
Servet COSKUN (TUR)

74kg
Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE)
Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA)
Otari BAGAURI (GEO)
Dimitri JIOEVI (GEO)
JAIDEEP (IND)
Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR)
Mathayo MAHABILA (KEN)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Zurab KAPRAEV (ROU)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)

79kg
Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE)
Gadzhimurad OMAROV (AZE)
Nestor TAFUR (COL)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Evsem SHVELIDZE (GEO)
Giorgi SULAVA (GEO)
Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
DEEPAK (IND)
Raffaele MATRULLO (ITA)
Mark ONGUYESI (KEN)
Alans AMIROVS (LAT)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Jakub SYKORA (SVK)
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR)

86kg
Orkhan ABASOV (AZE)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO)
Zaur BERADZE (GEO)
Sandro AMINASHVILI (GEO)
Lars SCHAEFLE (GER)
Sanjeet KUNDU (IND)
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT)
Georgii RUBAEV (MDA)
Krzysztof SADOWIK (POL)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)

92kg
Benjamin GREIL (AUT)
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Saba CHIKHRADZE (GEO)
AKASH (IND)
John OMONDI (KEN)
Andrian GROSUL (MDA)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)

97kg
Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV (AZE)
Nishan RANDHAWA (CAN)
Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Erik Sven THIELE (GER)
Vladislav BAITSAEV (HUN)
Sahil SEHRAWAT (IND)
Abraham CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Dan CHEPTAI (KEN)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Zbigniew BARANOWSKI (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Mustafa SESSIZ (TUR)

125kg
Johannes LUDESCHER (AUT)
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER)
Azamat KHOSONOV (GRE)
Mohit GREWAL (IND)
Robert BARAN (POL)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Anil KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)


Reigning world champion Victor CIOBANU (MDA) will compete at 63kg at the Matteo Pellicone. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Arjun HALAKURKI (IND))
Mohammad HOSSEINVAND (IRI)
Giovanni FRENI (ITA)
Florin TITA (ROU)
Max NOWRY (USA)

60kg
Murad MAMMADOV (AZE)
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE)
Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE)
Helary MAEGISALU (EST)
Gyanender DAHIYA (IND)
Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Ildar HAFIZOV (USA)

63kg
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE)
Krisztian KECSKEMETI (HUN)
ANIL (IND)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Jesse THIELKE (USA)

67kg
Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)
Kenedy MORAES (BRA)
Tigran GALUSTYAN (FRA)
Erik TORBA (HUN)
Sachin SAHRAWAT (IND)
Sajjad IMENTALAB (IRI)
Mohammad REZAEI (IRI)
Giovanni ALESSIO (ITA)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Mihai MIHUT (ROU)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Furkan YILDIZ (TUR)
Alejandro SANCHO (USA)

72kg
Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE)
Matias LIPASTI (FIN)
Mamadassa SYLLA (FRA)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Vikas VIKAS (IND))
Filippo BIONDI (ITA)
Brian OLOO (KEN)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)
Patrick SMITH (USA)

77kg
Joilson DE BRITO (BRA)
Zoltan LEVAI (HUN)
Robert Attila FRITSCH (HUN)
SACHIN (IND))
Amin KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI)
Ali Mohammad GHOLAMI (IRI)
Luca DARIOZZI (ITA)
Paulius GALKINAS (LTU)
Per OLOFSSON (SWE)
Abdurrahman KALKAN (TUR)
Kamal BEY (USA)

82kg
Oldrich VARGA (CZE)
Roni PUROLAINEN (FIN)
Harpreet SINGH (IND))
Rasoul Sadegh GARMSIRI (IRI)
Matteo MAFFEZZOLI (ITA)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Daniel CATARRAGA (MDA)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Hasan KILINC (TUR)

87kg
Islam ABBASOV (AZE)
Ranet KALJOLA (EST)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Manoj KUMAR (IND))
Hossein Ahmad NOURI (IRI)
Simone FIDELBO (ITA)
Nicu Samuel OJOG (ROU)
Kristoffer BERG (SWE)
Alex KESSIDIS (SWE)
Emincan ENEZ (TUR)
Mehmetali KUCUKOSMAN (TUR)
Alan GARCIA (USA)

97kg
Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE)
Murat LOKIAYEV (AZE)
Igor DE QUEIROZ (BRA)
Artur OMAROV (CZE)
Ondrej DADAK (CZE)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
RAVI (IND))
Mehdi BALIHAMZEHDEH (IRI)
Luca SVAICARI (ITA)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Martynas NEMSEVICIUS (LTU)
Vilius LAURINAITIS (LTU)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Mihail KAJAIA (SRB)
Aleksandar STJEPANETIC (SWE)
Ibrahim TIGCI (TUR)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)
Spencer WOODS (USA)

130kg
Sabah SHARIATI (AZE)
Beka KANDELAKI (AZE)
Dariusz VITEK (HUN)
SATISH (IND))
Danila SOTNIKOV (ITA)
Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Oskar MARVIK (NOR)
Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU (ROU)
Riza KAYAALP (TUR)
Cohlton SCHULTZ (USA)



Reigning world champion Irina RINGACI (MDA) will return to the mat for the second time this season. Earlier this year, she won gold at the European Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

Women’s Wrestling

50kg
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Shivani PAWAR (IND))
Anna LUKASIAK (POL)
Agata WALERZAK (POL)
Shriyanthika NIROSHANI (SRI)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Emine CATALOGLU (TUR)

53kg
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Szimonetta SZEKER (HUN)
Oriana DI STEFANO (ITA)
Emma Nekesa WANGILA (KEN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Chamodya KESHANI (SRI)
Emma MALMGREN (SWE)

Lilia MALANCHUK (UKR)

55kg
Nina HEMMER (GER)
Sushma SHOKEEN (IND)
Vinesh PHOGAT (IND)

Alice BEVILACQUA (ITA)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Katarzyna KRAWCZYK (POL)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Ahinsa FERNANDO (SRI)

MARIIA VYNNYK (UKR) 

57kg
Giullia RODRIGUES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Sandra PARUSZEWSKI (GER)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Mansi Ahlawat (IND))
Sophia AYIETA (KEN)
Odunayo Folasade ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Patrycja GIL (POL)
Elvira KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)

Alina HRUSHYNA (UKR)

59kg
Elena BRUGGER (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Sarita MOR (IND))
Nairomi SPERANDIO (ITA)
Anastasia NICHITA (MDA)
Odunayo ADEKUOROYE (NGR)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Magdalena GLODEK (POL)
Jowita WRZESIEN (POL)
Kateryna ZHYDACHEVSKA (ROU)
Abigail NETTE (USA)

Solomia VYNNYK (UKR)

62kg
Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA)
Ana GONZALEZ (CAN)
Luisa NIEMESCH (GER)
Sakshi MALIK (IND))
Natalia KUBATY (POL)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)

Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Ilona PROKOPEVNIUK (UKR)

65kg
MANISHA (IND))
Veronica BRASCHI (ITA)
Winrose ALIVISA (KEN)
Kriszta INCZE (ROU)
Emma BRUNTIL (USA)

Rfteryna ZELENYKH (UKR)
Tetiana RIZHKO (UKR)

68kg
Grabriela PEDRO DA ROCHA (BRA)
Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Nisha DAHIYA (IND))
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR)
Natalia STRZALKA (POL)
Wiktoria CHOLUJ (POL)

Alla BELINSKA (UKR)

72kg
Anna SCHELL (GER)
MANJU (IND))
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Aysegul OZBEGE (TUR)
Skylar GROTE (USA)

Marilyn GARCIA (USA)

76kg
Martina KUENZ (AUT)
Justina DI STASIO (CAN)
Epp MAE (EST)
Francy RAEDELT (GER)
Pooja SIHAG (IND))
Catalina AXENTE (ROU)
Mehtap GULTEKIN (TUR)
Yelena MAKOYED (USA)

Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)

#WrestleRome

Matteo Pellicone freestyle finals set

By Vinay Siwach

ROME, Italy (June 25) -- The final day of the Matteo Pellicone will see eight freestyle weights in action. Just like their Greco-Roman team, Azerbaijan has brought some big names for the freestyle event. Haji ALIYEV (AZE) will be wrestling up at 70kg which means a possible clash against European champion Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO).

WATCH LIVE | MATCH ORDER

The 8 freestyle finals are set

57kg: Horst Justin Junior LEHR (GER) vs. Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE)
61kg: Andrii DZHELEP (UKR) vs. Recep TOPAL (TUR)
65kg: Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) vs. Sebastian RIVERA (PUR)
70kg: Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE) vs. Murad EVLOEV (AZE)
74kg: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) vs. Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
79kg: Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) vs. Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
86kg: Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO) vs. Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
92kg: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) vs. Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) 

14:20: Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) beats Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) 6-4 to enter the 92kg final. That means Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), who is already in the final, won't get a chance to avenge his U23 European loss to Yaylace. Nurmagomedov defeated Saba CHIKHRADZE (GEO) in the semifinal.  

14:10: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) and Boris MAKOEV (SVK) tied 3-3 in their 86kg semifinal. Makoev leads on criteria. Abakarov shoots for the leg and converts it into a takedown to take a 5-3 lead at the break. Makoev tries to get a takedown but Abakarov is solid in defense. Abakarov will wrestle for the 86kg gold after an 8-6 win

14:00: Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR) dominates Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE). He scores a trip and then adds three chest wrap finishes to win 10-0 in 90 seconds. He will wrestle Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) for the 65kg gold 

13:45: World bronze medalist Horst LEHR (GER) pins Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) to enter the 57kg final. At 70kg, Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE) received an injury default from Haji ALIYEV (AZE) since Aliyev will be moving down to 65kg for the Worlds.

13:40: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) wrestling in the 74kg semifinal. Bayramov is up 1-0 for Gadzhiev's passivity before he adds a takedown just before the break to lead 3-0. Both wrestlers are given one warning for headbutting and open hands. Bayramov leads 4-1. Gadzhiev gets a point for Bayramov's passivity. He has 30 seconds to score a takedown for the win. A caution against Gadzhiev and he will go down 5-3 against Bayramov in the semifinal. Bayramov will wrestle Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)

13:35: Sebastian RIVERA (PUR) and Shamil OMAROV (ITA) in a battle. Omarov was up 4-0 but Rivera ties it up 4-4 and gets one more for a lost challenge to lead 5-4 against Omarov with five seconds left. Omarov gets a takedown but Rivera is challenging. The clock had expired. He wins 5-4

13:20: The 57kg quarterfinal between Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO) and Aliabbas RZAZADE (AZE) has already seen 21 points in the first period. Rzazade leads 13-8 at the break. An exposure and takedown in the second period for Rzazade as he wins 17-8

12:55: At 57kg, Beka BUJIASHVILI (GEO) has two four-point throws and one reversal to lead 8-1 but is struggling with a back injury. Andrii YATSENKO (UKR) then scores a takedown to trim it to 8-3. Bujiashvili comes up with another four to lead 12-3 at the break. Yatsenko with a quick takedown and two leg laces to make it 12-9. A counter and two. Yatsenko has closed the gap to 12-11. A stepout for Bujiashvili and he hangs on for a 13-11 win.

12:45: Moving into the semifinal at 70kg, Haji ALIYEV (AZE). Effortless from the Tokyo silver medalist as he gut wrenches Daniel CHOMANIC (SVK) for a 10-0 win

12:35: On the other side in 65kg, Sebastian C RIVERA (PUR) kept his cool after taking an early 6-0 lead over Hamza ALACA (TUR) to win 10-8. He will face the winner of Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) vs. Shamil Makhmudovitch OMAROV (ITA) in the semifinal.

12:30: Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) trails Joshgun AZIMOV (AZE) in their 70kg quarterfinal. He has given up two takedowns. He snatches one single leg to make it 4-3 with 15 seconds left. Azimov won't let Iakobishvili go behind for a takedown. He wins 4-3 over the European champion from Georgia  

12:25: If you missed Erik ARUSHANIAN (UKR), he is back. The U20 European champion begins at 65kg and won 8-1 against Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU) to reach the semifinal. He will wrestle the winner of Arman ELOYAN (FRA) vs. Ali RAHIMZADA (AZE)

12:15: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) has set up a semifinal against  Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) at 74kg after a close 2-2 win over Vasile DIACON (MDA). The last time the two competed against each other was at the Dan Kolov where Gadzhiev won 1-1. While this may not be the final selection for the World Championships, the winner in Rome may get the preference.

12:00: The 86kg quarterfinals are set

Boris MAKOEV (SVK) vs. Khasan ZAKARIIEV (UKR)
Zaur BERADZE (GEO) vs. Tarzan MAISURADZE (GEO)
Mukhammed ALIIEV (UKR) vs. Lars SCHAEFLE (GER) 
Ivars SAMUSONOKS (LAT) vs. Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) 

11:45: A fall for Vasyl SHUPTAR (UKR) over Beka LOMTADZE (GEO) at 65kg. Lomtadze never looked in the bout and was trailing 7-0 before the pin. 

11:30: Former U17 world champion Hamza ALACA (TUR) up against Tornike KATAMADZE (GEO). Katamadze with a cradle and looking for a pin but Alaca manages to survive. Katamdze leads 6-4 after that sequence. But Alaca has increased the intensity of the bout and now Katamdze is struggling. He gives up two takedowns in the final minute as Alaca wins 10-6

11:22: Haji ALIYEV (AZE), wrestling at 70kg, had to work hard against Ihor NYKYFORUK (UKR). The Ukraine wrestler led 5-1 before Aliyev managed to score a takedown and a classy four-pointer. He secured the fall in the same sequence

11:10: Another European champion begins with a win! Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) never looked in any trouble against Nestor TAFUR (COL) in his 12-1 win at 79kg. 

11:00: European champion Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) looking for his second straight Ranking Series gold medal and he has begun with a 3-2 win over Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE) at 74kg

10:50: Dzhabrail GADZHIEV (AZE) got a wake-up call with that bout. Cesar BORDEAUX (BRA) gave a tough fight and even led 6-1 before Gadzhiev gathered his thoughts and used three four-point throws in a 14-9 win

10:40: Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) and Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) have given a winning start to Azerbaijan. Contrasting bouts as Bayramov defeated Mitchell FINESILVER (ISR) 2-1 with all three points being scored for passivity. Nurmagomedov worked more proactively and got a 10-1 win over Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) at 92kg. 

10:30: Welcome to the final day of the Ranking Series event. Eight weights are in action and it will be top-class action from some of the biggest stars of the sport