#WrestleTirana

Muhamet Malo 2025 Ranking Series Entry List

By United World Wrestling Press

TIRANA, Albania (February 13) -- Close to 500 wrestlers, including world and Olympic champions, will descend upon Tirana to wrestle in the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series.

The number makes the second Ranking Series the most competitive since the start of the Ranking Series events. Iran, Japan, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the United States are sending top teams for the February 26 to March 2 event.

The Ranking Series will be live on uww.org with Freestyle kicking off things on February 26.

Note: The entry list is subject to change. For the final list of participants, refer to UWW Arena here.

Freestyle

57kg
Endrio AVDYLI (ALB)
Manvel KHNDZRTSYAN (ARM)
Jianhao LIU (CHN)
Hongzhou LIAO (CHN)
Weiyu LI (CHN)
Roberti DINGASHVILI (GEO)
Ali MOMENI (IRI)
Hadi REZAEI (IRI)
Kento YUMIA (JPN)
Merey BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Sultan KURMANALIYEV (KAZ)
Abdymalik KARACHOV (KGZ)
Almaz SMANBEKOV (KGZ)
Thomas EPP (SUI)
Aiaal BELOLYUBSKII (TJK)

61kg
Artem GOBAEV (AIN)
Nachyn MONGUSH (AIN)
Dzmitry SHAMELA (AIN)
Zelimkhan ABAKAROV (ALB)
Stilyan ILIEV (BUL)
Shengjie HU (CHN)
Chengtao WANG (CHN)
Daviti ABDALADZE (GEO)
Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO)
Takara SUDA (JPN)
Meirambek KARTBAY (KAZ)
Mukhamed BALGABAY (KAZ)
Shynggyskhan ZHANTASSULY (KAZ)
Bekbolot MYRZANAZAR UULU (KGZ)
Bekzat ALMAZ UULU (KGZ)
Leomid COLESNIC (MDA)
Nils LEUTERT (SUI)

65kg
Ibragim IBRAGIMOV (AIN)
Islam DUDAEV (ALB)
Klevisi PRECI (ALB)
Agustin DESTRIBATS (ARG)
Mikyay NAIM (BUL)
Congbao XIE (CHN)
Shuang CHEN (CHN)
Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI (GEO)
Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)
Kaiji OGINO (JPN)
Kaisei TANABE (JPN)
Adilkhan ALBAIULY (KAZ)
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ)
Nursultan SADYK (KAZ)
Bilol SHARIP UULU (KGZ)
Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ)
Sergiu LUPASCO (MDA)
Nino LEUTERT (SUI)
Kamol BEGAKOV (TJK)
Cavit ACAR (TUR)
Dmytro MYKHNIUK (UKR)
Real WOODS (USA)

70kg
Eriglent PRIZRENI (ALB)
Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM)
Vazgen TEVANYAN (ARM)
Mihail GEORGIEV (BUL)
Tao WEI (CHN)
Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO)
Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN)
Nachyn KUULAR (KAZ)
Sanzhar DOSZHANOV (KAZ)
Yernur NURGAZY (KAZ)
Omurbek TAALAIBEK UULU (KGZ)
Vasile DIACON (MDA)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Tobias PORTMANN (SUI)
James GREEN (USA)
William LEWAN (USA)
Yahya THOMAS (USA)

74kg
Magoma DIBIRGADZHIEV (AIN)
Chermen VALIEV (ALB)
Narek HARUTYUNYAN (ARM)
Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN)
Ramazan RAMAZANOV (BUL)
Ning WANG (CHN)
Tao SHEN (CHN)
Mohammad MOTTAGHINIA (ESP)
Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO)
Otari BAGAURI (GEO)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Yones EMAMI (IRI)
Hikaru TAKATA (JPN)
Alibek ABDIKASSYMOV (KAZ)
Orozobek TOKTOMAMBETOV (KGZ)
Iakub SHIKHDZHAMALOV (ROU)
Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Quincy MONDAY (USA)

79kg
Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (AIN)
Orges LILA ALB
Hayk PAPIKYAN (ARM)
Petar PETKOV (BUL)
Nan CAO (CHN)
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO)
Tornike TULASHVILI (GEO)
Ryunosuke KAMIYA (JPN)
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ)
Ion MARCU (MDA)
Ahmad MAGOMEDOV (MKD)
Shane JONES (PUR)
Alfred DANIEL (SLE)
David MC FADDEN (USA)
Evan WICK (USA)

86kg
Jorge LLANO (ARG)
Hui CHEN (CHN)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Tamaz NIKOLEISHVILI (GEO)
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO)
Bolat SAKAYEV (KAZ)
Daniyar KAISANOV (KAZ)
Rustem MYRZAGALIYEV (KAZ)
Bekzat RAKHIMOV (KGZ)
Mukhammad ABDULLAEV (KGZ)
Sebastian JEZIERZANSKI (POL)
Chandler MARSTELLER (USA)

92kg
Alan BAGAEV (AIN)
Yaraslau IADKOUSKI (AIN)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
NARENMANDUHAI (CHN)
Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO)
Teimuraz KOCHKIANI (GEO)
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI)
Nurdaulet BEKENOV (KAZ)
Samuel SCHERRER (SUI)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Feyzullah AKTURK (TUR)
Michael MACCHIAVELLO (USA)

97kg
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN (AIN)
Ricardo BAEZ (ARG)
Gurgen SIMONYAN (ARM)
Ahmed BATAEV (BUL)
Awusayiman HABILA (CHN)
Dato PIRUZASHVILI (GEO)
Richard VEGH (HUN)
Vlagyiszlav BAJCAJEV (HUN)
Erfan ALIZADEH (IRI)
Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI)
Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)
Bekzat URKIMBAY (KAZ)
Radu LEFTER (MDA)
Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD)
Radoslaw BARAN (POL)
Batyrbek TSAKULOV (SVK)
Kyle SNYDER (USA)

125kg
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU (AIN)
Zelimkhan KHIZRIEV (AIN)
Paris KAREPI (ALB)
Gabriel DE SOUSA SILVA (BRA)
Shamil SHARIPOV (BRN)
Alen KHUBULOV (BUL)
BUHEEERDUN (CHN)
Givi MATCHARASHVILI (GEO)
Solomon MANASHVILI (GEO)
Amir Hossein ZARE (IRI)
Nursultan AZOV (KAZ)
Omar EYUBOV (KAZ)
Omarkhan NADIROV (KAZ)
Kamil KOSCIOLEK (POL)
Omar SAREM (ROU)
Hakan BUYUKCINGIL (TUR)
Demetrius THOMAS (USA)
Jordan WOOD (USA)

Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)Two-time Olympic medalist Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR) will begin her season in Tirana. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Women's Wrestling

50kg
Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (AIN)
Kamila BARBOSA (BRA)
Katie DUTCHAK (CAN)
Madison PARKS (CAN)
Keke SHI (CHN)
MEIDUOLAJI (CHN)
Liying YU (CHN)
Umi ITO (JPN)
Svetlana ANKICHEVA (KAZ)
Emilia VUC (ROU)
Zehra DEMIRHAN (TUR)
Aida KERYMOVA (UKR)
Oksana LIVACH (UKR)
Erin GOLSTON (USA)

53kg
Natalia MALYSHEVA (AIN)
Adrianny CASTILLO (ARG)
Yuxuan LI (CHN)
Meilin ZHOU (CHN)
Moe KIYOOKA (JPN)
Iulia LEORDA (MDA)
Andreea ANA (ROU)
Zeynep YETGIL (TUR)
Liliia MALANCHUK (UKR)
Felicity TAYLOR (USA)

55kg
Olga KHOROSHAVTSEVA (AIN)
Ekaterina VERBINA (AIN)
Irena BINKOVA (BUL)
Karla GODINEZ (CAN)
Haruna MURAYAMA OKUNO (JPN)
Mariana DRAGUTAN (MDA)
Oleksandra KHOMENETS (UKR)
Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA)

57kg
Sezen BELBEROVA (BUL)
Samantha STEWART (CAN)
Luisa VALVERDE (ECU)
Tamara DOLLAK (HUN)
Sezim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ)
Evelina HULTHEN (SWE)
Elvira SULEYMAN KAMALOGLU (TUR)
Amanda MARTINEZ (USA)

59kg
Anastasiia SIDELNIKOVA (AIN)
Erika BOGNAR (HUN)
Elena ESPOSITO (ITA)
Sakura ONISHI (JPN)
Bediha GUN (TUR)
Solomiia VYNNYK (UKR)
Abigail NETTE (USA)

62kg
Amina TANDELOVA (AIN)
Bilyana DUDOVA (BUL)
LILI (CHN)
Qi ZHANG (CHN)
Anne NUERNBERGER (GER)
Nikolett SZABO (HUN)
Aurora CAMPAGNA (ITA)
Kalmira BILIMBEKOVA (KGZ)
Grace BULLEN (NOR)
Sara LINDBORG (SWE)
Adaugo NWACHUKWU (USA)

65kg
Albina DRAZHI (ALB)
Aleah NICKEL (CAN)
Yuqi RAO (CHN)
Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN)
Irina RINGACI (MDA)
Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR)
Jennifer PAGE ROGERS (USA)

68kg
Elizaveta PETLIAKOVA (AIN)
Yuqi LIU (CHN)
Zelu LI (CHN)
Gerda BARTH (GER)
Noémi SZABADOS (HUN)
Ami ISHII (JPN)
Gulnura TASHTANBEKOVA (KGZ)
Kateryna ZELENYKH (ROU)
Tindra SJOEBERG (SWE)

72kg
Linda MACHUCA (ARG)
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ)
Alla BELINSKA (UKR)
Alexandria GLAUDE (USA)
Skylar GROTE (USA)

76kg
Valeriia TRIFONOVA (AIN)
Vanesa GEORGIEVA (BUL)
Meile ZHANG (CHN)
YANGLA (CHN)
Bernadett NAGY (HUN)
Enrica RINALDI (ITA)
Nodoka YAMAMOTO (JPN)
Elmira SYZDYKOVA (KAZ)
Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ)
Alexandra ANGHEL (ROU)
Anastasiya ALPYEYEVA (UKR)
Dymond GUILFORD (USA)

Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)Semen NOVIKOV (BUL), right, will be in action at Greco-Roman 87kg in Albania. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Greco-Roman

55kg
Andi MUCA (ALB)
Bajram SINA (ALB)
Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO)
Aibek AITBEKOV (KAZ)
Yerassyl MAMYRBEKOV (KAZ)
Yersin ABYIR (KAZ)
Nurbolot BERDIKULOV (KGZ)
Ulan MURATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Artiom DELEANU (MDA)
Emre MUTLU (TUR)

60kg
Ergi UKU (ALB)
Marat GARIPOV (BRA)
Nedyalko PETROV (BUL)
Haodong TAN (CHN)
Yunlong HU (CHN)
Ziyue XI (CHN)
Amiran SHAVADZE (GEO)
Pridon ABULADZE (GEO)
Ali AHMADI VAFA (IRI)
Yu SHIOTANI (JPN)
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ)
Iskhar KURBAYEV (KAZ)
Akyl SULAIMANOV (KGZ)
Justas PETRAVICIUS (LTU)
Victor CIOBANU (MDA)
Denis MIHAI (ROU)
Ekrem OZTURK (TUR)
Enes BASAR (TUR)

63kg
Beka GURULI (GEO)
Etienne KINSINGER (GER)
Mehdi MOHSEN NEJAD (IRI)
Nursultan BAZARBAYEV (KAZ)
Nurzat MARAT (KAZ)
Olzhas SULTAN (KAZ)
Baiaman APILOV (KGZ)
Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
Doolotbek CHOIBEKOV (KGZ)
Aleksandrs JURKJANS (LAT)
Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
Kerem KAMAL (TUR)

67kg
Ardit ZENELI (ALB)
Gjete PRENGA (ALB)
Abu AMAEV (BUL)
Dongfu XIE (CHN)
Lei LI (CHN)
Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Leri ABULADZE (GEO)
HARUTO YABE (JPN)
Abylaikhan AMZEYEV (KAZ)
Bagdat SABAZ (KAZ)
Madiyar MAULITKANOV (KAZ)
Baiaman KARIMOV (KGZ)
Razzak BEISHEKEEV (KGZ)
Valentin PETIC (MDA)
Haavard JOERGENSEN (NOR)
Morten THORESEN (NOR)
Sebastian NAD (SRB)
Andreas VETSCH (SUI)
Niklas OEHLEN (SWE)
Murat FIRAT (TUR)

72kg
Xhorxh FRROKAJ (ALB)
Emiljano TAFA (ALB)
Ivo ILIEV (BUL)
Ji LENG (CHN)
Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN)
Iuri LOMADZE (GEO)
Otar ABULADZE (GEO)
Krisztian VANCZA (HUN)
Levente LEVAI (HUN)
Sajjad IMENTALAB (IRI)
Nikolay KHAPKO (KAZ)
Yryskeldi KHAMZAEV (KGZ)
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU)
Ali ARSALAN (SRB)
Michael PORTMANN (SUI)
Mehmet SAHIN (TUR)
Selcuk CAN (TUR)

77kg
Kevin KUPI (ALB)
Klodjan SHEHU (ALB)
Albert DOEV (BUL)
Yuhe HUANG (CHN)
Likui SHI (CHN)
Zhihuan WANG (CHN)
Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO)
Pavel PUKLAVEC (CRO)
Oliver KRUEGER (DEN)
Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO)
Idris IBAEV (GER)
Samuel BELLSCHEIDT (GER)
Robert FRITSCH (HUN)
Abolfazl MOHMEDI (IRI)
Kodai SAKURABA (JPN)
Iznovr ABAYEV (KAZ)
Yeldos KAMELOV (KAZ)
Adilkhan NURLANBEKOV (KGZ)
Yryskeldi MAKSATBEK UULU (KGZ)
Juan AAK (NOR)
Aleksa ILIC (SRB)
Maurus ZOGG (SUI)
Per Albin OLOFSSON (SWE)
Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR)
Artur POLITAIEV (UKR)

82kg
Boris FRROKAJ (ALB)
Ardit NDOJ (ALB)
Kelsi NELAJ (ALB)
Svetoslav NIKOLOV (BUL)
Karlo KODRIC (CRO)
Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Erik SZILVASSY (HUN)
Dias KALTAY (KAZ)
Olzhas YERGALI (KAZ)
Talas ASHIRKHANOV (KAZ)
Beksultan NAZARBAEV (KGZ)
Bekzat ORUNKUL UULU (KGZ)
Mihail BRADU (MDA)
Per Anders KURE (NOR)
Shahin BADAGHIMOFRAD (QAT)
Vasile COJOC (ROU)
Ramon BETSCHART (SUI)
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
Emrah KUS (TUR)
Mykyta POLITAIEV (UKR)

87kg
Semen NOVIKOV (BUL)
Jiaxin HUANG (CHN)
Jianwen LUO (CHN)
Ivan HUKLEK (CRO)
Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
Lasha GOBADZE (GEO)
Achiko BOLKVADZE (GEO)
Hannes WAGNER (GER)
David LOSONCZI (HUN)
Istvan TAKACS (HUN)
Tamas LEVAI (HUN)
Alireza MOHMADIPIANI (IRI)
Soh SAKABE (JPN)
Ilimdor SATAYEV (KAZ)
Nursultan TURSYNOV (KAZ)
Nurzhan ASSAN (KAZ)
Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ)
Azat SALIDINOV (KGZ)
Marcel STERKENBURG (NED)
Exauce MUKUBU (NOR)
Patrik GORDAN (ROU)
Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB)
Damian VON EUW (SUI)
Muhittin SARICICEK (TUR)
Artur OVSEPYAN (UKR)
Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)

97kg
Julijan SHEHU (ALB)
Markus RAGGINGER (AUT)
Kiril MILOV (BUL)
Youfang ZHANG (CHN)
Shange ZHANG (CHN)
Kristian LUKAC (CRO)
Mathias BAK (DEN)
Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN)
Giorgi KATSANASHVILI (GEO)
Giorgi MELIA (GEO)
Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER)
Alex SZOKE (HUN)
Nikoloz KAKHELASHVILI (ITA)
Takahiro TSURUDA (JPN)
Aidos AMIROV (KAZ)
Yerzat YERLANOV (KAZ)
Melis AITBEKOV (KGZ)
Nurmanbet RAIMALY UULU (KGZ)
Mindaugas VENCKAITIS (LTU)
Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED)
Felix BALDAUF (NOR)
Nicu Samuel OJOG (ROU)
Beytullah KAYISDAG (TUR)

130kg
Rigers KURTI (ALB)
Laga BAYI (CHN)
Wenhao JIANG (CHN)
Heiki NABI (EST)
Matti KUOSMANEN (FIN)
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO)
Saba CHILASHVILI (GEO)
Jello KRAHMER (GER)
Darius VITEK (HUN)
Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI)
Yuta NARA (JPN)
Assylbek ABDIKALYK (KAZ)
Olzhas SYRLYBAY (KAZ)
Erlan MANATBEKOV (KGZ)
Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU)
Muhammet Hamza BAKIR (TUR)

#WrestleSamokov

U20 Worlds: After two heartbreaks, Kassimbek is world champ

By Vinay Siwach

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 18) -- Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) had lost two World U17 Championships finals, denying him the world champion tag.

He got his third chance to be a world champion on Monday at the World U20 Championships in Samokov and third time proved to be lucky for the Kazakhstan wrestler.

Wrestling a familiar opponent in Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) in the final, Kassimbek seemed in  no trouble during the six minute bout and captured the gold medal and his first world title with a 4-1 victory.

Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) turns Abofazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI) for match-winning two points in the 125kg final. (Photo: United World Wresting / Amirreza Aliasgari)

The 18-year-old had previously wrestled Mohammad Nezhad three times in his career and won all three. Kassimbek defeated the Iranian at the 2023 Asian U17 Championships, 8-1, in their first meeting. In 2024, he defeated him twice, in the semifinals at the World U17 and Asian U17 Championships, 4-3 and 2-2, respectively.

"I am very happy," Kassimbek said. "I have been waiting for this day for a long time, and I am glad [to win]. In the future, I will become an Olympic champion. I am already slowly preparing for this goal."

Mohammad Nezhad thought he may have a chance to change that record when he went up 1-0 in the final after Kassimbek failed to score after being put on the activity clock. But the second period was all about Kassimbek as he got a takedown and then turned the Iranian, wrapping Mohammad Nezhad's legs around his head, for two points.

The 4-1 lead and some defensive wrestling was enough for Kassimbek to win the final and claim his gold medal, making him the first wrestler to win the heaviest weight class at any World Championships.

Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ)World U20 champion at 125kg -- Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ). (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

"Even though I have defeated the Iranian wrestler more than once, I take every opponent seriously," he said. "But when I stepped on the mat, I was confident in my victory."

While Kassimbek will have more age-group tournaments, he has ambitions to be at the senior level in quick time with some added strength and weight.

"I still have a lot of work ahead of me. I am still not strong enough," he said. "I need to work harder. I am eighteen years old, but I already want to compete at senior level, I just need to gain a little bit more weight."

PJ DUKE (USA)PJ DUKE (USA) celebrates after winning the 70kg gold medal in Samokov. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

U.S. wins 2 golds

Two returning bronze medalists from the U.S. -- PJ DUKE (USA) and Justin RADEMACHER (USA) -- upgraded their medals to gold.

Duke, a recent high school graduate, was the first world champion on Monday as he won a slugfest against Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 7-5. Duke's gold comes a month he wrestles at the senior World Championships in Zagreb.

He scored the first five points against Gaidarli's one but the Moldovan a takedown and turn from Gaidarli made it 5-5 with him leading on criteria and 1:20 left on the clock.

Duke, however, remained composed and managed to get on a leg-attack and convert it into a takedown for a 7-5 match-deciding lead. Gaidarli's attempts to score at the end where easily negated  by Duke.

With the win, Duke denied Gaidarli a historic title which would have made him the first Freestyle world U20 champion since 1999 for Moldova.

PJ DUKE (USA)PJ DUKE (USA) scores a takedown over Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA) in the 70kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

"One thing I never really thought about, like obviously I've dreamed about winning a world title, but that feeling you get when you're on the podium when they're playing the national anthem. It's something I've never felt before and it's just so cool," Duke said.

Duke will have one month to rebound and wrestle in Zagreb, a competition much tougher than the U20 level.

"I got to definitely have a few things I need to tweak, easy fixes and minor technical changes," he said. "My body's is in good shape, I feel fine. I'm not too beat up on this."

Duke had to beat Yianni DIAKOMIHALIS (USA) in a best-of-three series to win the spot on the U.S. senior. While he celebrated his victory there, Duke had a subdued celebrations when he won in Samokov.

"The Final X was just a little different for me," he said. "I was definitely a bigger underdog there. It's just being on that senior team is my main goal. Coming from last year after losing the U20s. I just had to get that done. I tried not to show too much emotion but sometimes it's big deal, like final X, it comes out."

Justin RADEMACHER (USA)Justin RADEMACHER (USA) attempts a leg attack against Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) in the 97kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Rademacher had a rather straightforward final against Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW) at 97kg. The match was majorly a one-move finish as Rademacher got on a leg attack and forced Magomedov towards the zone before throwing him in danger for four points.

From there on, Rademacher was happy to play the clock while Magomedov, struggling with his conditioning, never really got a chance to score until a late stepout to get on the board.

European U23 champion Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) got his world title to his name after he won the 74kg final against Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ). Khaniev blanked Akylbekov, 11-0, with a series of takedowns.

In the first period, Khaniev had two takedowns, a turn and a stepout to lead 7-0. He finished the bout quickly in the second period with takedown and an exposure to win.

"This was my goal for the year," Khaniev said. "I needed to accomplish it, and I did. I rate my performance at this tournament 4 out of 5 because there is always room to grow, I still made some mistakes."

Khaniev had a tough bracket to go through, wrestling returning silver medalist Ladarion LOCKETT (USA) and European U20 champion Manuel WAGIN (GER), a wrestler he recently lost to at the European U20 Championships.

"Against Lockett, I was focused and really wanted to beat him, just like the German wrestler to whom I lost at the Europeans," he said. "I was very well prepared for the match [against Lockett], and I managed to win with full confidence."

Ismail KHANIEV (UWW)Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) won his first world title on Monday. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Khaniev had lost to Wagin in Italy, 5-4, in a close semifinal but their rematch in Samokov followed a different storyline as Khaniev won via technical superiority.

"At the U20 European Championships I wasn’t fully prepared, I had injuries, although that is not an excuse," he said. "Here I really wanted to take revenge, I prepared very hard, did everything possible on my side, and it worked out."

Khaniev called the 74kg weight class as the "royal" one and wants to continue his career in it for the time being.

"I believe that if I continue to work hard, then even in such a competitive weight class I will be able to withstand the competition," he said. "This is considered the 'royal' weight. It will be very interesting for me to keep competing in this weight, unless my weight increases and I have to move up to a higher category."

RESULTS

70kg
GOLD: PJ DUKE (USA) df. Alexandr GAIDARLI (MDA), 7-5

BRONZE: Nurlan AGHAZADA (AZE) df. Goga OTINASHVILI (GEO), 4-0
BRONZE: Ebrahim ELAHI (IRI) df. Abdoullah NAKAEV (FRA), 6-4

74kg
GOLD: Ismail KHANIEV (UWW) df. Adilet AKYLBEKOV (KGZ), 11-0

BRONZE: Dosszhan KUL GAIYP (KAZ) df. Raul CASO (ITA), 6-3
BRONZE: Kanata YAMAGUCHI (JPN) df. Ladarion LOCKETT (USA), 10-0

97kg
GOLD: Justin RADEMACHER (USA) df. Magomedgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (UWW), 4-1

BRONZE: Konstantine PETRIASHVILI (GEO) df. Ibrahim BENEKLI (TUR), 8-3
BRONZE: Samir DURSUNOV (KAZ) df. VISHAL (IND), via fall

125kg
GOLD: Yedige KASSIMBEK (KAZ) df. Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD (IRI), 4-1

BRONZE: Yusif DURSUNOV (AZE) df. Levan LAGVILAVA (FRA), 3-1
BRONZE: Cole MIRASOLA (USA) df. Narantulga DARMAABAZAR (MGL), 12-2