Ranking Series

Olympic Champ Borrero Headlines World Greco-Roman Rankings

Friday, May 11, 2018 - 16:47 By United World Wrestling Press

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Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) headlines the May 2018 Ranking Series for Greco-Roman. 

Borrero, ranked No.1 at 67kg, has accumulated 47 ranking points, which is more points than any Greco-Roman wrestler in any weight class. The Cuban star recently cruised to his fourth overall Pan American gold, picking up four technical falls and outscoring his opponents by a combined score of 40-0. Earlier this year Borrero won a gold medal at the Cerro Pelado International.

Another Cuban wrestler, Oscar PINO HINDS (130kg), a returning world bronze medalist, earned a No.1 ranking. Like Borrero, Pino Hinds claimed a gold medal at the Pan American Championships. He topped Robby SMITH (USA) to win his third consecutive continental title.

Kyrgyzstan also has a pair of top-ranked Greco-Roman wrestlers, K. ZHOLCHUBEKOV (60kg) and U. AMATOV (63kg).

Zholchubekov opened the year by winning a gold medal at the Takhti Cup and followed it up with a bronze at the Asian Championships. 


Amatov earned medals at both the Takhti Cup (bronze) and Asian Championships (silver). 

2016 world champion Balint KORPASI (HUN) is the top-ranked wrestler at 72kg. He was a Cerro Pelado International champion in February and recently captured a bronze medal at the European Championships. 

Returning world bronze medalist Mohammadali GERAEI (IRI) occupies the top spot at 77kg. He has been a Takhti Cup champion and Asian Championships silver medalist this year. 

Another returning world bronze medalist, Roberti KOBLIASHVILI (GEO), tops the rankings at 87kg. He recently claimed a gold medal at the European Championships. 


Other top-ranked Greco-Roman wrestlers include Ekrem OZTURK (TUR) at 55kg, Daniel ALEKSANDROV (BUL) at 82kg and Orkhan NURIYEV (AZE) at 97kg. 

The 2018 season is the first in which United World Wrestling is utilizing an objective ranking system. The points acquired at continental championships and select rankings series will determine the top four seeded athletes at the 2018 World Championships in October held in Budapest.

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. Reza KHEDRI (IRI) // 24 Points
3. Shota TANOKURA (JPN) // 22 Points
4. Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) // 20 Points
5. Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) // 20 Points

60kg
1. K. ZHOLCHUBEKOV (KGZ) // 36 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) // 30 Points
2. Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU) // 28 Points
3. Stig-Andre BERGE (NOR) // 26 Points
4. Zaur KABALOEV (RUS) // 24 Points
5. Donior ISLAMOV (MDA) // 24 Points

67kg
1. Ismael BORRERO (CUB) // 47 Points
2. Almat KEBISPAYEV (KAZ) // 42 Points
3. Artem SURKOV (RUS) // 32 Points
4. Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO) // 30 Points
5. Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) // 28 Points

72kg
1. Balint KORPASI (HUN) // 42 Points
2. Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) // 38 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. Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) // 29 Points
4. Viktar SASUNOUSKI (BLR) // 27 Points
5. Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) // 25 Points

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

97kg
1. Orkhan NURIYEV (AZE) // 42 Points
2. Cenk ILDEM (TUR) // 38 Points
3. Luillys Jose PEREZ MORA (VEN) // 34 Points
4. Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) // 33 Points
5. Gabriel Alejandro ROSILLO KINDELAN (CUB) // 32 Points

130kg
1. Oscar PINO HINDS (CUB) // 36 Points
2. Behnam mahdizadeh ARPATAPEH (IRI) // 34 Points
3. Lam BALINT (HUN) // 32 Points
4. Ciurariu alin ALEXUC (ROU) // 30 Points
5. Riza KAYAALP (TUR) // 27 Points
 

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UWW Most Dominant Wrestlers 2025: Amouzad, Motoki, Esmaeili

Thursday, December 25, 2025 - 11:08 By Eric Olanowski

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (December 24) -- There were several dominant performances in 2025 on the wrestling mat. But it was three wrestlers who remained at the top of their weight classes and racked up dominant wins one after another. Two were Olympic champions while one was an Olympic silver medalist. All three became world champions in Zagreb.

Freestyle Most Dominant Wrester: Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI)

- 14–0
- Rank 1 at 65kg 
- 58,000 RS points 
- Outscored world and Olympic medalists 42–4
- World Championships, Tirana RS and ISG golds

Rahman AMOUZAD (IRI) was about as perfect as you could be in a season, returning to prominence with title-winning efforts at the World Championships, Islamic Solidarity Games and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event and finishing the season as the No.1 ranked wrestler in the world at 65kg with 58,000 Ranking Series points.

The Paris silver medalist, collected an unblemished 14-0 record in 2025 -- with five of those wins coming against top-level opponents who have world or Olympic medals on their resumes in Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA (JPN), Umidjon JALALOV (UZB), Taiyrbek ZHUMASHBEK UULU (KGZ) and Real WOODS (USA). The craziest part about those five matches against the world’s best, Amouzad outscored 42-4.

But without a doubt, the highlight of Amouzad’s season came in Zagreb when he finally got his long awaited rematch, beating Kotaro KIYOOKA in a revenge match from the Paris 2024 Olympic finals.

The scariest part about Amouzad’s dominance -- he’s only 23 years old and he’s still getting better.

Women's Wrestling Dominant Wrestler: Sakura MOTOKI (JPN)

- 9-0
- Five pins, two technical superiorities
- 45,000 RS points 
- 8/9 bouts finished before regulation
- Completed Golden Grand Slam (U17, U20, U23, Senior World and Olympic gold)

Coming into the 2025 season, Motoki made her goals crystal clear -- become the third wrestler in history of the sport to win wrestling’s Golden Grand Slam -- and for those who don’t know, that is gold medals at the U17, U20, U23, Senior World Championships and the Olympic Games.

The only two missing from the Olympic champ's resume were the U23 and Senior World golds.

At the 2025 U23 and senior World Championships, Motoki showed that she’s in a league of her own, as she went 9-0, with eight  matches finishing before time expired. She scored five falls and two technical superiority wins.

Her win in the final of the World Championships will be one that will be talked about for ages as the most dramatic win of the season. Motoki scored a buzzer-beating takedown against Ok Ju KIM (PRK) with a 10-second flurry that consisted of a head outside single, arm throw, over-under knee pick, before head locking Kim with four tenths of a second left to keep her history making hopes alive.

In the end, Motoki’s heart and courage under fire helped her close out the year as the third wrestler to complete the Golden Grand Slam and she did it with a level of dominance we may not see again for a very long time.

Greco-Roman Dominant Wrestler: Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI)

- Rank 1 at 67kg 
- 58,000 RS points  
- 11–0 Record
- World Championships, Asian Championships and  ISG golds

In a 2025 campaign that saw him become a world champion, Esmaeili's season was immaculate, as he cemented his place among the sport’s top pound-for-pound wrestler with a season full of titles, stacking gold-medals at the World Championships, Asian Championships and Islamic Solidarity Games, rounding out the season ranked No. 1 in the world at 67kg.

The Paris Olympic champion remained unbeaten in 2025, winning all 11 bouts of his bouts in dominant fashion -- scoring eight shutout wins, with seven technical falls -- including a pair of 9-0 win against world champions Aytjan KHALMAKHANOV (UZB) and Sebastian NAD (SRB). The reigning Olympic gold medalist also collected two victories over Paris 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE), one in the world final and one in the Islamic Game gold-medal match, where he tossed his Azeri opponent for four as time expired to rob his rival of the title.

His opponents should not ease up because at just 22 years old, Esmaeili is still sharpening his tool set and leveling up his skills.