Pan-Am Championships Greco-Roman Preview

Tuesday, May 2, 2023 - 14:21 By Jimmy Pawelski

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (April 26) -- The 2023 Pan-American Championships is scheduled to kick off May 3 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with Greco-Roman wrestlers being the first competitors to take the mat.

Wrestling in 55kg, 60kg, 63kg, 67kg, 72kg, 97kg and 130kg will compete on Wednesday, May 3, while 77kg, 82kg, and 87kg participants will compete on Thursday, May 4. Action will begin on both days at 10:00 local time starting with qualification rounds and repechages followed by the finals round at 18:00 local time.

55kg
The lightest weight class of the tournament will be a round-robin style bracket with only three competitors registered to compete at 55kg -- Axel Gabriel ROLON (ARG), Jose RODRIGUEZ (MEX) and Dalton DUFFIELD (USA).

Notably, Rodriguez is dropping down two weight classes from his 2022 Pan-American silver-place finish at 63kg. Duffield is fresh off a fifth-place finish at the 2023 Zagreb Open in January.

60kg
Each of the two returning Pan-American Championships bronze medalists, Dicther TORO (COL) and Joao BENAVIDES (PER), at 60kg are set to take the mat again this year.

Also in contention for a podium finish will be world ranked 14 Ildar HAFIZOV (USA). The 35-year-old previously represented his home country Uzbekistan on the international Greco stage before switching to the USA in 2016.

Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) Olympic champion Luis ORTA (CUB) will compete at 67kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

67kg
Tokyo Olympic champion at 60kg Luis ORTA (CUB) will be at the Pan-Ams at 67kg as he bids for another Olympic medal. He has competed at 67kg in two events this year, claiming gold at the Henri Deglane Grand Prix and bronze at the Zagreb Open.

Reigning Pan-American and South American champion Julian HORTA (COL) will aim for back-to-back titles at 67kg while returning bronze medalist Nilton SOTO (PER) is also registered to compete in Buenos Aires. World number 14 Alejandro SANCHO (USA) will also be in Buenos Aires along with Edsson OLMOS (MEX) who was a silver medalist at 72kg last year.

72kg
Patrick SMITH (USA), a three-time Pan-American Championships gold medalist, will look to once again conquer the 72kg bracket. In last year’s tournament, he finished each match by way of technical superiority with the exception of one, a 4-2 victory over Olmos who is notably registered to compete at 67kg this year. Smith will face tough competition in world number 13 Jose VARELA (GUA), who went 1-1 for an 8th place finish at the 2022 edition of the event at 67kg.

Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB) and David CHOC (GUA) are expected to have a rematch like the 2022 Pan-Am finals. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

77kg
A loaded 77kg bracket features three returning Pan-American medalists -- gold medalist Yosvanys PENA FLORES (CUB), silver medalist David CHOC (GUA) and bronze medalist Joilson DE BRITO (BRA). The highest world-ranked competitor in the bracket is number 24 Emmanuel BENITEZ (MEX), who is a 2019 Junior Pan-American champion.

All the while, human highlight reel Kamal BEY (USA) will look to put on an exciting show per usual as he marks his return to this tournament after four years.

82kg
Only five competitors are registered to compete in the 82kg bracket, none of whom are returning Pan-American Championships medalists. Spencer WOODS (USA) is the highest world-ranked wrestler at the weight at number 27 and is riding on a fifth-place finish at the 2023 Zagreb Open.

2022 Pan-Am 82kg champion Daniel VICENTE (MEX) is moving up to 87kg. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

87kg
The 87kg bracket is the only weight class with multiple returning Pan-American champions as reigning gold medalist Daniel GREGORICH (CUB) will look to defend his title against reigning gold medalist from 82kg Daniel VICENTE (MEX). However, Vicente is no stranger to 87kg as he previously placed second in the 2021 edition at the weight class.

Additionally, Alan VERA (USA), a 2016 Pan-American champion at 80kg when he represented Cuba, is registered to compete along with Johan BATISTA (DOM), a two-time Pan-American finalist.

Kevin MEJIA CASTILLO (HON) will be aiming for his third straight Pan-Am title. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

97kg
Honduras native Kevin MEJIA (pictured above) will be aiming for his third consecutive Pan-American title in Buenos Aires this year. He dominated his way through the tournament in 2022 and has not given up a single point at the championships in the past two years.

His primary challenger will be Carlos ADAMES (DOM), a 2022 Pan-American Championships bronze medalist.

130kg
The heavyweight bracket is the only weight class with all four returning 2022 Pan-American Championships medalists, highlighted by the reigning champion Oscar PINO (CUB) who is currently ranked 14th in the world. He will be attempting to claim his fifth Pan-American title.

Meanwhile, the highest-ranked competitor registered to compete in this year’s tournament at number 13, Eduard SOGHOMONYAN (BRA), will be his primary challenger. Additionally, both returning bronze medalists are set to compete again this year in Yasmani ACOSTA (CHI) and Leo SANTANA (DOM).

How to Follow Along
Fans can track the action on United World Wrestling's mobile app or uww.org. Download #TheHomeOfWrestling, United World Wrestling's mobile app to access real-time match center data, get regular updates on tournaments and receive all the latest wrestling news in a flash.

#WrestleTirana

Four Defending Champs Return to European Greco Finals on Day 2

Tuesday, April 21, 2026 - 17:16 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 21) -- Out of the five defending Greco-Roman champion on Tuesday at the European Championships, four will defend their gold medals after reaching the final. The one missing out was Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) at 60kg.

At 67kg, Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) was on the verge of bowling out, down 2-0 against Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) but was awarded the par terre in the second period. Jafarov scored a correct throw on Chkhikvadze, scoring two points to lead 3-2. Georgia challenged but on review, the correct throw call was upheld, giving Jafarov a 4-2 lead that he defended to enter the final.

He will wrestle Murat FIRAT (TUR) on Wednesday with an aim of winning a second straight European Championships title. Firat had one-sided final against Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR), beating the Ukrainian 4-0. He scored a turn from first par terre to lead 3-0 and then got the second par terre as well which gave him one more point.

In perhaps the biggest match of the session, defending champion at 97kg Kiril MILOV (BUL) denied world silver medalist Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) at 97kg with a 7-1 victory. Milov led 1-1 on criteria after par terre positions were exchanged but Sargsian wrapped his arm around Milov and tried scoring a takedown. Milov defended and both wrestlers went out of bounds.

Milov was awarded the point as Sargsian stepped out first. Sargsian challenged but on review, and the difference being a fraction of a second, Sargsian's knee touched outside before Milov's hand. Milov kept his point and got another point for lost challenge, giving him a 3-1 lead.

Sargsian tried a flying squirrel but Milov controlled him before slamming him on the mat for four points and extending his lead to 7-1.

He will defend his title against Alex SZOKE (HUN) who blanked Vladen KOZLIUK (UKR), 3-0, in the other semifinals. He got the two points for the par terre and one for the lost challenge.

The third defending champion to enter the final was Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) after he defeated Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 2-1 at 82kg. He will face Adlet TIULIUBAEV (UWW) in the final after he defeated world bronze medalist Karlo KODRIC (CRO), 7-3.

At 72kg, Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) will look to win his second straight gold medal, reaching the final with a 6-1 victory over Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM). Ghanem opened the scoring with a stepout before losing a challenge to make it 1-1 but held criteria. He was awarded the par terre position from which he turned Terteryan to lead 4-1. Just before the break, he managed a takedown and extend his lead to 6-1, the winning score.

Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) will look to challenge Ghanem after he defeated Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR), 3-2, in the other 72kg semifinal

The one defending champion who did not reach the final, Mammadli, was stunned by former U20 world champion Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM) in the 60kg semifinal, pinning the Azerbaijan wrestler after building a 7-1 lead.

Aghajanyan got the par terre in the first period and used a front headlock for a four-point throw and lead 5-0. In the second period, the Armenian got the par terre again to the surprise of Mammadli, who managed to score a reversal to cut the lead to 6-1. However, as he tried to gut-wrench Aghajanyan, he was blocked by the Armenian who kept Mammadli on the mat and got the pin.

Returning silver medalist Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) had no issues reaching his second straight final as he defeated Corneliu RUSU (MDA), 7-1 in the semifinal. Tibilov led 1-1 on criteria but got a third passivity, one without any points, and scored a four-point throw.

Towards the end of the bout, Rusu used an aggressive move on Tibilov which forced the referees to give two caution points to Tibilov, making his score 7-1.

RESULTS

60kg
SF 1: Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) df. Corneliu RUSU (MDA), 7-1
SF 2: Suren AGHAJANYAN (ARM) df. Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), via fall (8-1)

67kg
SF 1: Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) df. Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO), 4-2
SF 2: Murat FIRAT (TUR) df. Oleksandr HRUSHYN (UKR), 4-0

72kg
SF 1: Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA) df. Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM), 6-1
SF 2: Iuri LOMADZE (GEO) df. Cengiz ARSLAN (TUR), 3-2

82kg
SF 1: Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) df. Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 2-1
SF 2: Adlet TIULIUBAEV (UWW) df. Karlo KODRIC (CRO), 7-3

97kg
SF 1: Kiril MILOV (BUL) df. Artur SARGSIAN (UWW), 7-1
SF 2: Alex SZOKE (HUN) df. Vladen KOZLIUK (UKR), 3-0

Pan-Am Championships Greco-Roman Preview

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Four Defending Champs Return to European Greco Finals on Day 2