U23 World C'ships

Pataridze Seeks Sixth World Title

Monday, November 20, 2017 - 00:17 By Andrew Hipps

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BYDGOSZCZ, Poland (Nov. 18) – The U-23 World Wrestling Championships take place Nov. 21-26 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. The inaugural event follows on the success of the European U-23 Championships in 2016 where more than 400 wrestlers from 34 nations competed.

Five-time world champion Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) headlines the Greco-Roman competition, which takes place Tuesday and Wednesday. In August, the 20-year-old Pataridze captured his third junior world title to go along with two cadet world titles.

Greco-Roman

Tuesday, Nov. 21: 71kg, 75kg, 85kg, 98kg

Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO), a two-time junior world champion, is the favorite at 71kg. He claimed gold at the European Under-23 Wrestling Championships. Finishing with a bronze in that weight class was Artur POLITAIEV (UKR), who is also entered in the World Championships. Other top contenders at 71kg include cadet world champion Matias LIPASTI (FIN) and cadet world bronze medalist Armen HAKOBYAN (ARM).

Georgia has another junior world champion entered at 75kg, Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO). He was a runner-up at the European U-23 World Championships to Alex KESSIDIS (SWE), who is entered at 80kg. Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) was fifth in Paris at the World Championships. Zotlan LEVAI (HUN) and Akhmed KAYTSUKOV (RUS) are multiple-time junior world medalists who should contend at 75kg. Other junior world medalists to keep an eye on in this weight class are Nasir HASANOV (AZE), Antonio KAMENJASEVIC (CRO), Shohei YABIKU (JPN), Paulius GALKINAS (LTU), George Vlad MARIEA (ROU) and Pavlo MOLNAR (UKR).

A pair of junior world champions, Islam ABBASOV (AZE) and Ali CENGIZ (TUR), are among the top contenders at 85kg. Abbasov was fifth at the World Championships in Paris this year. Junior world bronze medalists Mikita KLIMOVICH (BLR) and Dimitrios TSEKERIDIS (GRE) will look to challenge.

While there is no strong favorite at 98kg, there are several wrestlers who have claimed world medals at the junior or cadet level. Wrestlers to watch at 98kg include Bopembe SYCHEV (BLR), Muhammed SEVER (GER), Zsolt TOEROEK (HUN) and Romas FRIDRIKAS (LTU).

Wednesday, Nov. 22: 59kg, 66kg, 80kg, 130kg

Junior world champions Keramat ABDEVALI (IRI) and Dato CHEKHARTISHVILI (GEO) are among the most credentialed wrestlers at 59kg. Abdevali won his junior world title this year in Tampere, Finland, while Chkhartishvili won gold in 2016. If Abadevali does not compete, Iran could send junior world bronze medalists Meysam DALKHANI (IRI). Erik TORBA (HUN), Masuto KAWANA (JPN), Sergey EMELIN (RUS) and Zoltan LEVAI (SVK) have all been junior medalists and should challenge at 59kg.

Three past junior world champions, Karen ASLANYAN (ARM), Elman MUKHTAROV (AZE) and Shmagi BOLKVADZE (GEO), are on the entry list at 66kg. Aslanyan placed fifth at the Paris World Championships this year. Others to watch in this weight class include Asian junior champ Amin Yavar KAVIYANINEJAD (IRI) and past junior world bronze medalist Mihai MIHUT (ROU).

The 130kg weight class on Wednesday could feature a showdown between the five-time world champion Pataridze and Olympic bronze medalist Sergey SEMENOV (RUS). Semonov won two junior world titles before Pataridze prevented him from winning a third title in 2015. Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) is a three-time junior world medalist who will look to play the role of spoiler. The field also includes junior medalists Konsta Johannes MAEENPAEAE (FIN), Ferenc ALMASI (HUN), Mantas KNYSTAUTAS (LTU) and Tracy HANCOCK (USA).

#AmateurMMA

Amateur MMA: Kutzli wins gold for U.S.; Ukraine best team

Saturday, October 18, 2025 - 15:18 By Vinay Siwach

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NOVI SAD, Serbia (October 19) -- It was only her fourth-ever bout but Natalie KUTZLI (USA) showed no lack of experience in defeating Oliwia STAWSKA (POL), and become a world champion at the UWW Amateur MMA World Championships in Novi Sad, Serbia.

Kutzli, the lone fighter from the United States, won by unanimous decision after three rounds against Stawska who has been on the circuit for a longder time.

"I'm just at a loss of words," Kutzli said. "I just feel so surreal."

In the final against Stawska, Kutzli opened the match with clear striking and controlled the round. She followed a similar strategy and never allowed Stawska to land cleanly. Kutzli won all three rounds in the final.

"She was a challenging fighter for sure," she said. "She was really tough. It's just such a amazing opportunity to be able to fight somebody who has that much experience. I loved every second of it."

Hailing from Michigan, Kutzli began her sports career with taekwondo before switching to wrestling. Her mother, Jeanie, would drive her from one practice to another and supported her when she switched sports.

"First person I talked to was my mom," she said. "She's just so proud of me and amazed by me and what I do and I just I made her proud and my family really proud. I do it for her in hopes of someday being in the UFC and be able to pay for my family and just be able to take care of my loved one, so that's my dream.

"From a young age, I was raised by a single mom. So I'm doing this for her and to be able to thank her and just sort of appreciation to my family."

At 57kg, Viktoriia DUDAKOVA (UWW) showed that she belongs to the big league she knocked out Justine TAILFER (FRA) in the 57kg final. The bout went to the second round but Dudakova dominated it throughout.

Dudakova and Tailfer went out of bounds in the second round with the former on top. The referee called it to center and when the bout restarted with Dudakova getting the back mount advantage, she kept her striking with Tailfer not able to defend which forced the referee to call it a knockout.

In other finals, Anna BEZHENAR (UKR) scored a victory via submission against Daria RAMANOVA (UWW) to win the gold medal at 50kg. However, two other Ukraine finalists failed to win.

Veronika SUSHINA (UWW) stormed back after a slow start to beat Yana MELNYCHUK (UKR) via split decision as two judges gave her the win to one who scored it in favor of Melnychuk as Sushina won the 61kg gold.

Khalida TIMOFEEVA (UWW) did not give any chances to the judges to score differently as she defeated Yuliia MELNYCHUK (UKR) via unanimous decision to win at 65kg and bag the gold medal.

At 80kg, Anna ERSHOVA (UWW) had one of the most dominant wins in the final as she humbled Dana DROZHZHINA (UWW), winning via unanimous decision, to claim the gold medal.

Kazakhstan also got a gold medal as Aigerim TOREKHANOVA (KAZ) dominated the final against Veronika VYKHVATEN (UWW) at 53kg to win via unanimous decision. Her strong start in the first two rounds gave her the advantage despite a strong show from Vykhvaten in the final round.

RESULTS

50kg Final
Anna BEZHENAR (UKR) df. Daria ROMANOVA (UWW), via submission

53kg Final
Aigerim TOREKHANOVA (KAZ) df. Veronika VYKHVATEN (UWW), via unanimous decision

57kg Final
Viktoriia DUDAKOVA (UWW) df. Justine TAILFER (FRA), via submission

61kg Final
Veronika SUSHINA (UWW) df. Yana MELNYCHUK (UKR), via split decision

65kg Final
Khalida TIMOFEEVA (UWW) df. Yuliia MELNYCHUK (UKR), via unanimous decision

70kg Final
Natalie KUTZLI (USA) df. Oliwia STAWSKA (POL), via unanimous decision

80kg Final
Anna ERSHOVA (UWW) df. Dana DROZHZHINA (UWW), via unanimous decision