Ranking Series

Punia and Atli Ascend to Top of Freestyle World Rankings After Continental Title Runs

By Eric Olanowski

Hypothetically speaking, with only two Ranking Series events left, it’s only possible for a wrestler to receive 36 Ranking Series points before the World Championships. The most points a wrestler could receive is 18 points per tournament if they were to win gold medals in a bracket with 20+ entries.

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (May 1) -- The five Continental Championships are in our rear view mirror, and six European wrestlers own a No. 1-ranking in the latest set of United World Wrestling’s point-based world rankings. Pan-American countries boast a trio of wrestlers who are ranked No. 1, while Asia has the remaining wrestler sitting atop of the world rankings heading into the final set of freestyle Ranking Series events.

The most significant changes atop this month’s rankings came at 57kg and 65kg where Suleyman ATLI (TUR) and Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) respectively gained control of the world No. 1 ranking with their continental title-winning performances.

Atli Ascends to No. 1 at 57kg 
Turkey’s 24-year-old reigning world bronze medalist Suleyman Atli surged to the 57kg European title and jumped Russia’s 2018 world champion Zavur UGUEV for the No. 1 spot in May’s rankings. Atli heads into the final pair of Ranking Series events with 61 Ranking Series points, giving him a one-point advantage over Uguev, who has 60 points.

Atli and Uguev have built such commanding leads over their nearest competition, they’ll only have to medal at one of the final two Ranking Series events to seal up a top two seed at the World Championships. It’s not clear whether Uguev will make the trip to the Sassari or the Yasar Dogu (the two remaining Ranking Series events), but Atli has confirmed that he’ll compete at July's Yasar Dogu in Istanbul, Turkey. 

The other pair of top-four ranked wrestlers at 57kg are Japan’s Yuki TAKAHASHI and Kazakhstan’s Nurislam (Artas) SANAYEV (SANAA).

Takahashi, the Asian third-place finisher, hopped over 2018 world runner-up Nurislam Sanayev and is ranked third with 41 Ranking Series points.

Although he’s ranked fourth at 57kg, Nurislam Sanayev hasn’t competed at this weight since his run to the Budapest world finals back in October. If Sanayev elects to stay up at the non-Olympic weight of 61kg where he’s been all season, Cuba’s Reineri ANDREU ORTEGA, who is ranked fifth with 36 Ranking Series points, will replace him in the fourth spot.

Potential 57kg Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Suleyman ATLI (TUR) vs. No. 4 Nurislam (Artas) SANAYEV (SANAA)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Zavur UGUEV (RUS) vs. No. 3 Yuki TAKAHASHI (JPN)

Bajrang Bags Top Spot After Winning 65kg Asian Title
India’s Bajrang PUNIA was the second wrestler that leveraged his continental championship points to bump into the top spot in this month’s world rankings. Bajrang intercepted the top spot at 65kg from Japan’s defending world champion Takuto OTOGURO after winning his fourth Asian title (two Asain Championships and two Asian Games) with a 12-7 win over Kazakhstan’s Sayatbek OKASSOV last week in Xi’an, China.

Punia, the highest ranked freestyle Asian wrestler in the world, holds 78 Ranking Series points. He has an 18 point advantage over the Otoguro, the man who defeated him in last year’s world finals. Interestingly, Punia has done so well this season and has so much breathing room over the rest of the competition at 65kg that he’s guaranteed himself at least the second seed at the World Championships.

Russia’s two-time world bronze medalist Akhmed CHAKAEV (41 points) and Turkey’s European silver medalist Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (32 points) are the third and fourth-ranked wrestlers at 65kg, respectively.

Potential 65kg Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) vs. No. 4 Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) vs. No. 3 Akhmed CHAKAEV (RUS)

Taylor and Yazdani Round Three Brewing at 86kg 
Perhaps the most intriguing weight class that everyone has their eyes on is 86kg.

Currently, Turkey’s world runner-up Fatih ERDIN  (84 points) owns the top spot and sits four points in front of defending world champion David TAYLOR (USA) (80 points). More importantly, Erdin and Taylor both have nearly double the number of points as everyone else at 86kg, meaning the pair can flip flop for the No. 1 seed; but they've both locked up at least a second seed at the World Championships.

If Taylor holds onto the No. 2 ranking until September’s World Championships, the defending world champion will square off against Iran’s world and Olympic champion and third-ranked Hassan YAZDANICHARATI (43 points) in the semifinals.

When the two meet in Nur-Sultan, Taylor will own the upper hand over Yazdani, because the American has come out on top of the pair’s previous two meetings. Taylor stuck Yazdani at the World Cup back in 2016, then clinched an 11-6 come-from-behind victory over “The Greatest” in the opening round of last year’s World Championship.

While we’re on the topic of 86kg, it’s worth noting that Erdin has entered his name into the third Ranking Series event, the Sassari, which takes place later this month in Sardinia, Italy. If he reaches the top of the podium (and there are 20+ entries), Erdin will lock up the No. 1 seed at 86kg and could sit out of the final freestyle Ranking Series event, the Yasar Dogu.

Potential 86kg Semifinals
SEMIFINAL – No. 1 Fatih ERDIN (TUR) vs. No. 4 Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
SEMIFINAL – No. 2 David TAYLOR (USA) vs. No. 3 Hassan YAZDANI (IRI)

Big Move Bonne Remains the Top-Ranked Wrestler at 61kg 
“Big Move Bonne” fell short in the Pan-American Championships and settled for 16 Ranking Series points after collecting a silver medal, but remained the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the world at 61kg. The man who won the Pan-American title at 61kg, Joe COLON (USA), comes in as the No. 2 wrestler in the world with 53 Ranking Series points.

Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS), who is currently ranked No. 3 at 61kg with 40 Ranking Series points, has moved up to 65kg.

Rashidov's departure frees up the third slot, meaning Beka LOMTADZE (GEO), who has 38 Ranking Series points, will command the third place spot. Romania’s Nikolai OKHLOPKOV (ROU), who has 28 Ranking Series point will move into the fourth slot.

Potential 61kg Semifinals
SEMIFINALS – No. 1 Yowlys BONNE RODRIGUEZ vs. No. 4 Beka LOMTADZE (GEO)
SEMIFINALS – No. 2 Joseph Daniel COLON vs. No. 3 Gadzhimurad RASHIDOV (RUS)

Gazimagomedov Gets Bronze at Europeans, Still No. 1 
At 70kg, Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV locked up the No. 1 seed at the 2019 World Championships after amassing 92 Ranking Series points, which is 52 points more than Bahrain’s second-ranked Adam BATIROV, who has since moved up to 74kg.

With Batirov competing up at 74kg, the rush for the No. 2 seed becomes the focus at this weight. Right now, Ukraine’s Andriy KVYATKOVSKYY (30 points) will move up to the No. 2 spot, with Devid SAFARYAN (ARM) (26 points) and Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) (25 points) falling into the third and fourth spots respectively.

Potential 70kg Semifinals
SEMIFINALS – No. 1 Magomedrasul GAZIMAGOMEDOV (RUS) vs. No. 4 Devid SAFARYAN (ARM)
SEMIFINALS – No. 2 Adam BATIROV (BRN) vs. No. 3 Andriy KVYATKOVSKYY (UKR)

Sidakov Sits out of Europeans, Remains No.1 at 74kg
Although Russia’s reigning 74kg world champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV missed the European Championships, he remains the world’s top-ranked wrestler at 74kg. Sidakov has earned 76 Ranking Series points, 60 of which came from winning the Budapest World Championship points and 16 came from his gold-medal performance at the Ivan Yariguin.

America’s world bronze medalist Jordan BURROUGHS is the second-ranked wrestler in the world at this weight. Burroughs, who is coming off winning his fifth Pan-American title, has accumulated 63 Ranking Series points.

The third and fourth-ranked wrestlers at 74kg are Georgia’s world runner-up Avtandil KENTCHADZE (58 points) and Italian superstar Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ  (56 points), who won the 74kg European title in Bucharest. 

If the rankings stay the same until the World Championships, Sidakov and Chamizo will wrestle in semifinals on the top side of the bracket, and Burroughs and Kentchadze will scrap it out for a spot in the finals on the bottom side of the bracket.

Potential 74kg Semifinals
SEMIFINALS – No. 1 Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS) vs. Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
SEMIFINALS – No. 2 Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) vs. No. 3 Avtandil KENTCHADZE (GEO)

Dake and Hasanov Tied After Continental Championships 
Even though he didn’t compete at the Pan-American Championships, world champion Kyle DAKE (USA) retained his No. 1 ranking at 79kg with 60 Ranking Series points.

The second-ranked wrestler at 79kg is European champion and 2018 world runner-up Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE). Hasanov also has 60 Ranking Series points heading into the final two Ranking Series events, but Dake placed higher in Budapest, giving him the upper hand on the Azeri in the rankings.

Hasanov recently announced that he'd be dropping down to the Olympic weight of 74kg for the 2019 World Championships, and ultimately, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which will eventually move him out of the rankings at 79kg. Benefiting the most from Hasanov's move will be Russia’s Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (57 points), who is ranked third at the moment. Gadzhimagomedov will be relocated to the second seed for the Nur-Sultan World Championships.  

Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) (28 points) and PUREVJAV Unurbat (MGL) (26 points) will also receive a bump from Hasanov’s move and will slide into the third and fourth spots respectively.

Potential 79kg Semifinals
SEMIFINALS – No. 1 Kyle DAKE (USA) vs. No. 4 Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO)
SEMIFINALS – No. 2 Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE) vs. No. 3 Akhmed GADZHIMAGOMEDOV (RUS)

Cox Continues to Widen Gap, Holds 33 Point Advantage After Pan-Am Championships
At 92kg, the United States’ reigning world champion J'Den COX (USA) (78 points) retains his No. 1 ranking after winning the Pan-American Championships. With only 36 available points available for the rest of this weight class to earn, and Cox commanding the 33 point lead, he’s at least locked up a top-three seed in Nur-Sultan. 

Iran’s Alireza KARIMIMACHIANI (45 points), who won his fourth Asian title (two Asian Championships and two Asian Games), edged Russia’s Ivan Yariguin gold medalist Magomed KURBANOV (44 points) for the second spot in this month's rankings. 

The fourth-ranked wrestler at this weight is Japan's world and Asian bronze medalist Atsushi MATSUMOTO (41 points).

Potential 92kg Semifinals
SEMIFINALS – No. 1 J'Den COX vs. No. 4 Atsushi MATSUMOTO (JPN)
SEMIFINALS – No. 2 Alireza KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI) vs. No. 3 Magomed KURBANOV (RUS)

Sadulaev Stays No.1 at 97kg
The “Russian Tank” Abdulrashid SADULAEV (80 Ranking Series points) soared to the top of the European podium and kept his grasp on the No. 1 ranking at 97kg with a two-point advantage over “Captain America” Kyle SNYDER (USA). Snyder, who was last year’s world silver medalist, won the Pan-American Championships and the Dan Kolov and has 78 Ranking Series points.

This means that Sadulaev and Snyder have both at least locked up a top-three seed at 97kg.

Mongolia’s Asian runner-up ULZIISAIKHAN Batzul, who has 44 points, is quietly sticking around with Sadulaev and Snyder and is the only wrestler that could sneak in to gain at least the second seed. For the Mongolian wrestler to do so, he’d have to win the two remaining Ranking Series tournaments.

The fourth-ranked wrestler at 97kg is Georgia's world and European bronze medalist Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO), who has 41 points. 

Potential 97kg Semifinals
SEMIFINALS – No. 1 Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RUS) vs. No. 4 Elizbar ODIKADZE (GEO)
SEMIFINALS – No. 2 Kyle SNYDER (USA) vs. No. 3 Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL)

Despite European Finals Loss, Petriashvili Still No. 1
Despite falling in the European finals, two-time reigning world champion Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) still commands the top spot at 125kg. The Georgian big man has 88 Ranking Series points, which will guarantee him at least a top-two seed at the World Championships.

The second-ranked wrestler at 125kg is China’s 2018 world runner-up DENG Zhiwei, who has 77 Ranking Series points. Deng is coming off a second-place finish at the Asian Championships in his home country of China. 

Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) and Taha AKGUL (TUR) each have 50 Ranking Series points, but the tiebreaker goes to the wrestler who placed higher at the 2018 World Championships. In this case, Khizriev grabs the third spot because of his fifth-place finish in Budapest compared to Akgul’s seventh-place finish a season ago.

If the rankings remain the same until the 2019 World Championships, This means that Petriashvili and Akgul will meet in the semifinals. Between the two, they have won

Potential 125kg Semifinals
SEMIFINALS – No. 1 Geno PETRIASHVILI vs. No. 4 Taha AKGUL (TUR) 
SEMIFINALS – No. 2 Zhiwei DENG vs. No. 3 Anzor KHIZRIEV (RUS) 

The full set of updated freestyle world rankings can be found on www.unitedworldwrestling.org 's homepage. 

#UnitedWorldWrestling

UWW Restructures Commissions, Adds Two New

By United World Wrestling Press

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (March 4) -- United World Wrestling has announced two new commissions and renewed other as it enters a new Olympic cycle.

After it's latest Bureau meeting on February 5, UWW approved the addition of two new commissions:

- School and University Sports Commission
- Legacy & Sustainability Commission

The School and University Sports Commission will be chaired by Bureau member Peter BACSA while the Legacy and Sustainability will be co-chaired by UWW Vice-President Theodoros HAMAKOS and Bureau member Razvan PIRCALABU.

UWW also restructured other commissions with new members for a four-year term. All National Federations were invited to nominate candidates for different commissions.

Buyandelger PELJEE is the new chairperson of the Scientific Commissions, while Mikhail MAMIASHVIL will continue his role as chairperson of the Technical Commission which now has former Olympic champion Danial IGALI (NGR) as a member. Stan DZIEDZIC, who retired in 2024, is replaced by Don RYAN as the chairperson of the Coaches' Commission.

Akhroldjan RUZIEV will be continue to be incharge of the Media Commission. Likewise, Pedro GAMA FILHO will enter his second term as the chairperson of the Marketing Commission. Nataliya YARIGUINA will also continue to serve as head of Gender Equality Commission.

The Legal and Ethics Commission and Medical Commission will continue to be fronted by Belcho GORANOV and Dr. Babak SHADGAN respectively.

Zamel AL-SHAHRANI was announced as the new chairperson of the Sport for All Commission while Refereeing Commission got a new head in Levent SEN.

UWW set up a Refereeing Advisory Board which will have former Refereeing Commission chairperson Antonio SILVESTRI, veteran Kamel BOUAZIZ and Athletes Commission chairperson Arsen JULFALAKYAN as its members.

Ibrahim CICIOGLU (TUR) has been chosen as the Refereeing Education Coordinator while Carlos GARCIA (ESP) will be the Administrator for referees.

Newly elected Bureau member Bruce BAUMGARTNER will preside over the Hall of Fame & Historical Heritage Commission.

UWW rebranded two committees with the Belt Wrestling Committee now called Traditional Wrestling Committee. The Grappling Committee and Pankration Committee were merged to Grappling & Pankration Committee.

Cholpon SULTANBEKOVA was named chairperson of the Traditional Wrestling Committee while Grappling and Pankration Committee will be headed by Namig ALIYEV. The Associated Styles Committee is head by UWW Vice-President Rodica YAKSI.

Pedro SILVA will remain the head of the Beach Wrestling Committee.

For more details, refer to: UWW Commissions and Committees

Technical Commission

Chairperson: Mikhail MAMIASHVILI

Members

Daniel IGALI (NGR), Bureau Member
Ye ZHANG (CHN), Bureau Member
Peter BACSI (HUN)
Alin GRIGORE (ROU)
Milorad DOKMANAC (SRB)
Paul RAGUSA (CAN)
Rich BENDER (USA)
Alireza DABIR (IRI)
Salvatore FINIZIO (ITA)
Nikolaou EVANGELIA (GRE)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)

Scientific Commission

Chairperson: Buyandelger PELJEE

Members
Barbas IOANNIS (GRE)
José LOPEZ GULLON ESP
Funda ELMACIOGLU (TUR)
Georgiy KOROBEYNIKOV (UKR)
Edisher MACHAIDZE (GEO)
David CURBY (USA)
Bahman GHAZANI (IRI)
Mario BAIC (CRO)
Nabil ELSHORBAGY (EGY)
Pu ZENG (CHN)

Refereeing Advisory Board

Antonio SILVESTRI (GER)
Kamel BOUAZIZ (TUN)
Arsen JULFALAKYAN (ARM)

Refereeing Education Coordination

Ibrahim CICIOGLU (TUR)

Administrator/Coordinator

Carlos GARCIA (ESP)

Refereeing Commission

Head: Levent SEN

Members
Levent SEN (TUR)
Casey Goessl (USA)
Zvonko OCIC (CRO)
Vaclav SCHEINER (CZE)
Gyarmati FERENC (ROU)
Aleksei BAZULIN (RUS)
Marcia CHIASSON (CAN)
Sherif HALAWA (EGY)
Rafael GALVA LEBRON (PUR)
Koike KUNINORI (JPN)
Ji Woo LEE (KOR)

Legal Commission

Chairperson: Belcho GORANOV

Members
Ramon GONZALES PINEDA (GUA)
Belcho GORANOV (BUL)
David OHARA (USA)
Rouzbeh AHMADI (IRI)
Osamu SHIMIZU (JPN)

Coach Commission

Chairperson: Don RYAN

Members
Grégory FERREIRA (FRA)
Petr IUMSHANOV (RUS)
Terry STEINER (USA)
Hassan RANGRAZ (IRI)
Karntanov AMIRAN (GRE)
Ryszard WOLNY (POL)
Ashraf MOHAMED (EGY)
Kuniko TANIOKA (JPN)

Marketing Commission

Chairperson: Pedro GAMA FILHO

Members
Erica WIEBE (CAN)
Yury FEDOROV (RUS)
Michael FALLER (GER)
Jiayi WANG (CHN)
Danail GANCHEV (BUL)
Mutasem AL-SA'ID (JOR)
Manisha MALHOTRA (IND)

Media Commission

Chairperson: Akhroldjan RUZIEV

Members
Jörg RICHTER (AUT)
Anna GURIEVA (RUS)
Richard IMMEL (USA)
Ikuo HIGUCHI (JPN)
Amanpreet SINGH (IND)
Mohsen VAHDANI SEYDABAD (IRI)

Medical Commission

Chairperson: Dr. Babak SHADGAN

Members
Klaus JOHANN (GER)
Elena ABAEVA (UZB)
Saam FALAHATI (GBR)
Francisco LEE GUANDIQUE (GUA)
Szabolcs MOLNAR (HUN)
Stefan STRUGAROV (BUL)
Radivoj FILIPOV (SRB)
Mika LEHTO (FIN)
Konstantinou LOUKAS (GRE)
Dorsaf METAHNI (TUN)
Kohei NAKAJIMA (JPN)
BJ ANDERSON (USA)
Irina DULEPOVA (RUS)

Gender Equality & Diversity Commission

Chairperson: Natalia YARIGUINA

Members
Csilla ALI (HUN)
Dimitar CHIFUDOV (BUL)
Lise LEGRAND (FRA)
Claudia GONZALEZ (CHI)
Mustafa AMASHA (EGY)
Ruba MUSHA’SHA’ (JOR)
Tamara MEDWIDSKY (CAN)
Sheyda SHAHRIAN (IRI)
Papadaki ANTONIA (GRE)

Hall of Fame & Historical Heritage Commission

Chairperson: Bruce BAUMGARTNER

Members
Valentin JORDANOV (BUL)
Lee ROY SMITH (USA)
Hamid SORYAN (IRI)
Patrice MOURIER (FRA)
Mahmut DEMIR (TUR)
Elsayed GOMAA (EGY)

Sport For All Commission

Chairperson: Zamel AL-SHAHRANI

Members
Georgy BRYUSOV (RUS)
Pablo PINTOS FIGUEROA (ESP)
Andy BARTH (USA)
Milan PAVELIC (CRO)
Esraa JUMAA (JOR)
Riad HASSAN (PLE)
Nese GUNDOCAN (TUR)

Beach Wrestling Committee

Chairperson: Pedro SILVA

Members
Oyan NAZARIANI (AZE)
Marian BERBEC (ROU)
Rui MARTA (POR)
Jean BAHADERIAN (FRA)
Ed DUNCAN (USA)
Dimash SULTANOV (KAZ)
Papakonstantinou KONSTANTINOS (GRE)
Ibrahim MOUSTAFA (EGY)
Yasugay AKSAKAL (TUR)
Jian WANG (CHN)

Pankration and Grappling Committee

Chairman: Namig ALIYEV

Technical Director: Adrian Bakos

Members
Łukasz WINIARSKI (POL)
Justin BROWN (USA2)
Francisco PESSOA (BRA)
Vito PAOLILLO (ITA)
Koutras EVANGELOS (GRE)
Alvin AGUILAR (PHI)

Traditional Wrestling Committee

Chairperson: Choplan SULTANBEKOVA

Members
Robert CATE (USA)
Dong DAYONG (CHN)
Ali BAZYAR (IRI)
Damir BEKBOSSYNOV (KAZ)
Gaurav SACHDEVA (IND)
Edmar ABDOELAEV (NED)
Khalifa SOW (SEN)
Mehmet GULTEKIN (TUR)