BuchaWrestU23

Reigning U23 World Champion Cengiz and Cataraga Reach Semifinals

Monday, November 12, 2018 - 13:39 By Eric Olanowski

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BUCHAREST, Romania (November 12) – The opening day semifinals at the 2018 U23 World Championships are set and four different nations will have a pair of wrestlers competing for a spot in tomorrow night’s finals. The four nations that have two wrestlers taking the mat tonight are Georgia, Moldova, Russia, and Turkey. 

Georgia is led by the five-time age level world champion, Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO). Pataridze, who is coming off a thirteenth-place finish at the senior-level world championships is looking to improve on his runner-up finish at last year’s U23 World Championships where he was defeated in the finals by 2018 world champion, Sergey SEMENOV (RUS). 

In the 130kg semifinals, Pataridze will wrestle Finland’s Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN), who is looking to become his nations second U23 world finalist ever. 

Georgia’s second semifinalist is 2018 world bronze medalist, Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO). He'll take on Balbai DORDOKOV (KGZ) for a spot in the 55kg finals.

Daniel CATARAGA (MDA) celebrates after making the U23 World semifinals.  (Photo by Max Rose-Fyne)

Moldova’s pair of finalists are Alexandru BICIU (MDA) and Daniel CATARAGA (MDA). 

In a rematch of the U23 European Championship finals, Biciu will try to avenge that loss to Mihai MIHUT (ROU) with a spot in the 63kg finals on the line, while reigning U23 world champion Daniel Cataraga will see Sajan SAJAN (IND) in the 77kg semifinals.

Russian National champion, Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS), and U23 European bronze medalist, Gazi KHALILOV (RUS), will wrestle in the 55kg and 87kg semifinals respectively. 

At 55kg, Kabaloev will wrestle 2015 junior world bronze medalist Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ), and Khalilov will scrap against Cuba’s 2018 senior-level world team member, Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB), in the semifinals at 87kg. 

Meanwhile, Turkey’s reigning U23 world champion Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) and two-time U23 European finalist Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) will also wrestle for a spot in tomorrow night’s finals. 

In the 87kg semifinals, Cengiz will have to get past Rajbek BISULTANOV (DEN), while Yildirim will be pitted against Egypt's Abdellatif MOHAMED (EGY) in the 130kg semifinals.

The semifinals are set to begin at 18:00 PM local time at Bucharest’s Polyvalent Hall.

Semifinal Match-ups 
55kg
Balbai DORDOKOV (KGZ) vs. Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO) 
Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) vs. Vitalii KABALOEV (RUS)

63kg
Katsuaki ENDO (JPN) vs. Meysam Karamali DALKHANI (IRI) 
Alexandru BICIU (MDA) vs. Mihai Radu MIHUT (ROU)

77kg
Rajbek Alvievich BISULTANOV (DEN) vs. Fatih CENGIZ (TUR) 
Sajan SAJAN (IND) vs. Daniel CATARAGA (MDA)

87kg
Semen NOVIKOV (UKR) vs. Islam ABBASOV (AZE) 
Daniel GREGORICH HECHAVARRIA (CUB) vs. Gazi KHALILOV (RUS)

130kg
Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) vs. Konsta MAEENPAEAE (FIN) 
Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) vs. Abdellatif Ahmed MOHAMED (EGY)

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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.