#Trnava2018

Returning Freestyle World Champs Steveson, Fix Enter #Trnanva2018 Field

Tuesday, September 4, 2018 - 10:58 By Eric Olanowski

TRNAVA, Slovakia (September 4) - Daton FIX (USA) and Gable STEVESON (USA), the duo of American returning champions lead a freestyle #Trnava2018 field that boasts 245 wrestlers from 40 different nations.

Fix, the 55kg champion from a year ago enters the Junior World Championships at 57kg, while Steveson, the 120kg gold-medal winner enters at 125kg.

Steveson will be looking for his fourth age-level world title. Since stepping on the international scene in 2015, Steveson has yet to drop a match on his way to claiming two Cadet World titles, and a Junior World gold medal.

Fix, the three-time world medalist will be trying to win back-to-back Junior World titles while competing in his fifth age-level World Championship. Since taking tenth place at the 2014 Cadet World Championships, Fix has rallied to win two bronzes, and most recently, a gold medal.

Freestyle action begins on Friday, September 21 and will close the Junior World Championships.

ALB
65kg - Eriglent PRIZRENI
125kg - Paris KAREPI

ALG
57kg - Salah Eddine KATEB
65kg - Fares LAKEL
79kg - Oussama ABDELLAOUI
97kg - Mohammed FARDJ

ARM
57kg - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN
61kg - Vazgen TEVANYAN
65kg -  Gegham GALSTYAN
70kg -  Arman ANDREASYAN
74kg - Hrayr ALIKHANYAN
79kg -  Arman AVAGYAN
86kg -  Mher MARKOSYAN
125kg - Hovhannes MAGHAKYAN

AUT
74kg -Simon MARCHL
79kg -Benjamin GREIL

AZE
57kg -  Aliabbas RZAZADE
61kg -  Intigam VALIZADA
65kg -  Royal AGHAMALIYEV
70kg -  Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV
74kg -  Ismail ABDULLAEV
79kg -  Orkhan ABASOV
86kg -  Magomed ASIYATILOV
92kg -  Askhab HAMZATOV
97kg -  Alimagomed ALIKHMAEV
125kg - Rahid HAMIDLI

BLR
57kg -  Uladzislau KOIKA
61kg -  Dzmitry HERASIMENKA
65kg -  Mikita STRAKH
70kg -  Aliaksandr KURYSHTA
86kg -  Arkadzi PAHASIAN
92kg -  Vasil PAULIUCHENKA
97kg -  Yaraslau SLAVIKOUSKI
125kg - Uladzislau ASIPENKA

BUL
61kg -  Alish Gyoksel ALISH
65kg -  Nikola Delchev LEVENOV
70kg -  Veselin Georgiev PETROV
74kg -  Dzhemal Rushen ALI
79kg -  Oktay Ruzhdi HASAN
86kg -  Ivan Kostadinov STEFANOV
125kg - Daniel Milanov VESELINOV

CAN
57kg -  Brayden TODD
61kg -  Marco PALERMO
65kg -  Connor MCNEICE
70kg -  Gunnar SALES
74kg - Ty BRIDGWATER
86kg - Connor PATTISON
92kg - Hunter LEE
97kg -  Richard DESCHATELETS
125kg - Aly BARGHOUT

CHN
57kg -  Wanhao ZOU
61kg -  Minghu LIU
65kg -  Chao ZHENG
70kg -  Jun ZHAO
74kg -  Yi LI
79kg -  Gangsuhe GANGSUHE
86kg -  Danan XU
92kg -  Awusayiman HABILA
97kg - Qirui BING
125kg - Benxin DUAN

Vojtech PISKOR (CZE), two-time World Team represenative.

CZE
61kg -  David KOPRIVA
86kg -  Vojtech PISKOR
92kg -  Matous VONDAL

EGY
57kg -  Gamal MOHAMED
74kg -  Samy MOUSTAFA
86kg -  Hassan FOUAD

EST
65kg - Marek KUETT
74kg - Erik REINBOK

FRA
61kg - Arman ELOYAN
79kg - Charles AFA

GEO
57kg -  Teimuraz VANISHVILI
61kg -  Ramaz TURMANIDZE
65kg -  Giorgi ELBAKIDZE
70kg -  Iveriko JULAKIDZE
74kg -  Goga MAMIAURI
79kg -  Tornike KVINIKADZE
86kg -  Demur MEGENEISHVILI
92kg -  Beka NADASHVILI
97kg -  Zuriko URTASHVILI
125kg - Aleksi ZHORZHOLIANI

GER
57kg -  Horst Junior LEHR
70kg -  Tino RETTINGER
74kg -  Kevin LUCHT
86kg -  Johannes DEML
92kg -  Ertugrul AGCA

HUN
57kg -  Rajmund FARKAS
70kg -  Botond GULYAS
74kg -  Botond LUKACS
79kg -  Milan MESTER
86kg -  Patrik SZUROVSZKI

Naveen NAVEEN (IND), Junior Asian runner-up. Photo by Sachiko Hotaka.

IND
57kg -  Naveen NAVEEN
61kg -  Suraj Rajkumar KOKATE
65kg -  Karan KARAN
70kg -  Vishal KALIRAMANA
74kg -  Sachin RATHI
79kg -  Sachin GIRI
86kg -  Deepak PUNIA
92kg -  Somveer SOMVEER
97kg -  Hussain NASIR
125kg - Mohit MOHIT

IRI
57kg -  Reza ALIJANZADEHJOUYBARI
61kg -  Mehdi ESHGHIVASOUKOLAEI
65kg -  Amirhossein MAGHSOUDI
70kg -  Amirhossein KAVOUSI
74kg -  Ali SAVADKOUHI
79kg -  Sajjad GHOLAMI
86kg -  Seyedabolfazl HASHEMIJOUYBARI
92kg -  Abbas Ali FOROUTANRAMI
97kg -  Sajad AZIZI
125kg - Amir YARI

ISR
79kg - David LABKOVSKY
86kg -  Uri KALASHNIKOV
125kg - Lior ALTSHULER

JPN
57kg -  Daiki ARAKI
61kg -  Kodai OGAWA
65kg -  Takuma TANIYAMA
70kg -  Jintaro MOTOYAMA
74kg -  Yuto MIWA
79kg -  Hayato ISHIGURO
86kg -  Shutaro YAMADA
92kg -  Takuma OTSU
92kg -  Shohei YAMAZAKI
97kg -  Hiroto NINOMIYA
125kg - Akiho MORI / Kota TOYAMA

Serik BAKYTKHANOV (KAZ), Junior Asian runner-up. Photo by Sachiko Hotaka.

KAZ
57kg -  Rakhat KALZHAN
61kg -  Syrbaz TALGAT
65kg -  Kuanysh DUISENKUL
70kg -  Nurkozha KAIPANOV
74kg -  Aibar ZHYLKAIDAROV
79kg -  Daniyar MELDEBEK
86kg -  Aslan DZICOEV
92kg -  Alisher YERGALI
97kg -  Serik BAKYTKHANOV
125kg - Omar EYUBOV

KOR
57kg -  Hyeonsu CHO
61kg -  Minsu CHO
65kg -  Sangho HAN
70kg -  Jinwoo MOON
74kg -  Gihwan LEE
79kg -  Jaegyun GO
86kg -  Jayong JIN
92kg -  Myeongseok CHOO
97kg -  Hyunsu HAN
125kg - Ki Bum KIM

KSA
57kg - Tuorki HAZOAZI
61kg - Hassan M WADDAN

LTU
65kg - Gytis JOVAISA
79kg - Dominykas VILIUSIS

MDA
57kg -  Ion BUTNARU
61kg -  Leomid COLESNIC
65kg -  Nicolai GRAHMEZ
70kg -  Vasile DIACON
74kg -  Piotr CARASENI
79kg -  Andrian GROSUL
86kg -  Ivan NEDEALCO
92kg -  Gheorghe ERHAN
125kg - Samhan JABRAILOV

BYAMBASUREN Bat-Erdene (MGL), Junior Asian runner-up. Photo by Sachiko Hotaka.

MGL
57kg -  Tumentsogt BOLD
61kg -  Jamsranjav DUGERKHOROL
65kg -  Bud BATBAATAR
70kg -  Tergel TUMURKHUYAG
74kg -  Bat-Erdene BYAMBASUREN
79kg -  Tserendash BAASANDORJ
92kg -  Altangerel CHINBAT
97kg -  Mungunshagai TUMURBAT
125kg - Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR

MKD
65kg - Fati VEJSELI

PAK
70kg - Ghulam GHOUS
97kg - Haroon ABID

POL
61kg -  Karol Jakub CZEGUS
70kg -  Szymon WOJTKOWSKI
74kg -  Pawel Tomasz MALICKI
79kg -  Jakub SZYMULA
86kg -  Michal Jan BIELAWSKI
92kg -  Matthew WROBLEWSKI
125kg - Jakub BRYLEWSKI

RSA
61kg - Frederik NORTJE
74kg - Matthew BARTLETT

RUS
57kg -  Akhmed IDRISOV
61kg -  Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV
65kg -  Saiyn KAZYRYK
70kg -  Razambek ZHAMALOV
74kg -  Devid BETANOV
79kg -  Aslanbek GVARAMIIA
86kg -  Alik SHEBZUKHOV
92kg -  Khokh KHUGAEV
97kg -  Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV
125kg - Soslan KHINCHAGOV

SUI
57kg - Nino LEUTERT
70kg - Tobias PORTMANN

SVK
61kg -  Pavol RAPCAN
65kg -  Balazs HAKSZER
70kg -  Daniel CHOMANIC
74kg -  Martin HORINEK
79kg -  Christopher BEDNARIK
92kg -  Dominik PECHA
97kg -  Viliam OROSS

TKM
65kg -  Perman HOMMADOV
86kg -  Azat GAJYYEV
97kg -  Zyyamuhammet SAPAROV

TPE
61kg - Chia Hung CHANG
74kg - Hsiang-Wei WENG

TUR
57kg -  Ahmet TAS
61kg -  Ertugrul KAHVECI
65kg -  Ahmet Salim YIGIT
70kg -  Hasan KAYA
74kg -  Isa DEMIR
79kg -  Ramazan Ishak SARI
86kg -  Arif OZEN
92kg -  Erhan YAYLACI
97kg -  Feyzullah AKTURK
125kg - Oktay GUNGOR

UAE
125kg -Bader ALALI

UKR
57kg -  Andrii DZHELEP
61kg -  Ihor NYKYFORUK
65kg -  Denys BOROHAN
70kg -  Stepan LYLYK
74kg -  Mahomed HADZHYMAHOMEDOV
79kg -  Adlan BATAIEV
86kg - Andrii HYKA
92kg -  Oleksandr BYKANOV
97kg -  Ruslan HEORHIIEV
125kg - Yurii IDZINSKYI

Aaron BROOKS (USA), 2017 Cadet World champion. Photo by Martin Gabor.

USA
57kg -  Brandon COURTNEY
57kg -  Daton FIX
61kg -  Josh SAUNDERS
65kg -  Domonick DEMAS
70kg -  Brady BERGE
74kg -  Mekhi LEWIS
79kg -  Aaron BROOKS
86kg -  Lou DEPREZ
92kg -  Jacob WARNER
97kg -  Daniel KERKVLIET JR
125kg - Gable STEVESON

UZB
57kg -  Gulomjon ABDULLAEV
61kg -  Abbos RAKHMONOV
65kg -  Ikhtiyor NORMURODOV
86kg -  Davlatbek ASHUROV
92kg -  Makhsud VEYSALOV
125kg - Khasanboy RAKHIMOV

2026 Muhamet Malo

Lolua Bumps to 60kg, Komarov Among World Champs Returning in Tirana

Monday, February 23, 2026 - 19:19 By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (February 23) -- Last year, Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) was in Tirana, making his senior international debut. He went on to win the 55kg silver medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event.

What followed was an incredible 2025 season for Lolua in which he became a world champion in Zagreb. He also won bronze medals at the European Championships, and U20 World and European Championships.

FREESTYLE PREVIEW | MUHAMET MALO ENTRIES | WATCH LIVE

The world champion at 55kg is returning to Tirana, making his Olympic weight debut at 60kg later this week at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series, which begins February 25.

While he got two wins last year to reach the final, where he lost to Emre MUTLU (TUR), Lolua will need to spend more time on the mat if he wants to wrestle for the gold medal.

The field at 60kg is no pushover, with several experienced contenders entered.

The 18-year-old will face the likes of European champion Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE), silver medalist Georgij TIBILOV (SRB), former U20 world champion Nihad GULUZADE (AZE), former U17 world champion SURAJ (IND) and compatriot Dimitri KHACHIDZE (GEO).

The Georgian has the par terre offense to win, as he showed in Zagreb. He tricked Payam AHMADI (IRI) in the final with two different par terre turns. However, he also keeps his matches tight. At the World Championships, he won only one of his four bouts by a margin of two points or more.

Mammadli presents his first major tactical test. He was in red-hot form in 2025 but fell off in the later half of the year. He lost his World Championships quarterfinal to Alisher GANIEV (UZB), who also defeated him at the Islamic Solidarity Games in 2025.

Guluzade and Tibilov pose a different challenge. The latter is an experienced campaigner, who often shuns big-move wrestling for tactical wins. Guluzade will bring raw energy, trying to prove his mettle before the European Championships.

Suraj, who defeated Victor CIOBANU (MDA), constantly works on his opponents for six minutes, which can put anyone's conditioning to the test.

Like at 60kg, Georgia and Azerbaijan have multiple wrestlers in other weight classes as well. Many other nations are also increasingly focusing on selecting their teams via results at Ranking Series events.

At 67kg, Georgia has Zagreb Open champion Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) and European bronze medalist Joni KHETSURIANI (GEO) going against each other. Khetsuriani has not wrestled since finishing 22nd at the World Championships in September.

The challenges will not be limited. U20 world champion Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW) will make his senior debut in Tirana. He has impressed with his dominant performances in 2024 when he won the U20 gold. In 2025, he finished with a silver, losing a close final.

A minefield at 87kg will see the return of world champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB). He will face top wrestlers from Hungary, Azerbaijan, UWW wrestlers and Kazakhstan.

Komarov rose to the occasion at the World Championships in Zagreb with an incredible run, winning gold over Olympic silver medalist Alireza MOHMADI (IRI). He will look to reset in Tirana.

World bronze medalist Asan ZHANYSHOV (KGZ) has constantly improved and a good performance in Tirana at 87kg will do him a world of good. Milad ALIRZAEV (UWW), Islam ALIEV (UWW) and Alan OSTAEV (UWW) are a trio of UWW wrestlers in the field. Alirzaev and Ostaev have wins over Komarov in the past.

Islam ABBASOV (AZE) and Lachin VALIYEV (AZE) are leading the challenge for Azerbaijan while Istvan TAKACS (HUN), who won gold at the Zagreb Open, will be another top wrestler.

Shamil OZHAEV (KAZ) and Islam YEVLOYEV (KAZ) are two Kazakhstan wrestlers looking to make a mark as well.

A similar story will play out at 97kg with world silver medalist Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) eyeing his second Ranking Series gold medal. Standing in his way are Zagreb Open champion Alex SZOKE (HUN), world bronze medalist Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW), Paris bronze medalist Uzur DZHUZUPBEKOV (KGZ), former world bronze medalist Artur OMAROV (CZE).

Azerbaijan is sending three wrestlers at 97kg in hopes of finalizing its European lineup with world bronze medalists Murad AHMADIYEV (AZE) and Arif NIFTULLAYEV (AZE), and Mahammad AHMADIYEV (AZE).

At 77kg, Hungary is once again pitting Robert FRITSCH (HUN) against Zoltan LEVAI (HUN). In Zagreb, Levai won silver while Fritsch won bronze as both lost to Ali OKSOU (IRI).

Iran, which has its own struggles at this weight class, has also gone with two wrestlers, Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) and Amir ABDI (IRI).

U23 world champion Alexandrin GUTU (MDA) is returning to action, hoping to win his first Ranking Series gold medal. Gutu has given legendary performances at the age-group level but is yet to win a medal at the senior World or European Championships.

Imran ALIEV (UWW), Evgenii BAIDUSOV (UWW) and Sergei STEPANOV (UWW) will also be involved at 77kg as they try to confirm their spot for the European Championships.

Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) defeated Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ), 3-1, at the 2024 Paris Olympics. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Olympic rematch at 82kg

Demeu ZHADRAYEV (KAZ) rocked his neighbouring country Kyrgyzstan at the Paris Olympic when he defeated the favorite and world champion Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ). Kyrgyzstan was hoping that Makhmudov would create history by becoming the country's first-ever Olympic champion.

Both have gradually returned to action. In Tirana, both are entered at 82kg and it won't be a surprise if they clash as well. However, Makhmudov would like to avenge that Paris loss.

Also at 82kg are Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO) and comeback man and former world medalist Viktor NEMES (SRB).

Iran is bringing a small squad in Tirana but it made sure to bring Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI), perhaps the best heavyweight Greco wrestler in the world. The 130kg gold will, most likely, be his.

Returning Freestyle World Champs Steveson, Fix Enter #Trnanva2018 Field

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Lolua Bumps to 60kg, Komarov Among World Champs Returning in Tirana