#WrestleBelgrade

Tickets on sale for 2023 Wrestling World Championships

Thursday, August 3, 2023 - 15:00 By Eric Olanowski

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BELGRADE, Serbia (August 4) -- Tickets are now available for the high-anticipated 2023 Wrestling World Championships which will be held at the Stark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia from September 16-24.

The 2023 Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women’s Wrestling World Championships are the first of six qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. A total of 90 Olympic quotas -- 30 each in Freestyle, Greco-Roman and Women’s Wrestling -- are up for grabs in the Serbian capital.

Wrestlers who earn gold, silver or bronze medals earn a bid to the 2024 Olympics for their nation. Additionally, the two wrestlers who lose the bronze-medal bouts will be involved in a wrestle-off to determine the fifth quota for the Paris Olympics.

Other Olympic Qualification Events:
March 01-03: Pan-American Olympic Qualifier in Acapulco, Mexico 
March 22-24: African and Oceania Olympic Qualifier in Cairo, Egypt
April 04-07: European Olympic Qualifier in Baku, Azerbaijan
April 19-21: Asian Olympic Qualifier in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
May 09-12: World Olympic Qualifier in Istanbul, Turkiye

CLICK HERE FOR THE 2023 WRESTLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS TICKETS

2023 Wrestling World Championships Event Details:
Dates: September 16th-24th, 2023
Venue: Stark Arena, Bulevar Arsenija Carnojevica 58, New Belgrade

Ticket Prices (Cash Only):
All-session tickets = 450 € / $490.60
Individual daily tickets = 50 € / $55.00

Payment Method:
Please note only cash payments will be accepted for tickets upon arrival at the Stark Arena Accreditation Center.

Ticket Collection:
Fans can collect their tickets at the Accreditation Center at Stark Arena. The ticket collection desk will be open daily from September 14th-24th from 10:00-20:00.

Ticket Pickup Requirements:
When picking up your ticket(s), an ID card is required for verification purposes. Please present your email confirmation at the Accreditation Center to ensure a smooth process.

Note: The event details and ticket information are subject to change. Please stay updated through our official channels for any announcements or adjustments to the schedule.

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open Flashback: Iran, U.S. opened season with success

Monday, January 19, 2026 - 10:21 By Vinay Siwach

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ZAGREB, Croatia (January 18) -- United World Wrestling's 2026 season will kick off with the Ranking Series in Zagreb February 4. The recent memories of Zagreb may be the September World Championships but the 2025 season also kicked off with the Ranking Series in the Croatian capital.

Iran and the United States had strong performances in the first of the four stops of the Ranking Series, a theme which continued throughout the 2025 season as the U.S. dominated Freestyle while Iran dominated Greco-Roman.

Women's Wrestling participants were less in numbers but still saw U.S. and UWW wrestlers share gold medals.

Here's a trip down memory lane of the 2025 Zagreb Open Ranking Series before the 2026 season kicks off:

WATCH ZAGREB OPEN 2025 TOP BOUTS HERE

Freestyle

A young Iranian team snapped four gold medals in Zagreb with Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) winning gold at 61kg, Abbas EBRAHIM (IRI) winning at 65kg, Amirhossein FIROUZPOUR (IRI) became champion at 92kg and Amirreza MASOUMI (IRI) winning the 125kg gold.

For the U.S., Spencer LEE (USA) kicked off the season with 57kg with gold, Zahid VALENCIA (USA) won at 86kg and Kyle SNYDER (USA) at 97kg. Both Valencia and Snyder went on to win gold at the World Championships later in the season.

Azerbaijan, Slovakia and France won one gold each, with Kanan HEYBATOV (AZE) winning at 70kg for Azerbaijan, Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) winning gold at 74kg, and Zelimkhan KHADJIEV (FRA) winning at 79kg for France.

Iran dominance began when Ahmad JAVAN (IRI) won gold at 61kg, beating the likes of Nuraddin NUVROZOV (AZE), Nashon GARRETT (USA), Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) and Ebrahim KHARI (IRI). Javan would later win a silver medal at the World Championships. At 65kg, Ebrahim held his own in a thrilling final against Joseph MCKENNA (USA) to grab the second gold for Iran.

Young superstars Firouzpour and Masoumi put up a show to win gold medals at 92kg and 125kg respectively.

Lee was making a returning to competition six months after winning the silver medal at the Paris Olympics. He won the Zagreb Open gold with rather ease. For the U.S., Valencia saw himself win gold at 86kg outscoring his opponents 35-4 in four bouts. In the final, Valencia defeated world bronze medalist Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE), 8-0.

Snyder opened his season with a 33-1 scoring run in three bouts at 97kg in Zagreb. In the final, he easily defeated Abolfazl BABALOO (IRI).

Heybatov gave early warnings to the 70kg field by winning gold in Zagreb, a run which included wins over Austin GOMEZ (MEX), two back-to-back wins over Iranian wrestlers including a 12-1 one again Sina KHALILI (IRI) in the final. The two would wrestle again towards the end of the year at the U23 World Championships. Heybatov won that final with a 9-4 score.

Two veterans, Salkazanov and Khadjiev, were at their best in the opening Ranking Series tournament. Salkazanov blanked everyone, including winning 4-0 against David CARR (USA) in the final, to win 74kg gold.

Khadjiev had a tougher bat but managed to win the 79kg gold with a 5-3 win over Mahdi YOUSEFI (IRI) in the final. The French wrestler would later win silver at the European Championships.