#DigitalTransformation

United World Wrestling together with N3XT Sports begins the digital transformation process

Monday, July 18, 2022 - 11:26 By United World Wrestling Press

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COSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland and BARCELONA, Spain - United World Wrestling (UWW) and N3XT Sports today announced a new partnership under which N3XT Sports will support UWW to accelerate its digital transformation by creating a digital-first approach in the organization and transform the sport using digital tools.

UWW has already prioritized digital transformation as one of five strategic pillars for the governing body’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, which was presented and approved at the UWW Congress in 2021.

UWW aims to create new value for its ecosystem, grow the sport itself, and modernize and digitize its processes and operations. By embarking on this journey, UWW will future-proof the organization, optimize internal processes, generate sustainable financial revenues, provide support to all the national federations and the entire wrestling ecosystem. 

The partnership between UWW and N3XT Sports aims to accelerate this transformation process and ensure maximum efficiency and benefit through a multi-year investment. N3XT Sports has been supporting UWW since early 2021 as UWW recognized the need to create new sources of value to the sport. As such, UWW’s digital transformation journey, with the support of N3XT Sports, touches on both revenue maximization and cost optimization, increasing efficiency and providing shared services within its national federations and event organizers.

Nenad Lalovic, UWW President, said: “One of the key areas of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, built together with our National Federations, is to embrace and foster digital transformation in order to modernize and digitize our organization. In order to achieve this, we have partnered with N3XT Sports, a leading digital transformation agency in the sport industry, that is guiding us to continuously create value for fans, wrestlers, and the global wrestling ecosystem, to ensure a sustainable and independent UWW through digital, data and innovation.”

UWW has modernized as an International Federation ever since rejoining the Olympic Program in 2013. The next stage of transformation for the federation is aimed at increasing the focus on a direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy that delivers excellence in digital content and data to fans, media and marketing partners, as well as best-in-class shared digital, innovation and data tools to the National Federations (NF), local organizing committees, coaches, and wrestlers in order to ensure sustainable financial growth.

As part of the agreement, N3XT Sports will help design and develop the project through its digital arm, N3XT Labs. This will support on the creation and monetization of best-in-class data analytics tools and digital assets, as part of a reimagined UWW commercial portfolio, including a new UWW mobile application for fans and internal stakeholders, and Customer Data Platform (CDP) aimed at collecting and engaging data from all UWW digital audience touchpoints.

In addition, drawing on N3XT Labs’ digital expertise in sports and cloud architecture, the creation of a robust project governance structure will support the digital monetization of the UWW’s wider business strategy, whilst also developing new D2C revenue streams across the federation and its entire ecosystem.

Hisham Shehabi, COO of N3XT Sports, said: “We are thrilled to work with UWW and guide the federation through its digital transformation. To make this new digital strategy possible, UWW is committed to developing and launching various digital and data products to reach fans directly, without intermediaries, thus gaining a better understanding of their tastes and habits, and fundamentally, building the global home of wrestling and wrestlers. Our focus at N3XT Sports is to accelerate the construction and operation of this digital and data ecosystem that caters to UWW fans, internal stakeholders, national federations, and athletes.”

ABOUT United World Wrestling

United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling for men and women, as well as others.

ABOUT N3XT Sports

N3XT Sports is an end-to-end digital transformation agency that works with international sporting organizations in football, basketball, and the Olympic Movement, to identify and address their most critical challenges, enabling them to achieve sustainable competitive advantage within the rapidly changing sports landscape. 

N3XT Sports was born in the world’s epicenter of innovation in Silicon Valley, has its operational HQ in Barcelona and its team is spread in different countries in Europe such as France, Italy, England, Spain, and Switzerland as well as in the United States, Morocco and Canada. 

Contact information

N3XT Sports - bea@n3xtsports.com
United World Wrestling - Eric.olanowski@uww.org

#WrestleBudapest

Takahashi marks return from injury with Ranking Series gold

Friday, July 18, 2025 - 20:08 By Vinay Siwach

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BUDAPEST, Hungary (July 18) -- The last memories of Kota TAKHASHI (JPN) on the mat were painful. He had a heavily strapped right knee and was wrestling at the Non-Olympic World Championships in Tirana last year. He was torn.

A surgery and nine months later, Takahashi returned to international wrestling at the Budapest Ranking Series on Friday and captured the 74kg gold medal.

The world U23 champion was the third gold medalist from Japan in Budapest after Takara SUDA (JPN) and Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) won at 61kg and 70kg, respectively.

In the other two weight classes that were in action on Friday, Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) and Trent HIDLAY (USA) captured the gold medal at 86kg and 92kg as Freestyle came to a close at the Ranking Series.

Takahashi, who won the Asian Championships gold in 2024, made himself a gold-medal threat for the World Championships in Zagreb with an impressive performance that saw him score wins over Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) and David CARR (USA).

"This was my first international competition since my right knee surgery, and I wanted to show my true abilities," Takahashi said. "I'm very happy that I was able to win by thoroughly executing my tackles and aggressive wrestling style."

Takahashi was up against Salkazanov in his first match and began by blasting two double-leg attacks to race to a 4-0 lead. But the second period was not the same as he was put on the activity clock and Salkazanov cut the lead with a takedown during that.

Just when it seemed that Salkazanov can take the lead, Takahashi hit a low leg-attack and converted it into takedown to make the gap 6-3. Salkazanov did not let it go and scored a stepout with nine seconds left.

Takahashi was happy to not engage in those nine seconds, and happily gave a stepout and a caution. He won 6-6 and set up a quarterfinal against Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN). He did not need any of those attacks as he managed a 3-0 win.

The semifinal against Carr was a challenging one as Takahashi struggled to keep his conditioning for six minutes. He opened with a stepout and Carr was called for fleeing. As Carr used a chest wrap to stop Takahashi's double-leg attack, he fell on his back with hand opens. Only Takahashi was awarded two points which made his lead 4-0. Two stepouts later, it was 6-0.

Carr got going in the final two minutes as he scored two takedowns inside 20 seconds to make it 6-4. So far, Takahashi had remained low in his stance and cancelled Carr's long reach. However, his defense began to break up.

As Carr tried to turn Takahashi after the second takedown, Takahashi blocked the turn and got two points. Carr scored a reversal to make it 8-5. He then made it 8-7 with 10 seconds remaining but that was the final scoring action of the bout.

"Car is very aggressive, and I am also good at aggressive wrestling, but in the second half, my opponent's attacks were superior to mine. I ended up conceding points," he said. "I think that was my mistake. In the second period, I tried to attack, but the opponent kept attacking repeatedly. I ended up just defending, and that was the reason I lost points. I need to be more aggressive and attack more."

Takahashi's aggressive wrestling was once again on show in the final against another former world U23 champion Magomed KHANIEV (AZE). He scored two takedowns and defending so well that Khaniev was not able to score a point and Takahashi won gold medal, 4-0.

But the Japanese accepted the chinks in his armor and has decided to work on them before the World Championships where he knows that the competition will be even tougher.

"Similar story against Salkazanov. I want to review my stamina to maintain an aggressive attack throughout the six minutes without breaking my stance, and keep solid stance," he said. "In the second half, my desire to attack weakened, and I ended up being attacked by the opponent, leading to them scoring points. I need to improve on that."

Carr returned for the bronze medal bout and defeated Salkazanov 4-4, avenging his previous to the Slovak from Zagreb.

Trent HIDLAY (USA)Trent HIDLAY (USA) defeated Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO) 7-2 in the 92kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

Trent HIDLAY (USA), a 86kg silver medalist last year in Budapest, upgraded to gold medal after beating world silver medalist Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 7-4, in the 92kg final.

Hidlay was in red-hot form the whole day as he began with a win over Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)  and then posted a 10-0 win over Krizstian ANGYAL (HUN) in the quarterfinal. He began the semifinal against Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE) with a powerful double-leg takedown.

As Kurugliev fell, he landed on his knee and suffered an injury so bad that he was unable to walk off the mat. Hidlay reached the final after the injury forced Kurugliev to stop.

It was Maisuradze who opened the scoring in the final with a snapdown to takedown for two points but Hidlay answered with two stepouts and the Georgian led 2-2 on criteria at the break.

Hidlay opened the second period with a takedown to take a 4-2 lead and then continued to put pressure on Maisuradze. It paid off as he scored another takedown on the edge to lead 6-2. Georgia challenged that both wrestlers were already out of the zone and it should be one point. But the challenge was lost, making it 7-2 for Hidlay with 1:47 left on the clock.

That was all in the bout as Hidlay captured the gold and put his name in contention for the gold medal at the upcoming World Championships.

At 86kg, Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) was the gold medalist after European silver medalist Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW) pulled out of the final injured.

Kadzimahamedau suffered a knee injury in the semifinal against Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) as the Iranian did not let go off his knee despite it turning more than 90 degrees.

RESULTS

74kg
GOLD: Kota TAKAHASHI (JPN) df. Magomed KHANIEV (AZE), 4-0

BRONZE: David CARR (USA) df. Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), 4-4
BRONZE: Magomedrasul ASLUEV (BRN) df. Yeldos KUANYSHBAY (KAZ), 8-2

86kg
GOLD:  Arsenii DZHIOEV (AZE) df. Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU (UWW), via inj. def.

BRONZE: Osman GOCEN (TUR) df. Boris MAKOEV (SVK), 3-2
BRONZE: Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) df. Nurzhan ISSAGALIYEV (KAZ), 3-0 

92kg
GOLD: Trent HIDLAY (USA) df. Miriani MAISURADZE (GEO), 7-4

BRONZE: Benjamin HONIS (ITA) df. Musza ARSUNKAEV (HUN), via fall (5-5)
BRONZE: Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) df. Dauren KURUGLIEV (GRE), via inj. def.