#25Under25

UWW 25-Under-25: No. 6-No. 10

By Eric Olanowski

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 17) -- United World Wrestling looked at 25 wrestlers who will undoubtedly keep wrestling fans at the edge of their seats throughout '22 and beyond.

With three short years left until the Paris Games, we're redirecting our attention to the sport's brightest young stars who are entering the prime of their careers. It's time to whisk in the next generation of talent that'll shoulder the weight of the sport into the '24 Olympics and beyond.

The question you asked, and we answered: "Who are the Top 25 Under 25?"

Here's UWW's fourth segment -- No. 10 through No. 6 -- of the Top 25 Under 25 to keep an eye on.

UWW 25-Under-25: No. 21-No. 25
No. 25 - Alina AKOBIYA (UKR), 23-years-old
No. 24 - Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE), 24-years-old
No. 23 - Artur SARGSYAN (RWF), 24-years-old
No. 22 - TUMUR OCHIR Tulga (MGL), 24-year-old
No. 21 - Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM), 22-years-old

UWW 25-Under-25: No. 20-No. 16
No. 20 - Anshu MALIK (IND), 20-years-old
No. 19 - Irinia RINGACI (MDA), 21-years-old
No. 18 - Zagir SHAKHIEV (RUS), 23-years-old
No. 17 - Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ), 23-years-old
No. 16 - Leri ABULADZE (GEO), 23-years-old

UWW 25-Under-25: No. 15-No. 11
No. 15 - Ernazar AKMATLIEV (KGZ), 23-years-old
No. 14 - Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI), 24-years-old
No. 13 - Akari FUJINAMI (JPN), 18-years-old
No. 12 - Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF), 23-years-old
No. 11 - Koumba LARROQUE (FRA), 23-years-old

No. 10 Iryna KOLIADENKO (UKR), 23-years-old (August 28, 1998)

Instagram: koliadenko__8

Over the last few years, Ukraine’s women’s wrestling squad has been on a rapid rise to the top of the ranks and Koliadenko is one of the main reasons.

Koliadenko made her senior-level debut at the non-Olympic weight of 65kg in 2017 while still being junior and U23 eligible. She failed to finish on the podium at her first three events but medaled at seven of her last eight competitions.

Koliadenko’s rise began at the 2019 International Ukrainian Tournament where she defeated Individual World Cup champ and European runner-up Tetyana RHIZKO (UKR) for gold. She followed that up with 65kg runner-up finishes at the Poland Open and World Championships before moving down to the Olympic weight of 62kg in preparation for a Tokyo Olympic run.

Despite a rocky start at the Matteo Pellicone Ranking Series event where she finished in fifth place, Koliadenko found her way at the new weight and qualified Ukraine for the Olympic Games after winning the European Olympic Qualifier. The 23-year-old star stayed on the winning track at the European Championships , defeating women’s wrestling legend and four-time Olympian Marianna SASTIN (HUN), 4-1, to win her first continental title.

Koliadenko saved her most impressive performance for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The Ukrainian dropped her semifinals match to two-time world champion Aisuluu TYNYBEKOVA (KGZ) but ended the competition with a trio of wins – two of which were falls – and a 3-1 win over Anastasija GRIGORJEVA (LAT) to claim Olympic bronze.

No. 9 Mohamed EL SAYED (EGY), 23-years-old (March 16, 1998)

Instagram: kesho_official

El Sayed has been long tabbed as Africa’s next big thing since he made his senior-level debut at 17-years-old at the 2016 African Championships. Since that debut six years ago, the now-23-year-old has grabbed continental gold four times and faced senior-level African defeat once. That loss came against ten-time African champion Zied AIT OUAGRAM (MAR) in the ’17 African finals.

Although he was well-known on the continental stage, El Sayed world success didn’t come until the ’19 World Championships. He qualified Egypt for the Olympic Games through his unbelievable performance in the '19 World Championships' toughest weight class, 67kg.

El Sayed placed fifth in a bracket that featured Olympic champion Ismael BORRERO (CUB) and world champions Artem SURKOV (RUS), Frank STAEBLER (GER), Rasul CHUNAYEV (AZE) and  Hansu RYU (KOR).

Since that massive confidence-building performance in Nur-Sultan, El Sayed has asserted himself into one of Greco-Roman’s biggest stars. He’s added another U23 world title and African title to his resume before closing out last year with a bronze-medal finish at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

No. 8 Parviz NASIBOV (UKR), 23-years-old (August 18, 1998)

Instagram: nasibov_parviz

When it comes to the Olympic Games, most cave to the pressure that the infamous five rings carry. For Nasibov, it was the complete opposite. The 23-year-old Ukrainian showed up to Tokyo riding the high of a second-place finish at the World Olympic Qualifier where he upset Rio Olympic bronze medalist and world champ Chunayev en route to a berth to the Tokyo Games.

Nasibov put his two world championships appearances, where he finished in 20th and 29th place, behind him and shocked the world by reaching the Olympic finals. His path to Olympic silver featured wins over world champ Artem Surkov and the aforementioned El Sayed before falling to Iranian superstar Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI).

No. 7 Akzhol MAKHMUDOV, 22-years-old (April 15, 1999)

Instagram: akzhol_makhmudov

Makhmudov was destined for greatness and that was clear as a clean window after his epic 2017 junior world finals against Kamal BEY (USA). The Kyrgyz star’s style is a wrestling fan’s dream and a coach’s nightmare. He’s one of the rare individuals in wrestling that's willing to risk giving up points to score points, but in the end, it all worked out for him.

In 2018, Makhmudov suffered an injury that sidelined him for nearly two years. It’s hard to imagine where he’d be if he had those 24 months back, but he wouldn’t change it for the world.

Makhmudov returned to the mat in 2020, and after back-to-back finishes outside the top-ten, he found his grove and qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

From there, the rest is history. Makhmudov skyrocketed up the podium in Tokyo with wins over world champ Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE) and Karapet CHALYAN (ARM) before falling in the finals to the world champ Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) in the gold medal match.

Despite falling in the finals, Makhmudov claimed his nation’s first Greco-Roman Olympic medal since the ’08 Beijing Olympic Games.

No. 6 Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ), 22-years-old (November 9, 1999)

Instagram: zhumanazarova__m

Zhumanazarova joins fellow Kyrgyz women’s wrestling star Apiri MEDET KYZY (KGZ) on the list of the young stars to keep an eye out for.

The Bishkek native competed regularly on the senior circuit since 2017, but her coming-out party was at the ’20 Individual World Cup where she topped the podium with three wins --including an 8-2 win over Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) to capture gold.

Following that presence-announcing tournament in Belgrade, Zhumanazarova went on the world’s most impressive five-tournament run of the year. Her incredible stretch started with gold at International Ukrainian Tournament. Then she qualified for the Olympic Games with a runner-up finish at the Asian Olympic Qualifier before bagging bronze at the Poland Open Ranking Series event.

But Zhumanazarova saved her brightest performances for Tokyo and Oslo. She departed Tokyo as an Olympic bronze medalist and capped off her ’21 campaign with a world title run in a weight that featured then-reigning world and Olympic champ Tamyra MENSAH-STOCK (USA).

#WrestleZagreb

Zagreb Open 2026 Day 1: Gamkrelidze beats Valencia; Sujeet, Lee in finals

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (February 4) -- The Zagreb Open 2026 begins with six weight classes in Freestyle -- 57kg, 61kg, 65kg, 70kg, 74kg and 86kg. Stars like Zahid ZALENCIA (USA),  Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), AMAN (IND) are in action.

Please read the 2026 SEASON PREVIEW on uww.org

WATCH LIVE | LIVE MATCH ORDER | PREVIEW

Here's a recap of the morning session: 61kg medalists are already decided with Austin DESANTO (USA) winning gold and AMAN (IND) finishing with silver. 

Spencer LEE (USA) and Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) will face each other in the 57kg gold medal bout. SUJEET (IND) won two bouts via technical superiority and will now wrestle for gold at 65kg. At 74kg, a big final is set as David CARR (USA) and Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) will clash. And at 86kg, world champion Zahid VALENCIA (USA) and 79kg world champion Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE), who is now up at 86kg dropped their opening bouts. However, with Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) making it to the final, Valencia is pulled back while Kougioumtsidis has been knocked out.

13:38: Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), who defeated Zahid VALENCIA (USA) in the opening bout at 86kg, scores a late stepout to take a 2-2 criteria lead and beat Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI) at 86kg semifinals. Gamkrelidze will wrestle Parker KEKEISEN (USA) for gold after he scored a 9-5 victory over Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) in the other semifinal.

13:20: 74kg semifinals - David CARR (USA) with another technical superiority win at 74kg. He advances to the final after beating Giorgi ELBAKIDZE (GEO) 12-1. Four different takedowns and two gut-wrenches in that win for the American. A huge final coming up as world champion at 70kg Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN) hangs on for a 4-3 win over Seyfulla ITAEV (FRA). The French wrestlers was up 2-1 but Aoyagi scored a stepout and takedown before giving up a stepout but managed to win the bout.

13:05: 70kg semifinals - Sina KHALILI (IRI), U23 world silver medalist, rolls to a 10-0 victory over ABHIMANYOU (IND) using gut-wrenches. He makes it to the final and will wrestle Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) for the gold medal. The Georgian defended his lead against Caleb HENSON (USA) to win 6-3. After leading 6-0, Kemertelidze gave up a takedown and then a stepout to Henson. But the American could not score the four points needed to win the semifinals.

12:55: 65kg semifinals - SUJEET (IND) continues his dominance at 65kg, beating Joseph MCKENNA (USA), 11-0 in the semifinal in semifinal. He will now wrestle for gold against Peyman NEMATI (IRI) who scored a comeback win over Gamzatgadzhi KHALIDOV (HUN). The Hungarian had a 2-0 lead before Nemati managed to turn it around and complete a 4-2 win

12:40: 57kg semifinals - Spencer LEE (USA) completes a dominant 10-2 victory over Fuga SASAKI (JPN). He managed an early 6-2 and then continued to dominate the match, eventually winning 12-2. He will face Roman BRAVO YOUNG (MEX) for the gold medal after the Mexican defeated Milad VALIZADEH (IRI). Bravo Young kept his false attacks and change of direction was excellent throughout the bout

Semifinals begin at 12:30 local time

So far, world champion Zahid VALENCIA (USA) has suffered a technical superiority loss at 86kg while Takara SUDA (JPN), moving up from 61kg to 65kg, dropped his match against Joseph MCKENNA (USA). At 61kg, Austin DESANTO (USA) has captured the gold medal after winning three bouts in a Nordic bracket

12:15: In what was a virtual final at 61kg, Austin DESANTO (USA) not only needed a victory over AMAN (IND), he also need to win via technical superiority or fall. He does exactly that by pinning Aman after taking an 8-0 lead and win the gold medal at 61kg. Aman finishes with a silver medal.

12:12: U23 world champion SUJEET (IND) finishes his quarterfinal at 65kg with a 10-0 victory over Khamzat ARSAMERZOUEV (FRA) and sets up a quarterfinal against Joseph MCKENNA (USA) who defeated Takara SUDA (JPN) 7-0 in the other quarterfinal.

12:08: Sina KHALILI (IRI) took a 9-1 lead over Ian PARKER (USA) but was gave a stepout with a minute remaining. However, he had little trouble holding on to his 9-3 lead and win his bout at 70kg.

12:00: Olympic silver medalist Spencer LEE (USA) hangs on for an easy 4-0 victory over European silver medalist Azamat TUSKAEV (SRB) at 57kg. He moves into the semifinals in which he will wrestle Fuga SASAKI (JPN)

11:55: Fuga SASAKI (JPN) hangs on for a 7-1 victory over ANKUSH (IND) in 57kg quarterfinals. Sasaki goes for three takedown and one stepout in his win over Ankush who failed to get any attacks going.

11:50: Akaki KEMERTELIDZE (GEO) shuts down Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) at 70kg for a 3-0 win. Not much action in the match but Kemertelidze is happy with the win here.

11:45: Roman BRAVO-YOUNG (MEX) continues his excellent form and wins his quarterfinal against Anthony KNOX (USA), 12-2. He will wrestle in the semifinal at 57kg.

11:35: World champion Zahid VALENCIA (USA), who did not concede a single point at the World Championships, drops his quarterfinal against Vladimir GAMKRELIDZE (GEO), 11-0. Gut-wrench from par terre for Gamkrelidze

11:25: Former U20 world bronze medalist ANKUSH (IND) uses the Figure 4 turn to great effect to beat Ali YAHYAPOUR (IRI), 11-0, at 57kg. Ankush has long been seen as the biggest challenge to Olympic bronze medalist AMAN (IND) at the weight class

11:15: Zahid VALENCIA (USA) off to solid starts at 86kg as he takes out Sandeep MANN (IND) 11-0 in the opening bout at 86kg. Valencia is the world champion at 86kg, a title he won at the same Arena Zagreb in September last year

11:05: Yoshinosuke AOYAGI (JPN), world champion at 70kg, makes his 74kg debut with a controlled 6-1 victory over James GREEN (USA). Aoyagi scored a stepout to lead 2-1 before scoring two counter takedowns to finish the bout as the winner.

10:55: David CARR (USA) took his own time to get going but he manages a victory via fall over Aliakbar FAZLI (IRI) after building a 13-2 lead at 74kg.

10:45: World champion at 79kg Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) seemed in complete control of his first bout at 86kg against Abolfazl SHAMSIPOUR (IRI), leading 6-1 with a minute remaining. However, Shamsipour mounts a comeback, scoring six points in the final minute and beat the Greek world champion 7-6  

10:40: First period technical superiority, 10-0, win for AMAN (IND) against Giorgi GONIASHVILI (GEO) who is in action for the first time since winning a gold medal at the Ulaanbaatar Open in June last year.

10:30: Welcome to the Zagreb Open Ranking Series. Day one of the competition and we have six Freestyle weight classes in action. Multiple Olympic and world medalists in action today.