UWW Awards: Olympic Champs Geraei, Lorincz, Evloev Capture Top Spots in GR Rankings

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 - 14:23 By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 30) -- Wrestlers from eight different nationalities claimed the grand prize of $10,000 as United World Wrestling announced the prize winners of Greco-Roman in its year-end awards.

On Monday, the prize winners of the freestyle were announced and wrestlers from seven different countries took the top spot.

UWW continues to recognize and empower the wrestlers and will award $600,000 in prize money to 90 wrestlers, 30 from each style, based on a ranking system that honors the most active wrestler throughout the season. The top-ranked wrestler will get $10,000 followed by $7,000 for the second-placed wrestler and $3,000 for the third-ranked wrestler.

The prize money is almost three times from what it was in 2019 as the UWW Bureau had approved a generous $600,000 prize package at the beginning of the season. The 2021 prize money combines the amount that was reserved for 2020 but was not distributed due to the impact COVID-19 had on the competition.

The 2021 season was a first-of-its-kind as the Olympics and World Championships were held in the same year. As a result, the UWW Bureau decided to award the medalist at the Olympic Games 20 percent more than the points awarded at the 2021 World Championships. All Tokyo Games gold medalists will get 10 additional points, silver will get 6 additional points and bronze will be awarded 3 additional points.

For the convenience of the fans, here's a breakdown of how the points are distributed.

Ken MATSUI (JPN), blue, overtook Emin SEFERSHAEV (RWF) by the virtue of winning gold at the World Championships. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

55kg
Ken MATSUI (JPN) 58
Emin SEFERSHAEV (RWF) 58
Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) 39

Emin SEFERSHAEV (RWF) came into the World Championships as the top-ranked wrestler after winning the European Championships and 20 ranking points. On the other hand, Ken MATSUI (JPN) had not competed internationally since 2019.

The RWF wrestler was the favorite to win the gold but Matsui stunned the field in Oslo to claim the gold medal and 58 points. He defeated Sefershaev in the 55kg final to be tied at 58 points but his gold medal superseded the RWF wrestler's silver.

Matsui, the former cadet world champion, expressed his happiness over winning the prize money of $10,000.

Sefershaev got 14 points for winning gold at the Matteo Pellicone as well but he did that at 60kg and the points cannot be added to the points he got at 55kg.

The third spot was captured by Eldaniz AZIZLI (AZE) who had 39 points after winning the bronze medals at the European and World Championships. His Euro bronze gave him 16 points while the Oslo bronze was worth 23 points.

Victor CIOBANU (MDA), red, won the gold in Oslo and claimed the top rank at 60kg. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

60kg
Victor CIOBANU (MDA) 76
Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) 68
Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) 54

Victor CIOBANU (MDA) created history in Oslo after becoming Moldova's first-ever Greco-Roman world champion. His win at the World Championships gave him 58 points which were added to the 18 he got for a fifth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.

A total of 76 points were enough for his jump from eighth to the first position and overtake Olympic champion Luis ORTA SANCHEZ (CUB) who finished with 68 points and was second in the rankings. The Cuban skipped the '21 Worlds and could not add to his 68 points.

Oslo silver medalist Zholaman SHARSHENBEKOV (KGZ) managed to finish third with 54 points. He had 38 points from Oslo and 16 more from his seventh-place finish at the Tokyo Games.

Meysam DALKHANI (IRI), blue, is the top ranked wrestler at 63kg while Leri ABULADZE (GEO) finished second. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

63kg
Meysam DALKHANI (IRI) 78
Leri ABULADZE (GEO) 56
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) 38

Asian champion Sultan ASSETULY (KAZ) was the top-ranked wrestler at 63kg before the World Championships but he finished 12th in Oslo and could not add more points.

Meysam DALKHANI (IRI), who had lost to Assetuly in the Asian final, captured the gold at the World Championships and moved from the fifth spot to the top spot, thanks to the 60 points he collected in Oslo. From the Asian Championships, Dalkhani had 18 points.

Leri ABULADZE (GEO) had a chance to move to the top once he reached the final but he managed only a silver medal to finish with 56 points. He had 16 points for the bronze-medal finish at the European Championships.

Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) did not win a medal in Oslo but his fifth-place finish gave him 20 points that helped him climb to number three from six. His silver medal at the European Championships earlier this year had given him 18 points.

Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) won Olympic and World Championships gold to be undisputed at 67kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

67kg
Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) 128
Murat FIRAT (TUR) 60
Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) 56

One of the two wrestlers in the world to win Olympic and World titles in the same year, Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI) had an unchallenged path to the top at 67kg. He collected 128 points from the two tournaments he participated in, winning gold in both.

He won the 67kg gold medal at Tokyo Olympics and then repeated the feat at the World Championships in Oslo. He collected 68 points from Tokyo and added 60 more from the '21 Worlds.

Such were Geraei's wins that the second-placed wrestler at 67kg Murat FIRAT (TUR) managed only 60 points from four events. He began with a fifth-place finish at Matteo Pellicone which gave him 10 points as the number of participants in 67kg was 16.

Firat then won a bronze medal at the European Championships and added 16 more points. His gold in the Poland Open ranking added another 14 points. But the 20 points for a fifth-place finish at the Worlds gave him a boost and propelled him to the second spot.

Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Mohamed ELSAYED (EGY) managed to keep his spot in the top three despite skipping the World Championships. He collected 26 points from the '21 Olympic Games, adding to the 12 points he had for a silver-medal finish at the Poland Open.

For Elsayed, 18 points were carried over from the 2020 African Championships as it was not held in 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) became the world champion and top-ranked wrestler at 72kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

72kg
Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) 78
Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) 41
Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF) 40

2021 world champion Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) won the grand prize at 72kg after winning the gold medal in Oslo. The European silver medalist had collected 18 points from Warsaw and his run in Oslo gave him 60 more, enough for the top rank.

He defeated Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF) in the '21 Worlds final and the RWF wrestler collected 40 points for his silver medal. But that was not enough for him to finish second.

He finished third as the bronze medalist in Oslo Gevorg SAHAKYAN (POL) had 41 points to claim the second spot. He had 25 points from Oslo and 16 points from Poland Open where he won the gold medal at 72kg.

Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) won the top prize at 77kg. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

77kg
Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) 90
Roman VLASOV (RWF) 72
Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) 58

For the second consecutive time, Lorincz family will have a top ranked wrestler at the end of the year, In 2019, it was Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) who was awarded the top Greco-Roman wrestler while in 2021, his brother Tamas takes the honours at 77kg.

The Olympic and European champion Tamas LORINCZ (HUN) got 22 points from Warsaw and then added 68 points more in Tokyo where he defeated Akzhol MAKHMUDOV (KGZ) in the final. He decided to retire after the gold-medal performance.

Two-time Olympic champion and 2021 world champion Roman VLASOV (RWF) ended his year on a high with the gold in Oslo and a second-place finish in the rankings. He collected 60 points from the Oslo event.

He had suffered a shock loss to Tamas LEVAI (HUN) in the ranking event at Poland Open but managed to finish with a bronze medal, giving him 12 points. His 72 points were enough for a second-place finish.

Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) finished second to Vlasov in Oslo and collected 40 points, adding to the 18 points he got for the bronze medal at the European Championships.

Rafiq HUSEYNOV (AZE), left, claim top spot at 82kg while Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) was third. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

82kg
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) 70
Adlan AKIEV (RWF) 61
Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) 54

Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) displaced Adlan AKIEV (RWF) from the top spot at 82kg with a gold-medal performance at the 2021 World Championships. Akiev was the number one ranked wrestler thanks to title wins at the Matteo Pellicone and the European Championships.

Coming into the Worlds, Huseynov had only 10 points for his bronze medal at the Poland Open. But he defeated Akiev in the semifinal in Oslo and then won the gold medal at 82kg, collecting 60 points, taking his total to 70.

Huseynov had won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics but that came at 77kg, points for which could not be added to the points he earned at 82kg.

Akiev's bronze only got him 25 points and a total of 61 points was good for only a second-place finish.

Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) reached the final at the World Championships and collected 40 points. The other 14 he had collected by winning the silver medal at the Matteo Pellicone event.

Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) won the gold at World Championships to be ranked one at 87kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

87kg
Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) 106
Zhan BELENIUK (UKR) 84
Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) 58

Zhan BELENUIK (UKR) won the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics to collect 68 points and his bronze at the European Championships gave him 16 points as he reached the top spot after the Olympics.

But Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) replaced him from the top position by winning the gold medal at the World Championships. The 60 points he received were in addition to the 26 he had for the bronze medal at the Olympics. He had 20 more points from his gold medal at the European Championships.

Datunashvili's 106 points ensured the number position for him and shifted Beleniuk to the second spot.

Silver medalist at the World and European Championships to Datunashvili, Kiryl MASKEVICH (BLR) edged Tokyo Games silver medalist Viktor LORINCZ (HUN) by two points to claim the third spot. He had 58 points, thanks to the two silver medals which gave him 40 and 18 points respectively.

Olympic champion Musa EVLOEV (RWF) got the rank at 97kg for his exploits in Tokyo. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

97kg
Musa EVLOEV (RWF) 102
Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) 102
Alex SZOKE (HUN) 58

Olympic champion Musa EVLOEV (RWF) and world champion Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI) ended the season with 102 points each but the former's gold medal at the Olympics superseded Saravi's bronze at the same event.

Evloev collected 68 points from the Tokyo Games and 20 from the gold medal-winning run at the European Championships in April this year. He also had a gold medal from Matteo Pellicone, giving him 14 more points.

Saravi got only 26 points for his bronze medal at the '21 Olympics but his gold in Oslo was worth 60 points, helping him climb from third place to first. The other 16 points were added from the gold he won at the Poland Open ranking event.

The third place was locked by Alex SZOKE (HUN) with 58 points, 40 of which came from the silver medal at the World Championships. He had finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics and received 18 points for that performance.

Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) collected 92 points in 2021 to be top ranked at 130kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

130kg
Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI) 92
Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) 87
Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) 68

Aliakbar YOUSOFIAHMADCHALI (IRI)'s only loss this year came against compatriot Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) in the final of the Poland Open ranking event. That loss in sandwiched the gold medals he won at the Asian and World Championships.

The two gold and silver helped the Iranian collect 92 points and edge Iakobi KAJAIA (GEO) by five points to finish at the number one spot in the 130kg weight class.

He collected 60 points from the gold in Oslo, 18 from the gold in Almaty and 14 from the silver medal in Warsaw.

Kajaia won medals at three events this year to claim the second spot. He won a silver medal at the Olympic Games, earning him 46 points. His bronze medal in Oslo was worth 25 points while the one at the European Championships earned him 16 points.

Four-time Olympic champion and Greco-Roman legend Mijain LOPEZ (CUB) finished in third place with only the points he collected after winning the gold in Tokyo.

Lopez, who last competed at a World Championships in 2015, earned 68 points for the gold medal in Tokyo, enough for him to be in the third spot.

World Championships silver medalist Zurabi GEDEKHUARI (RWF) also had 68 points but the weightage of Lopez's Olympic gold was more than that of the RWF wrestler's Oslo silver.

The wrestlers can earn ranking points for the 2022 season with the Matteo Pellicone ranking event from February 3-6 in Rome, Italy. That will be followed by the Yasar Dogu event from February 25-28 in Istanbul, Turkey.

For more events, log on to uww.org/events.

#UWWAwards

UWW Awards: Sadulaev, Burroughs, Otoguro Among 10 FS Wrestlers Awarded $10,000

Monday, November 29, 2021 - 10:45 By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (November 28) -- After a forced delay of two years, United World Wrestling's end-of-year awards are back.

For the first time, wrestlers of all three styles and 30 weight categories will receive prize money with the top-ranked wrestler getting $10,000 followed by $7,000 for the second-placed wrestler and $3,000 for the third-ranked wrestler. Previously the Ranking Series award allocation went to the top three overall point-getters in each style.

Making a significant jump from the 2019 prize money, which was around $200,000, the UWW Bureau approved a generous $600,000 prize package at the beginning of the season.

The 2021 prize money combines the amount that was reserved for 2020 but was not distributed due to the impact COVID-19 had on the competition.

This season was unlike any other with Olympics and World Championships in the same year apart from the other ranking events which allowed wrestlers to collect ranking points. The point distributions are unchanged for all events except the Olympic Games, where medalists earned 20 percent more than they did for performances at the 2021 World Championships. All Tokyo Games gold medalists will get 10 additional points, silver will get 6 additional points and bronze will be awarded 3 additional points.

For the convenience of the fans, here's a breakdown of how the points are distributed.

Thomas GILMAN (USA) was the top-ranked wrestler at 57kg. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

57kg
Thomas GILMAN (USA) 86 points
Zavur UGUEV (RWF) 68 points
Ravi KUMAR (IND) 64 points

The top three wrestlers at 57kg won medals at the Tokyo Olympics. But only Thomas GILMAN (USA) participated in the World Championships in Oslo and overtook Olympic champion Zavur UGUEV (RWF) and silver medalist Ravi KUMAR (IND) to take home $10,000.

In the 2021 season, Gilman participated in only two ranking events – Olympics and Worlds – and collected 26 (15 + 3 + 8) points from Tokyo for his bronze medal and 60 (50 + 10) from Oslo for his gold medal. His combined 86 points were 18 more than Uguev and 22 more than Dahiya.

Uguev only participated in Tokyo and captured 68 points with his gold medal performance. Dahiya's silver in Tokyo gave him 44 points while his gold at the Asian Championships in April added 20 more to his account.

Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF), left, will collect the top prize while Daton FIX (USA) finished second in the race. (Photo: Kadir Caliskan)

61kg
Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF) 80 points
Daton FIX (USA) 40 points
Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ) 38 points

For Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF), winning the continental and the World titles was enough to ensure him the top spot at 61kg. His 80 points from the two events put him in the front as silver medalist in Oslo Daton FIX (USA) only had 40 points.

Magomedov got 60 points from the World Championships, adding to the 20 that he had accumulated by winning the gold at the European Championships.

"Before the World Championships, I was second and my coaches had told me that there is some ranking system for the end of the year," Magomedov said. "It's good news that I will get this big amount and I appreciate it."

The Russian champion has not thought about what he will do with the prize money but hopes to use it to buy an apartment.

"I have been saving to buy an apartment and I can add this money to the savings as well," he said.

For third place, Adlan ASKAROV (KAZ) participated in four events in the year with gold in Matteo Pellicone, silver at the Asian Championships and a fifth-place finish at the Poland Open. He could not get any points in Oslo.

He got 14 points in Rome, 16 points in Almaty and 8 points in Poland, making it 38 points for him, six more than fourth-placed Ravinder DAHIYA (IND).

Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) finished at the top in 65kg with 88 points. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

65kg
Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) 88 points
Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF) 80 points
Bajrang PUNIA (IND) 58 points

Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) and world champion Zagir SHAKHIEV (RUS) take the top two spots at the 65kg rankings while bronze medalist in Tokyo Bajrang PUNIA (IND) is third.

Before the Tokyo Games, Otoguro had 20 points for winning the gold at the Asian Championships but by winning in Tokyo, he add 68 more points and climbed up to the top spot with 88 points.

"I was aware of the ranking system but wasn't sure that I will get this prize money," Tokyo Olympic champion Otoguro said. "I am happy to win it and I will use this fund to prepare for the next tournament."

Punia was in the second spot but decided to skip the '21 Worlds and Shakhiev, who won gold in Oslo, leapfrogged him for the second spot. The RWF wrestler got 60 points from Oslo, adding to the 20 he was awarded for winning the senior European Championships.

Punia earned 14 points for his gold medal at the Matteo Pellicone in March before a silver medal at the Asian Championships gave him 18 more. His total reached 58 when he won the bronze at the Olympics given him 26 points.

Magomedmurad GHADZIEV Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL), blue, won the world title at 70kg and finished top while Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) finished second. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

70kg
Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) 60 points
Alec PANTALEO (USA) 46 points
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) 40 points

Alec PANTALEO (USA) was the runaway leader in the 70kg rankings but his absence from the World Championships in Oslo hindered his chances of winning the grand amount of $10,000.

Before Oslo, the USA wrestler had accumulated 46 points by winning the gold medal at Matteo Pellicone (14 points), Pan Am Championships (18 points) and Poland Open (14 points). But he failed to make the USA team for Oslo after suffering an injury against Ryan DEAKIN (USA) in the team trials, stopping from adding any more points.

That gave the gold medal in Oslo a clear path to take the top spot and Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) was up for it. He won a historic gold medal for Poland in Oslo and collected 60 points to push the American wrestler to the second position.

Rising star Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) will collect the $3000 for finishing third, thanks to his silver medal-winning performance at the Worlds which gave him 40 points.

Kyle DAKE (USA) finished at the top in 74kg. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

74kg
Kyle DAKE (USA) 106 points
Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RWF) 68 points
Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) 66 points

Kyle DAKE (USA) is one of three top rankers across 10 freestyle weight classes who managed to accumulate more than 100 points in series. He took the top spot at 74kg after winning the gold medal at the World Championships, bronze at the Olympics and a senior Pan Am title.

The three-time world champion had only 28 points from the Olympics as he finished with a bronze medal and 18 for the Pan Am gold medal. But he got 60 points for the gold medal at the World Championships which helped him move ahead of Olympic champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RWF) and Frank CHAMIZO (ITA).

"I'll have to check with my wife and see what we have to buy," Dake said after winning the gold in Oslo.

Sidakov, who skipped the Worlds Championships, got 50 points for his gold medal in Tokyo plus an additional 8 points as the number of participants was between 10 and 20. Ten more points were added as the UWW Bureau had approved that Tokyo Olympic medalists will earn 20 percent more points than the Worlds medalists (only for 2021).

Chamizo did not win a medal at the Olympics and later skipped the World Championships but still finished third in the rankings, thanks for his active participation in the first half of the year.

In Tokyo, Chamizo finished fifth and collected 18 points which were in addition to 16 he got at the Matteo Pellicone in March, another 18 for the bronze medal at the Europen Championships and 14 points for silver at the Poland Open. He finished with 66 points.

Had Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) won the gold medal in Oslo instead of silver, he would have gone past both Chamizo and Sidakov but the European champion could only manage 62 points to finish fourth.

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA), left, won the gold at 79kg in Oslo to climb to the top of the rankings. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

79kg
Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) 60 points
Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO) 41 points
Mohamad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) 40 points

If Jordan BURROUGHS (USA)'s absence from the 74kg rankings left the wrestling fans surprised, it is because he wrestled at 79kg internationally for the first time in his career. And he took the top spot instantly.

Winning his fifth world title in Oslo, Burroughs once again assured his fans that he is far from finished. His gold medal gave him 60 points and $10,000 in winnings.

Mohamad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) was second to Burroughs in Oslo but his 40 points were one less than bronze medalist Nika KENTCHADZE (GEO)'s 41 points.

The Georgian wrestler won a bronze medal at the European Championships which gave him 16 points and he added 25 more in Oslo to climb up to the second spot.

Junior world champion Nokhoilarimi's silver was worth 40 points, enough to get him a third spot and $3000.

David TAYLOR USA David TAYLOR (USA), red, finished first, two points ahead of Hassan YAZDANI (IRI), blue, in the rankings. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

86kg
David TAYLOR (USA) 126 points
Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) 124 points
Artur NAIFONOV (RWF) 71 points

David TAYLOR (USA) and Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) took their rivalry to the next level with a bout of the tournament at the Olympics and then a sensational comeback from Yazdani in Oslo. They were neck-to-neck in the rankings but it was Taylor who edged Yazdani by two points to be the top-ranked wrestler in the weight class with 126 points as his rival finished with 124 points.

Yazdani led mid-year as his gold at Asian Championships gave him 20 points while Taylor's Pan Am title was worth only 18 points. But at the Olympics, Taylor defeated Yazdani with a late takedown and the gold gave him 68 points while Yazdani got 44 points.

The medals were reversed in Oslo as Yazdani took home a gold and 50 points and the silver for Taylor fetched him 40 points.

Artur NAIFONOV (RWF), who has been in the shadow of Yazdani and Taylor at 86kg, finished third with 71 points with most, 26, coming through his bronze medal at the Olympics. He had 20 points from the gold medal at the European Championships and added 25 more through his bronze in Oslo.

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI), left, defeated Magomed KURBANOV (RWF) in the 92kg final to claim the top rank. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

92kg
Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) 76 points
Magomed KURBANOV (RWF) 58 points
Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) 39 points

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) and Magomed KURBANOV (RWF) came to the World Championships with gold medals at the Asian and European Championships respectively.

Kurbanov led the ranking with 20 points to Ghasempour's 18 but then positions were interchanged in Oslo when the Iranian wrestler won the gold medal by defeating Kurbanov at 92kg. The Asian champion collected 58 points from Oslo while Kurbanov managed only 38 for his silver medal.

The young star and U23 world champion Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) finished third in the ranking with 39 points, thanks to his bronze medal finish which gave him 23 points. He also had 16 points from the bronze medal finish at the European Championships.

Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF), red, had 128 points against Kyle SNYDER (USA)'s 102 at 97kg. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

97kg
Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) 128 points
Kyle SNYDER (USA) 102 points
Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) 68 points

Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) is undefeated at the Olympics. He has gold medals at the last three World Championships and fittingly, he claimed the most ranking points in the 2021 season.

With 128 points in just two tournaments, Sadulaev locked up the top position at 97kg against his arch-rival Kyle SNYDER (USA) who managed only 102 points in three tournaments.

The two met in the Olympics and World Championships finals and Sadulaev came out on top both times which proved to be the difference between the two fighters.

Sadulaev defeated Snyder 6-3 at the Olympics and collected 68 points for the gold medal. He then added 60 more points with another gold in Oslo.

Snyder had 18 points from his Pan Am gold before the Olympics where he got 44 points for his silver medal. He added 40 more from the silver in Oslo to sit at 102 points.

Alisher YERGALI (KAZ) managed to finish third in the ranking with 68 points which he collected over five tournaments. He began with the Matteo Pellicone and finished with a bronze medal which opened his account with 10 points. He added 18 more with a silver medal finish at the Asian Championships and 12 more with another bronze medal finish at the Poland Open.

He failed to medal at the Olympics or the Worlds Championships but finished seventh and 10th to claim 16 and 12 points respectively.

Geno Petriashvili Amir ZARE Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO), red, and Amir ZARE (IRI) both finished with 98 points but the former's Tokyo Olympic silver held more weightage than the latter's bronze. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

125kg
Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) 98 points
Amir ZARE (IRI) 98 points
Gable STEVESON (USA) 78 points

Olympic and World Championships silver medalist Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) finished the ranking series with 98 points. Olympic bronze and world champion Amir ZARE (IRI) finished the ranking series with 98 points.

There was little to separate the two but in the end, Petriashvili's silver at the Olympics was given more weightage than Zare's bronze in Tokyo.

The Georgian former world champion began the year with a bronze medal at the European Championships giving him 16 points. Tokyo silver added 44 points and the medal in Oslo added another 38 points to his tally.

Zare's path began at the Poland Open where he won the gold and collected 14 points for the win. He then traveled to Tokyo and came back with a bronze medal and 26 points. But he got a big boost to his ranking when he won the gold in Oslo, giving him 58 points for the win.

Steveson, who stunned the wrestling world by winning gold in Tokyo, finished in third with 68 points, all collected at the Olympics. He also won continental gold at the Pan-American Championships.

The ranking events for the 2022 season will begin with Matteo Pellicone in Rome, Italy from February 3-6 and continue to Yasar Dogu in Istanbul, Turkey from February 24-27 before rolling into the continental championships.

For more events, please log on to uww.org/events

UWW Awards: Olympic Champs Geraei, Lorincz, Evloev Capture Top Spots in GR Rankings

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UWW Awards: Sadulaev, Burroughs, Otoguro Among 10 FS Wrestlers Awarded $10,000