#WrestleIstanbul

#WrestleIstanbul Rematch-to-Watch: Burroughs vs. Cabolov

Wednesday, February 16, 2022 - 12:46 By Eric Olanowski

Share this article

ISTANBUL, Turkey (February 16) -- The last time Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) and Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) – formerly known as Khetik TSABOLOV (RWF) -- shared the mat, there were both individual and freestyle team world titles on the line.

Cabolov and Burroughs are entered into the stacked 79kg bracket at next week’s Yasar Dogu and could potentially clash next Sunday, February 27, for Ranking Series gold.

Although the stakes in Istanbul won’t be as high as they were in the ’17 Paris world finals, the tensions are guaranteed to remain on the same level. The two have a clear respect for each other off the mat, but if that final in France was any indication as to what another match could look like, wrestling fans are in for a treat next week.

During their fiercely-contested last meeting, there were seven lead changes, six combined takedowns and a referee stoppage after the match started to resemble a heavyweight boxing fight.

Burroughs surrendered the first takedown of the match and trailed 2-0 early as his then-Russian opponent stopped a double leg from open space, scoring off an elbow pass to a single leg. Burroughs leveled the match two apiece with a counter offense freight train double leg, taking the lead on criteria a minute into the bout.

Burroughs handed the lead back to Cabolov 28 seconds later after he tried toeing the out of bounds to stop a double leg attempt, but the 2014 world champion circled the American legend to his right and grabbed a second takedown.

Trailing 4-2, Burroughs caught Cabolov on his belly after a double leg from space and transitioned from a go behind to a leg lace and led 6-4.

The Russian Wrestling Federation didn’t agree with the two-and-two, saying Cabolov’s knee never touched while Burroughs was behind and requested a challenge. They won the challenge and cut Burroughs’ lead to 4-4 heading into the closing frame.

The second period is where their hands became heavy and things got chippy between the pair of former world champs. “Now they’re in each other faces. This is turning not only into a wrestling match but a war,” said Bryan Hazard, who was on the call for the 74kg finals match.

After a stern warning from the ref, action resumed. Burroughs skated the edge of the mat and halted a Cabolov shot and extended his lead to 5-4 with a step out. But that lead was short-lived, as the gold-shoe-wearing American conceded a single leg and trailed 6-5 with 90 ticks left.

Burroughs bagged his third takedown of the bout off a lazy shot attempt from Cabolov and regained the lead, 7-6. He tacked on a fourth takedown of the bout, closing out the match with a three-point victory to claim his fourth career world title.

Both have moved a weight class up since then and are scheduled to compete at 79kg at the first Ranking Series event of the season, Yasar Dogu, on Sunday, February 27.

For news, recaps, highlights, interviews and much more from Istanbul, visit www.uww.org or follow United World Wrestling on all social media channels.

#WrestleIstanbul 79kg Entries

Francisco de Deus KADIMA (ANG) 
Gadzhimurad OMAROV (AZE) 
Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA) 
Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) 
Tariel GAPHRINDASHVILI (GEO) 
Gourav BALIYAN (IND) 
Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) 
Meiir KOSHKINBAYEV (KAZ) 
Daulet YERGESH (KAZ) 
Zhiger ZAKIROV (KAZ) 
Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ) 
Alans AMIROVS (LAT) 
Gadzhimurad ALIKHMAEV (RWF) 
Hetik CABOLOV (SRB) 
Jakub SYKORA (SVK) 
Nuri TEMUR (TUR) 
Muhammet AKDENIZ (TUR) 
Abdullah ARSLAN (TUR) 
Vasyl MYKHAILOV (UKR) 
Zhora ABOVIAN (UKR) 
Chandler MARSTELLER (USA) 
Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) 
David MC FADDEN (USA)

#WrestleSamokov

Onishi repeats as U20 world champ; Blaze wins 61kg gold

Wednesday, August 20, 2025 - 21:52 By Vinay Siwach

Share this article

SAMOKOV, Bulgaria (August 20) -- Four bouts, a combined score of 40-0, and a total time on the mat of five minutes and 24 seconds -- all matches finished inside the first period.

Sakura ONISHI (JPN) put on one of the most dominant performances at the World U20 Championships, becoming a two-time world champion by winning the 59kg gold in Samokov, Bulgaria, on Wednesday.

The Japanese wrestling phenom spent less time on the mat than a full six-minute wrestling match and won all bouts with a 10-0 score, just like she did in 2024. Onishi has now outscored her opponents 80-0 over the two tournaments.

After three wins on Tuesday, Onishi faced Karin SAMUELSSON (SWE) in the final. She locked Samuelsson's legs around her head, turning her four times after the takedown. She used the technique on three of her four wins.

"I didn't want to finish quickly. I wanted to focus on winning each point and play the match with that focus," Onishi said.

Onishi feels that she has improved technically since last year, especially after winning the senior Asian Championships in which she faced stiff competition.

"I've been working on improving in various ways," she said. "I wanted to aim even higher in terms of technique and physical strength. The fact that I wasn't defeated in the senior category boosted my confidence. Winning the Asian Championships and Ranking Tournament in Tirana also boosted my confidence."

Sakura ONISHI (JPN)Sakura ONISHI (JPN) uses her trademark lace against Karin SAMUELSSON (SWE) in the 59kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Next for Onishi is the senior World Championships in September as she prepares to win the world title in Zagreb as well. To prepare for that she wanted to test herself again in this age group.

"The World Championships are coming up, and I think this category is just one step in the process," she said. "I think I've taken a good step forward, and I definitely want to win the senior World Championships."

Ray HOSHINO (JPN)Ray HOSHINO (JPN) works on a takedown against SRISHTI (IND) in the 68kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Amirreza Aliasgari)

Japan won its second gold medal through Ray HOSHINO (JPN), who also won her second World U20 title. Hoshino, the 2023 world U20 champion, showed no signs of rust in her 7-0 hammering of SRISHTI (IND) in the 68kg final in Samokov.

Srishti, a returning bronze medalist, tried to score on Hoshino, but the Japanese wrestler overpowered her and clearly had a better game plan for the final bout.

Hoshino scored the first takedown of the final and then added a step-out to take a 3-0 lead. She then scored a go-behind to extend her lead to 5-0 at the break. An ankle pick during Srishti's attack gave Hoshino her third takedown of the match and a 7-0 lead she kept until the end.

India crowned one champion on Wednesday when TAPSYA (IND) defeated the European U20 champion, Felicitas Domajeva (NOR), 5-2, to win the 57kg gold medal.

In a match decided by a single move, Tapsya scored a takedown and used an arm-bar to pin Domajeva, who survived the attempt but fell behind 5-0 as she had already conceded a point for passivity.

In the final seconds of the bout, Domajeva scored a takedown, but it was harmless to Tapsya, who defended any turn attempts to win 5-2 and India's first gold in Samokov.

The loss ended hopes for Domajeva to win the first world U20 gold medal for Norway in 37 years. She had became the first Norway wrestler to enter the World U20 Championships final in Women's Wrestling in 15 years.

Marcus BLAZE (USA)Marcus BLAZE (USA) celebrates, like his roommate at Penn State Masanosuke ONO (JPN), after winning the 61kg final. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

U.S. defends Freestyle title

Marcus BLAZE (USA) upgraded his bronze medal from last year to a gold medal, and Maxwell MCENELLY (USA) won the gold medal in the 86 kg weight class as the United States successfully defended its freestyle team title at the World U20 Championships. With five gold medals, the U.S. had its best showing in the competition's history since 1984.

Blaze, who lost to the Japanese world champion Masanosuke ONO (JPN) last year, defeated a former world U17 champion Ahora KHATERI (USA), 10-0, in the final, his fourth win via technical superiority.

With his gold medals at the World U17 and U20 Championships, Blaze joins an elite group of wrestlers who have won world titles at both the U17 and U20 levels.

In Samokov, Blaze demonstrated that he will be a formidable opponent at the senior level as well. He wrestled with solid positioning and scored with various techniques. In the final match, he wrestled Khateri patiently, scoring five stepouts in the first period. A caution against Khateri made it 6-0, and then a go-behind and turn by Blaze made it 10-0.

"I feel good," Blaze said. "I wrestled pretty well. Throughout the tournament, I just kept getting better and better. I feel good about it. Our coaches gave me a game plan, and I stuck to it."

Before the final match, Blaze received a text message from his high school coach, Scott BURNETT, who explained Khateri's wrestling style and told Blaze to "suffocate" his opponent.

"When I was really young, my coach always said to be in a great position the whole time," he said. "Before the final, he told me to suffocate my opponent, and I feel like that's what I did out there."

Marcus BLAZE (USA)Marcus BLAZE (USA) is now a world U17 and U20 champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kadir Caliskan)

In his international career, Blaze has lost only once — to Ono in 2024 — but now, both wrestlers train at Penn State in the United States. After winning the gold medal, Blaze imitated Ono's 2024 celebration after the Japanese had won gold at the U20 World Championships.

"I live with Ono; he's my roommate," Blaze said. "He's a great person. At that time, he was just way better. I'm thankful to be able to wrestle with him every single day."

The second gold medal for the U.S. came from McEnelly, who defeated Bozigit ISLAMGEREEV (UWW) 8-0 at 86 kg.

McEnelly prevented Islamgereev from attacking his legs and wrestled at a fast pace throughout the final. He scored four takedowns to shut out Islamgereev.

RESULTS

Women's Wrestling

57kg
GOLD: TAPSYA (IND) df. Felicitas DOMAJEVA (NOR), 5-2

BRONZE: Dolzhon TSYNGUEVA (UWW) df. Sowaka UCHIDA (JPN), via inj. def.
BRONZE: Anna STRATAN (KAZ) df. Tindra DALMYR (SWE), 9-3

59kg
GOLD: Sakura ONISHI (JPN) df. Karin SAMUELSSON (SWE), 10-0

BRONZE: Hiunai HURBANOVA (AZE) df. Ella FINDING (CAN), 4-1
BRONZE: Yifan ZHU (CHN) df. Aubre KRAZER (USA), 5-3

68kg
GOLD: Ray HOSHINO (JPN) df. SRISHTI (IND), 7-0

BRONZE: Eduarda RODRIGUES BATISTA (BRA) df. Laura KOEHLER (GER), via fall
BRONZE: Odzaya ERDENEBAT (MGL) df. Oleksandra RYBAK (UKR), 9-8

Freestyle

61kg
GOLD: Marcus BLAZE (USA) df. Ahora KHATERI (IRI), 10-0

BRONZE: Omar AYOUB (PUR) df. Adlan SAITIEV (UWW), 8-6
BRONZE: Magomedkhan MAGAMEDKHANOV (UWW) df. Sargis BEGOYAN (ARM), 12-11

86kg
GOLD: Maxwell MCENELLY (USA) df. Bozigit ISLAMGEREEV (UWW), 8-0

BRONZE: Abolfazl RAHMANI (IRI) df. Razmik YEPREMYAN (ARM), 4-2
BRONZE: Ahmet YAGAN (TUR) df. Ryogo ASANO (JPN), 9-3