#YasarDogu

Yasar Dogu Set to Welcome Wrestling's Biggest Stars

Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - 09:22 By Eric Olanowski

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ISTANBUL, Turkey (July 1) -- The most anticipated freestyle Ranking Series event of the year, the Yasar Dogu, will take place July 11 to 14 in Istanbul, and more than 275 wrestlers from 21 countries are expected to make the journey to Turkey's most populated city. The goal remains simple: try to pocket the remaining Ranking Series points before heading to Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, for September's World Championships. 

Since the Budapest World Championships, wrestlers have been stashing away Ranking Series points with hopes of becoming one of the forty top-four seeded wrestlers come September. The Yasar Dogu leaves those on the cusp of earning a top-four seed one last opportunity to gain those additional much-needed Ranking Series points. 

Heading into Istanbul, five wrestlers have seized the No. 1 seed, 17 wrestlers have cemented at least a top-four seed, leaving 23 seeds open for the taking in Istanbul. Though they're not all entered, there are still 150 wrestlers who could steal a seed from a current top-four seeded wrestler if they were to win a gold medal in a weight class with 20+ wrestlers in Turkey. 

Wrestling begins July 11 and can be followed live on www.unitedworldwrestling.org. 

Freestyle

57kg
Abdelhak KHERBACHE (ALG)
Islam BAZARGANOV (AZE)
Giorgi EDISHERASHVILI (AZE)
Mikyay Salim NAIM (BUL)
Georgi Valentinov VANGELOV (BUL)
Gamal Abdelnaser Hanafy MOHAMED (EGY)
Kumar RAVI (IND)
Givi DAVIDOVI (ITA)
Minir REDJEPI (MKD)
Haljit OSMAN (MKD)
Muhamad IKROMOV (TJK)
Suleyman ATLI (TUR)
Ahmet DUMAN (TUR)
Saban KIZILTAS (TUR)

61kg
Mohamed Al Amine LAKEL (ALG)
Mirjalal HASAN ZADA (AZE)
Asgar MAMMADALIYEV (AZE)
Yasser Eshhata Abady AHMED (EGY)
Rahul Balasaheb AWARE (IND)
Sandeep TOMAR (IND)
Utkarsh Pandharinath KALE (IND)
Behnam Eshagh EHSANPOOR (IRI)
Elmedin SEJFULAU (MKD)
Selehattin SERT (TUR)
Munir Recep AKTAS (TUR)
Recep TOPAL (TUR)
Tyler Lee GRAFF (USA)


Bajrang BAJRANG (IND) enters the Yasar Dogu as the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the world at 65kg. (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

65kg
Ali RAHIMZADE (AZE)
Haji Mohamad ALI (BRN)
Fathi Tarek Fathi Attia ISMAIL (EGY)
Ismail MUSUKAEV (HUN)
Bajrang BAJRANG (IND)
Sonba Tanaji GONGANE (IND)
Peiman Bioukagha BIABANI (IRI)
Alibek OSMONOV (KGZ)
Tilek SHARSHEEV (KGZ)
Fati VEJSELI (MKD)
Masoud NIAZI (NED)
Kaireddine BEN TELILI (TUN)
Cengizhan ERDOGAN (TUR)
Selahattin KILICSALLAYAN (TUR)
Mehmet Emin OGUT (TUR)
Zain Allen RETHERFORD (USA)
John Michael DIAKOMIHALIS (USA)

70kg
Fares LAKEL (ALG)
Murtazali Raxmatullayevic MUSLIMOV (AZE)
Gitinomagomed GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Aghahuseyn MUSTAFAYEV (AZE)
Adam BATIROV (BRN)
Mihail Iliev GEORGIEV (BUL)
Ali Pasha Ruslanovich UMARPASHAEV (BUL)
Amr Reda Ramadan HUSSEN (EGY)
Rajnesh RAJNEESH (IND)
Meisam Abolfazl NASIRI (IRI)
Adilet MAMATAEV (KGZ)
Riad REDJEPI (MKD)
Omer Faruk CAYIR (TUR)
Haydar YAVUZ (TUR)
Mustafa KAYA (TUR)
James Malcolm GREEN (USA)

Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA) enters the Yasar Dogu as the second-ranked wrestler in the world at 74kg. The Italian sits four points behind top-ranked Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RUS). (Photo: Gabor Martin)

74kg
Ishak BOUKHORS (ALG)
Toghrul ASGAROV (AZE)
Khadzhimurad GADZHIYEV (AZE)
Miroslav Stefanov KIROV (BUL)
Daniel ANTAL (HUN)
Csaba VIDA (HUN)
Zsombor Istvan GULYAS (HUN)
Amit Kumar DHANKHAR (IND)
Mohammad Ashghar NOKHODILARIMI (IRI)
Mostafa Mohabbali HOSSEINKHANI (IRI)
Frank CHAMIZO MARQUEZ (ITA)
Mansur SYRGAK UULU (KGZ)
Mohamed SESAY (SLE)
Taimuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK)
Maher GHANMI (TUN)
Haithem DAKHLAOUI (TUN)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Soner DEMIRTAS (TUR)
Yakup GOR (TUR)
Jordan Ernest BURROUGHS (USA)

79kg
Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG)
Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE)
Aleksandr GOSTIYEV (AZE)
Jabrayil HASANOV (AZE)
Benjamin SEZGIN (GER)
Botond LUKACS (HUN)
Murad KURAMAGOMEDOV (HUN)
Parveen RANA (IND)
Bahman Mohammad TEYMOURI (IRI)
Foday KARGBO (SLE)
Akhsarbek GULAEV (SVK)
Ramazan Ishak SAR I(TUR)
Ender COSKUN (TUR)
Muhammet Nuri KOTANOGLU (TUR)
Alexander David DIERINGER (USA)

Even though he's locked up his No. 1 seed for the World Championships, top-ranked Fatih ERDIN (TUR) will still wrestle at the Yasar Dogu. (Photo: Gabor Martin) 

86kg
Shamil ZUBAIROV (AZE)
Svetoslav Zhivkov DIMITROV (BUL)
Khaled Masoud Ismail ELMOATAMADAWI (EGY)
Taimuraz FRIEV NASKIDAEVA (ESP)
Patrik SZUROVSZKI (HUN)
Richard Ferenc LIGETI (HUN)
Deepak PUNIA (IND)
Hassan Aliazam YAZDANICHARATI (IRI)
Aligadzhi GAMIDGADZHIEV (KGZ)
Muhammad ALI (PAK)
Boris MAKOEV (SVK)
Ayoub BARRAJ (TUN)
Selim YASAR (TUR)
Osman GOCEN (TUR)
Fatih ERDIN (TUR)
James Patrick DOWNEY III (USA)

92kg
Mohammed FARDJ (ALG)
Sharif SHARIFOV (AZE)
Bendeguz TOTH (HUN)
Viky VIKY (IND)
Alireza Mohammad KARIMIMACHIANI (IRI)
Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR)
Erhan YAYLACI (TUR)
Ibrahim BOLUKBASI (TUR)
J'Den Michael Tbory COX (USA)

97kg
Aslanbek ALBOROV (AZE)
Hosam Mohamed Mostafa MERGHANY (EGY)
Pavlo OLIINYK (HUN)
Balasz Attila JUHASZ (HUN)
Satywart KADIAN (IND)
Reza Mohammad Ali YAZDANI (IRI)
Abraham de Jesus CONYEDO RUANO (ITA)
Magomed MUSAEV (KGZ)
Mohamed BUNDU (SLE)
Rustam ISKANDARI (TJK)
Ibrahim CIFTCI (TUR)
Baki SAHIN (TUR)
Fatih YASARLI (TUR)
Kyle Frederick SNYDER (USA)

Taha AKGUL (TUR) needs to at least score one Ranking Series to stop a potential world semifinals matchup between his biggest rival, Geno PETRIASHVILI (Photo: Sachiko Hotaka)

125kg
Seyed Mohammadreza AZARSHAKIB (AZE)
Khaled Omr Zaki Mohamed ABDALLA (EGY)
Ahmed Mahmoud Elsayed Mohamed KHALIL (EGY)
Mihaly NAGY (HUN)
Daniel LIGETI (HUN)
Sumit SUMIT (IND)
Komeil Nemat GHASEMI (IRI)
Farkhod ANAKULOV (TJK)
Taha AKGUL (TUR)
Abdullah OMAC (TUR)
Fatih CAKIROGLU (TUR)
Nicholas Edward GWIAZDOWSKI (USA)

Wrestling 2026 Season Preview: Freestyle, Women's Wrestling, Greco-Roman

Tuesday, February 3, 2026 - 11:11 By Vinay Siwach

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CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland (February 2) -- The 2025 World Championships in Zagreb marked a turning point in international wrestling as 18 first-time world champions were crowned, signaling the arrival of a new generation well before the qualification cycle for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games begins.

A few scenes in Zagreb showed what the titles meant. A women’s champion hugging anyone she could find, a Freestyle winner delivering revenge, and a Greco-Roman champion lifting a nation’s pride. Now, 2026 will determine whether those champions can turn a breakthrough into sustained dominance, or if the veterans will reclaim control.

For traditional powers like the United States, Iran, and Japan, maintaining dominance will be harder than ever as more countries close the gap.

In Women’s Wrestling, Japan is being challenged by the DPR Korea, while in Freestyle the U.S. and Iran remain the central rivalry. In Greco-Roman, Iran is undoubtedly the best team in the world but Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan are closing the gap as another strong season approaches.

As wrestling moves toward LA 2028, 2026 becomes the year where storylines start to stick. The UWW Pro Series is part of that shift, taking its final shape before launch. Wrestlers will be rewarded for their ranks for the year and will stand a chance to win a grand prize.

The fans can follow wrestling with United World Wrestling through UWW+ on uww.org, Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube.

Freestyle

A Sadulaev vs Yazdani final at the World Championships. A match-up like no other can happen in 2026.

The 2026 season begins with a question: when will Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) return? A dream match against Abdulrashid SADULAEV (UWW) is now firmly on the cards. Yazdani, the 2016 Olympic champion at 74kg, is now competing at 97kg, ten years later. Sadulaev, who won Olympic gold at 86kg in Rio, moved to 97kg soon after that gold.

The Iranian may compete at the Zagreb Open or at the Tirana Ranking Series. If the return is delayed, world silver medalist Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) will likely carry the weight for Iran early in the season.

At the same time, several major stars are preparing comebacks. Olympic champion Razambek JAMALOV (UZB) is expected to return after recovering from shoulder surgery, while Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) is also set to resume competition, most likely around May.

READ THE FULL FREESTYLE PREVIEW HERE

Women’s Wrestling

Japan captured five of the 10 medals on offer at the World Championships and nothing less is expected from its wrestlers. But out of the first four weight classes, it managed to win only one gold and missed out on medals in two of them.

Missing a medal at 50kg is rare for Japan. It happened in 2009, then in 2019 and in 2025. So what can be expected from the best country in Women's Wrestling or perhaps wrestling?

The DPR Korea, China, India, Ukraine and the United States keep challenging Japan at various competitions but it has managed to hold its own. With the gap closing, 2026 will be a similar story.

Continental Championships will be the first test for countries building towards the year-ending World Championships. But these tournaments can also witness the returns of a few wrestlers. Yui SUSAKI (JPN), Anastasia NICHITA (MDA), Amit ELOR (USA), Maria YEFREMOVA (UKR), and possibly VINESH (IND).

Additionally, several medal contenders are shifting weight classes in 2026, opening their paths to medals at the World Championships and later at the Olympics.

READ THE FULL WOMEN'S WRESTLING PREVIEW HERE

Greco-Roman

Iran ruled Greco-Roman in 2025 with dominant performances at all levels, and it was not even close. Barring that one battle with Uzbekistan at the U17 World Championships, Iran remained untouched. In 2022 and 2023, it showed signs of long-term dominance and in 2024, it won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Then in 2025, it won team titles at all age-group levels.

At the World Championships in Zagreb, it won four gold, two silver and two bronze medals. Out of the 10 wrestlers, eight won medals, missing only at 77kg and 60kg. Will 2026 be Iran's year again?

Mohammadhadi SARAVI (IRI), Saeid ESMAEILI (IRI) and Amin MIRZAZADEH (IRI) make the core team. World champion Gholamreza FAROKHI (IRI) has been the latest sensation, going unbeaten in 2025 and winning the U23 world gold at 87kg. Alireza MOHAMADI (IRI) is also a proven wrestler at 87kg having won an Olympic and world silver.

Iran has a second team which can challenge any established star in the world. U20 and U23 world champion Fardin HEDAYATI (IRI) is a wrestler waiting for his turn at 130kg. Hedayati is getting closer to beating Mirzazadeh in selection for the Iran team.

Payam AHMADI (IRI), Alireza ABDEVALI (IRI) and Ahmadi VAFA (IRI) are already part of the team while younger stars wait for their turns.

But there has been an influx of talent in Greco-Roman in the new cycle especially with Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Japan, Armenia and UWW wrestlers stepping up.

READ THE FULL GRECO-ROMAN PREVIEW HERE