Big changes in freestyle rankings after continental championships

Thursday, May 26, 2022 - 15:00 By Vinay Siwach

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY (May 25) -- After the completion of four continental championships, United World Wrestling has released a new set of rankings. Wrestlers from all three styles around the world got a chance to improve their ranks which will help them attain seeds at the World Championships.

The European Championships kicked off the season in March followed by the Asian Championships in April before Pan-Am and African Championships rounded off in May. The top eight wrestlers who acquired the most points from the four Ranking Series events and the Continental Championships will earn a seed for September's World Championships, held in Belgrade, Serbia.

Here are the top performers in freestyle after the four tournaments. Full rankings can be accessed at uww.org

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Olympic Wrestling (@unitedworldwrestling)

57kg
Thomas GILMAN (USA) consolidated his position at the top after winning his first Pan-Am title in May. He had taken the lead over Olympic champion Zavur UGUEV (RWF) by winning the '21 World gold. He has 92200 points.

But Uguev has now slipped to third after Ravi KUMAR (IND) won his third straight Asian title. Having competed at 61kg at the Yasar Dogu Ranking event, Kumar dropped down to 57kg for Asian Championships and collected 10000 points. He now has 51400 points while Uguev is at 51000 points.

At the European Championships Vladimir EGOROV (MKD) won the gold to break into the top-10 at ninth position.

Other movers in top-15 were Guesseppe REA VILLARROEL (ECU) at 13th and Oscar TIGREROS URBANO (COL) at 15th for his bronze finish at the Pan-Ams.

fix Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF), red, and Daton FIX (USA) are one and two in 61kg rankings. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

61kg
A close race is ensuing between Arsen HARUTYUNYAN (ARM) and Daton FIX (USA) as both won their respective continental titles. The former is second with 44000 points while Fix has jumped to third with 42000 points. World champion Abasgadzhi MAGOMEDOV (RWF) holds a slender lead at the top with 45000 points.

Tokyo Olympian Georgi VANGELOV (BUL) won bronze at Euros to climb to the fifth spot with 27700 points. Asian bronze medalist Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) is close behind at sixth with 25100 points.

Suleyman ATLI (TUR), Eduard GRIGOREV (POL), Akbar KURBANOV (KAZ), and Mangal KADYAN (IND) broke into top-15 after finishing in the top five at their respective continental championships.

Tulga TUMUR-OCHIR (MGL) is at number two in the 65kg rankings. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

65kg
Haji ALIYEV (AZE) competed for the first time since winning the silver medal at the Olympics and won a silver at the European Championships. He moved past Olympic champ Takuto OTOGURO (JPN) and is back at number three with 52400 points.

But he could not overtake Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) who has 53500 points to sit second in the rankings led by world champion and Yasar Dogu silver Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF).

Bajrang PUNIA (IND) remained at fifth despite a silver at Asian Championships but Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV (HUN) closed the gap with him with gold at European Championships. Punia has 42200 points while Muszukajev has 36000 points at seventh position.

Pan-Am champion Joseph MC KENNA (USA) moved to 13th but his opponent in the final Sebastian RIVERA remained a spot ahead of him at 12th.

Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) is the top ranked wrestlers at 70kg. (Photo: UWW / Bayrem Ben Mrad)

70kg
Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) had a chance to overtake topper Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO) with gold at Asian Championships but he finished with a silver and remained at second with 53520 points. Iakobishvili won the gold at European Championships to move to the top with 54200 points after winning the bronze Yasar Dogu Ranking Series event.

Arman ANDREASYAN (ARM) moved from eighth to fifth with silver at Euros and now has 36000 points.

Other big movers with European bronze Nicolai GRAHMEZ (MDA) as he broke into the top-10 at ninth and Asian bronze Syrbaz TALGAT (KAZ) moving to 12th.

Pan-Am champion Emmanuel OLAPADE (CAN) and African champion Bacar NDUM (GBS) are at 15th and 16th respectively with 10000 points each. Asian champion Taishi NARIKUNI (JPN) is at 17th with the same points.

Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK), red, is now second while Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) is back in top-10. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

74kg
World champion Kyle DAKE (USA) moved further clear at the top with Pan-Am gold. He now sits at the top with 92200 points. Silver to him at Worlds Tajmuraz SALKAZANOV (SVK) won the European Championships to move past Olympic champion Zaurbek SIDAKOV (RWF) and is now second with 52000 points.

Frank CHAMIZO (ITA) returned to top-10 at sixth with his silver at the European Championships but is lagging behind with only 36000 points.

African champion Amr RAMADAN (EGY) jumped to the 10th spot by collecting 13000 points for his gold. He now has 29200 points and is ahead of Asian champion Yones EMAMICHOGHAEI (IRI) [27000 points] and European bronze medalist Turan BAYRAMOV (AZE) [26500 points].

Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) has 63000 points to be ranked top at 79kg. (Photo: UWW / Osvaldo Aguilar)

79kg
It will take some doing for any wrestler to catch Jordan BURROUGHS (USA) at 79kg as the five-time world champion has now moved to 63000 points after winning the Pan-Am title. The next best in world silver medalist Mohammad NOKHODILARIMI (IRI) who has only 37000 points.

Arman AVAGYAN (ARM) finished fifth at the European Championships to move to third with 33000 points while the champion in the tournament Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE) is fourth with 31200 points.

Saifedine ALEKMA (FRA), the seventh placer at Euros, is currently eighth in the rankings with 21475 points while Asian champion Ali SAVADKOUHI (IRI) is a spot behind at ninth with 20200 points. European silver Ashraf ASHIROV (AZE) finishes off the top-10 with 19200 points.

Pan-Am silver Samuel BARMISH (CAN) is at the 11th spot with 18300 points followed by Euros bronze Vladimeri GAMKRELIDZE (GEO) [18020 points]. Arsalan BUDAZHAPOV (KGZ) broke into top-15 with a bronze at Asian Championships and has 16700 points.

David TAYLOR (USA), red, and Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) are the top two wrestlers at 86kg. (Photo: UWW / Martin Gabor)

86kg
David TAYLOR (IRI) and Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) both decided to skip their respective continental championships but still remain one and two respectively.

But the two biggest movers were Olympic bronze Myles AMINE (SMR) who won the European title and now has 47200 points at the fourth position. Silver to him at the Euros and world bronze Abubakr ABAKAROV (AZE) is now fifth with 42000 points.

Boris MAKOEV (SVK) moved to sixth from 10th despite his ninth-place finish at the Europeans. He now has 36100 points, a mere 100 points more than Osman GOCEN (TUR) [36000 points] who won a bronze at the Euros.

Asian Championships finalists Azamat DAULETBEKOV (KAZ) and Deepak PUNIA (IND) take the eighth and ninth spots with 35000 points and 31000 points respectively.

10th at the European Championships Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA) has 30600 points to be placed at the 10th spot while Pan-Am bronze Ethan RAMOS (PUR) takes the 11th spot with 24700 points.

African champion Fateh BENFERDJALLAH (ALG), Taimuraz FRIEV (ESP) and the European fifth Uri KALASHNIKOV (ISR) all have 17000 points to be in 13th, 14th and 15th position.

Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) has 45000 points at the top at 92kg. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

92kg
No wrestler has been able to move past world champion Kamran GHASEMPOUR (IRI) at 92kg despite him skipping the Asian Championships. He has 45000 points at the top.

The closest who came to take his spot was world bronze medalist Osman NURMAGOMEDOV (AZE) with 37500 points but he finished with bronze at European Championships. He only got 6500 points for that to be second. But he managed to move ahead of Magomed KURBANOV (RWF) [37000 points] with that performance.

Pan-Am champion and world bronze J'den COX is fourth with 36000 points.

Others have some work to do to catch up with the top four wrestlers. Pan-Am silver medalist Jeremy POIRIER (CAN) is seventh with 21000 points but the eighth, ninth and 10th spots are taken by wrestlers with 18200 points, Erhan YAYLACI 16000 points and Akhmed MAGAMAEV 15500 points and none of them competed at their continental championships.

At 11th, Orgilokh DAGVADORJ (MGL) has 15400 points for his silver medal at the Asian Championships while fifth place at the same tournament Takuma OTSU (JPN) has 14000 points and is at 13th spot.

European fifth Georgii RUBAEV (MDA) has 13200 points at the 14th position while Asian bronze medalist Viky CHAHAR (IND) is 15th with 13020 points.

Sadulaev Snyder Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF) and Kyle SNYDER (USA) are clear of the rest of the field as top two at 97kg. (Photo: UWW / Tony Rotundo)

97kg
Kyle SNYDER (USA) won the Pan-Am Championships but could not move ahead of Olympic and world champion Abdulrashid SADULAEV (RWF). Snyder has 88400 points while Sadulaev has 96000 points.

The rankings are much closer if the top two are removed. World bronze medalist Suleyman KARADENIZ (TUR) remains at third with 38500 points while European seventh Magomedgadji NUROV (MKD) has 36100 points at sixth position.

Batzul ULZIISAIKHAN (MGL) won a silver medal at the Asian Championships to total 36100 points and is now at the seventh position. World bronze medalist Mojtaba GOLEIJ (IRI) is the only other wrestler to remain in the top-10 as he has 31000 points.

Three wrestlers bronze into top-15 as Mohammadhossein MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) won the Asian title and improved to 12th position with 26400 points.

Radu LEFTER (MDA) survived to move out of the top-15, thanks to the 3100 points he got at the European Championships. He now has 20100 points at the 14th position. Asian bronze medalist Satywart KADIAN (IND) also has 20100 points and is ranked 15th.

akgul Taha AKGUL (TUR) took over the 125kg top rank from Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) after winning the European Championships. (Photo: UWW / Kadir Caliskan)

125kg
Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) once again met in the 125kg European Championships final. It was also a battle for the top spot in rankings and in both, Akgul came out on top. Akgul won the gold and now has 88200 points at the top while Petriashvili has 86400 points.

World champion Amir ZARE (IRI), who skipped the Asian Championships, is third with 79200 points. Another wrestler who skipped the Asian Championships was Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) and with 65400 points, he remains at the fourth spot.

But Nicholas GWIAZDOWSKI (USA) moved to the sixth spot despite losing the final at Pan-Am Championships. His silver took his tally to 38800 points.

No other substantial change was seen in the rankings apart from Pan-Am champ Amarveer DHESI (CAN) breaking into the top-10. He is now 10th with 22800 points.

African champion Youssif HEMIDA (EGY) also moved up and is now at the 11th spot with 22000 points followed by European bronze medalist Robert BARAN (POL) at 12th with 20800 points.

Daniel LIGETI (HUN) also won a bronze at the European Championships which helped him move from 22nd to 14th. He now has 16700 points.

#JapanWrestling

Ishii Beats Morikawa Twice to Grab Ticket Back to World Championships

Saturday, May 23, 2026 - 15:15 By Ken Marantz

TOKYO (May 23) -- Making the most of her raw determination and an effective low single, Ami ISHII will get a chance at a third straight world title after all. And she earned a ticket to the Asian Games as a bonus.

Ishii notched consecutive victories over rival Miwa MORIKAWA on Saturday, first in the women's 68kg final at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships then again in a playoff for a place on the national team at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

"What went well at the tournament was not so much how I handled my matches, but the process I went through in the six months since I lost [to Morikawa] in December," Ishii said. "To get where I am today, after my loss in December, I spent every day thinking about making the national team. The difficult times became my ally."

Ishii, the reigning world champion at 68kg, fell to world 65kg champion Morikawa last December in the final of the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships which, along with the Meiji Cup, are the domestic qualifiers for the World Championships and Asian Games.

Wrestlers who win both tournaments automatically earn tickets to both big events. If the winners are different, a playoff is held between the two in an extra session following the medal ceremony.

There were four playoffs in total among the nine weight classes that had finals on Saturday, with Paris Olympic champion Yuka KAGAMI also making the grade by completing a double victory over Yasuha MATSUYUKI at women's 76kg.

Ami ISHII (JPN) wrestles off Miwa MORIKAWA (JPN) in the 68kg playoff. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Ishii, who lost 5-3 to Morikawa at the Emperor's Cup, never gave her opponent an opening to go the offensive, and both of their bouts revolved around actions initiated by Ishii low singles, which Morikawa would counter by reaching over the top.

"From the new year to today, I have worked on various things, but the major issue was how to finish off [the takedown]," Ishii said. "I'm really happy that that became the key to victory."

In the Meiji Cup final, Ishii notched a 2-1 win, with a first-period stepout accounting for the difference when both received activity points in the second period. On the scoring move, Ishii got in deep on a single, then got the point when a scramble took them over the edge.

Returning to the mat several hours later for the playoff, Morikawa was able to score off a counter, but it wasn't enough as Ishii held on to win 4-2.

After receiving an activity point, Ishii scored a stepout to take a 2-0 lead into the break. In the second period, she got in exceptionally deep on a single, giving her the leverage to dump Morikawa onto her back for 2. Morikawa squirmed to her knees and reached back to fling Ishii for a 2-point exposure of her own, but that would be the end of the scoring.

Ishii will get a chance to win a third straight world gold, having also taken the 72kg title in 2024. She also has a silver from 2022, but her fifth-place finish in 2023 led to her eventually missing out on the Paris Olympics.

Ishii's medal collection also includes an Asian gold from 2022, but as with other Japanese wrestlers, this year's Asian Games holds special appeal for her, as Japan will be hosting the quadrennial event for the first time in 30 years.

"As for the Asian Games, it has the same frequency as the Olympics being once every four years, making it an important competition," Ishii said. "I will work hard to win and make it one of my memories."

Yuka KAGAMI (JPN) won the 76kg Meiji Cup final and the playoff against Yasuha MATSUYUKI. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Like Japan's other Olympic medalists, Kagami took her time returning to competition after Paris, enjoying the limelight and adoration that comes with the sport's most important gold medal.

She acknowledged that she might have taken her preparation for granted, which resulted in a stunning last-second 4-2 loss to Matsuyuki at the Emperor's Cup.

Kagami wasn't going to let that happen again and, in winning the final and playoff 6-2 and 3-2, respectively, she quickly responded after making an aggressive mistake in each match.

"After I lost, I trained harder than anyone," Kagami said. "Even with my busy schedule, I never cut down on my time in practice. Maybe noone could see it, or I didn't let it be seen. I continued progressing and getting more confident, and the result here shown a light on it."

In the final, Kagami received an activity point in the first period, then started the second period by scoring a 2-point exposure to off her opponent's single-leg attempt. But when she got behind and attempted a gut wrench, Matsuyuki stopped her cold to cut the gap to 3-2.

Kagami fired right back with a driving double-leg takedown, which, with an unsuccessful challenge point tacked on, made it 6-2.

In the playoff, Kagami again led 1-0 in the first period, this time from a stepout. She added an activity point in the second period to make it 2-0, only to fall behind on criteria when Matsuyuki countered a takedown attempt for 2.

Again, Kagami went right back to business, shooting in on a single, lifting it up and marching Matsuyuki over the edge for the go-ahead stepout point. She never let Matsuyuki get close to scoring the rest of the way.

"I had absolutely no anxiety," Kagami said of falling behind in the playoff. "What I gave up came from a counter to my tackle. I knew I could get in on my tackle and after she countered, I went right back to taking another shot. There was still about a minute and 20 seconds and there was nothing for me to fear."

Moe KIYOOKA (JPN) defeated Haruna MURAYAMA (JPN), 11-1, in the 53kg final. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

In another high-profile final, former world champion Moe KIYOOKA took advantage of the first opening that reigning world champion Haruna MURAYAMA gave her and ran with it to capture the women's 53kg title with an 11-1 win.

Kiyooka, who won the Emperor's Cup in Murayama's absence, was trailing 1-0 in the second period when she noticed a lapse and pounced at the three-time world champion's open foot.

Kiyooka swept it up by the heel for a takedown, then transitioned to a position favored by her brother, Paris Olympic champion Kotaro KIYOOKA, in which she gets her head between the opponents legs from behind. From there, she executed four quick rolls and the match was over in 4:11.

Kiyooka will now get a chance add to the world title she won at 55kg in 2022 when she makes the trip to Astana, where it is likely she will be accompanied by her brother. He made the final at Freestyle 65kg, to be contested on Sunday.

In other action, the rivalry between Nippon Sport Science University alumni and practice partners Kyotaro SOGABE and Katsuaki ENDO at Greco 67kg added another chapter to its long-running saga, with Sogabe coming out on top this time.

Sogabe nullified his loss to Endo at the Emperor's Cup by winning the Meiji Cup final 4-0, then took the playoff with a 3-1 victory.

In both matches, Sogabe was able to score with a gut wrench from par terre, while keeping from being rolled himself while on the bottom.

"Recently in practice, I often gave up points from the ground," Sogabe said. "Up to this tournament, I worked on that, and the fact that I didn't give up points from the ground, I think was the reason behind my victory."

It proved to be a banner day for the Sogabe family. Following Sogabe's victory, his younger brother Rintaro SOGABE won his first-ever senior national title with a wild 12-12 win in the Greco 72kg final over Hajime KIKUTA.

"I came here coming off the disappointment of losing at the All-Japan," Kyotaro Sogabe said. "Today, I was able to win the title along with my brother. He was able to see it through to victory, and I could win out in the playoff, so I'm really happy."

Rintaro also earned the ticket to the World Championships, as Emperor's Cup champion Taishi NARIKUNI was unable to take part in the playoff after suffering a broken facial bone his quarterfinal match on Friday. According to a family member, Narikuni will undergo surgery on Tuesday.

Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI (JPN) won the 79kg gold to earn his spot for the World Championships. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Takeo Yabuki)

Also heading to his first senior World Championships will be rising star Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI, who repeated his victory at the Emperor's Cup over Kanata YAMAGUCHI with a 4-0 win the the Freestyle 79kg final.

Waseda University's Gharehdaghi scored all of his points in the first period with a takedown, stepout and activity point, then spent the second period holding off Yamaguchi.

"I'm happy, but in the second period, I wasn't able to do my wrestling, and that's something I want to fix," Gharehdaghi said.

Gharehdaghi, whose father is Iranian, was coming off a gold-medal run at last month's Asian Championships in Bishkek.

"It really gave me a boost of confidence," he said. "Being Asian champion makes me look anew at what I should be doing. The matches at the World Championships will be even harder, so I must continue practicing as I have been, without letting up at all."

Day 3 Results

Freestyle

79kg
GOLD: Keyvan GHAREHDAGHI df. Kanata YAMAGUCHI, 4-0

BRONZE: Shunsuke GOTO df. Kohei KITAMURA, 6-3
BRONZE: Ariya YOSHIDA df. Kojiro SHIGA by Fall, 4:57 (7-5)

86kg
GOLD: Hayato ISHIGURO df. Natsura OKAZAWA by TS, 12-1, 2:25

BRONZE: Ryunosuke KAMIYA df. Tatsuya SHIRAI by Def.
BRONZE: Yudai TAKAHASHI df. Rintaro INOUE by TS, 11-1, 3:57

125kg
GOLD: Taiki YAMAMOTO df. Hosei FUJITA by TS, 10-0, :29

BRONZE: Akinari ORIYAMA df. Yamato HASEGAWA, 5-2
BRONZE: Keivan YOSHIDA df. Kazushi IWASAKI by TS, 10-0, 5:12

Greco-Roman

67kg
GOLD: Kyotaro SOGABE df. Katsuaki ENDO, 4-0

BRONZE: Kojiro HASEGAWA df. Chiezo MARUYAMA, 6-2
BRONZE: Komei SAWADA df. Kensuke SHIMIZU, 3-1

World team playoff: Sogabe df. Endo, 3-1

72kg
GOLD: Rintaro SOGABE df. Hajime KIKUTA, 12-12

BRONZE: Zenji ANADA df. Taishi NARIKUNI by Inj. Def.
BRONZE: Daigo KOBAYASHI df. Takeru KOZUKA, 5-2

97kg
GOLD: Yuri NAKAZATO df. Takahiro TSURUTA, 5-3

BRONZE: Sorato KANAZAWA df. Issa KIKUCHI, 7-1
BRONZE: Koki MATSUMOTO df. Riku NAKAHARA by Fall, 2:50 (5-5)

World team playoff: Nakazato df. Tsuruta, 1-1

Women's Wrestling

53kg
GOLD: Moe KIYOOKA df. Haruna MURAYAMA by TS, 11-1, 4:11

BRONZE: Umi IMAI df. Mai OGAWA, 5-2
BRONZE: Mayu SHIDOCHI df. Saki YUMIYA, 2-0

68kg
GOLD: Ami ISHII df. Miwa MORIKAWA, 2-1

BRONZE: Rey HOSHINO df. Masako FURUICHI, 6-0

World team playoff: Ishii df. Morikawa, 4-2

76kg
GOLD: Yuka KAGAMI df. Yasuha MATSUYUKI, 6-2

BRONZE: Mahiru FUJITA df. Mizuki NAGASHIMA, 5-0
BRONZE: Ayano MORO df. Sakura NAKANO by Fall, 1:08 (2-0)

World team playoff: Kagami df. Matsuyuki, 3-2

Big changes in freestyle rankings after continental championships

Comments

Ishii Beats Morikawa Twice to Grab Ticket Back to World Championships