#Grappling

Grappling World Championships 2025 Entries

By United World Wrestling Press

NOVI SAD, Serbia (September 30) -- The Grappling World Championships are set to be held in Novi Sad, Serbia from October 14 to 16 at the SPENS Arena.

The three-day tournament will see Grappling action in both men's and women's on September 14. The second day will have competition in both Grappling and Grappling Gi and only Grappling Gi on third day will finish the tournament.

All action will be live on the UWW website and highlights on UWW Grappling Instagram.

Men's Grappling Gi

58kg
Razmik MISAKYAN (ARM)
Farhad BAGIROV (AZE)
Samir BEN BELKACEM (FRA)
Daviti ZEDGINIDZE (GEO)
Alikhan ALSHINBAY (KAZ)
Nursulton TYNYSHTIKOV (KAZ)
Zhyldyzbek ABYLBEKOV (KGZ)
Jerzy IZDEBSKI (POL)
Bohdan CHORNEI (UKR)
Joseph DIEHL (USA)

62kg
Rafayel KOSTANYAN (ARM)
Emil VERDIYEV (AZE)
Cedrick BISSOUT SIGNANG (CMR)
Lucas AUBRY (FRA)
Levente VARKONDI (HUN)
Mark BODO (HUN)
MANDEEP (IND)
Bekzat KAZTAYEV (KAZ)
Rakhymzhan TURGANBEK (KAZ)
Dmytro BARANOV (UKR)
Vadym SIROSHTAN (UKR)
Andrii TSVYK (UKR)
Asher URBAN HOYER (USA)
Kiryl AHEIKA (UWW)

66kg
Mayis NERSESYAN (ARM)
Cedric EYENGA (CMR)
Giovanni SUAREZ ARTILES (ESP)
Cristofer MARTIN BARRIOS (ESP)
Anthony DE OLIVEIRA (FRA)
Giorgi RAZMADZE (GEO)
Adam VERES KOVACS (HUN)
Milan LUKASZ (HUN)
Adlan ASUEV (KAZ)
Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ)
Illia SVIATUN (UKR)
Yurii CHERKALIUK (UKR)
Jesse SOSA (USA)
Angel DIAZ (USA)
Avzal AKHMETOV (UZB)
Renzo MARTINEZ (VEN)

71kg
Shahnur MEHTIYEV (AZE)
Max KAMA (CMR)
Kevin MARTIN TINOCO (ESP)
Francisco ALCALDE TORREBLANCA (ESP)
Samuel CHAGNY (FRA)
Sacha MARGUERITE (FRA)
Dzhimsher RAZMADZE (GEO)
Nico PULVERMUELLER (GER)
Stefanos VAVILIS (GRE)
Michail AKRITIDIS (GRE)
Mark UJVARI (HUN)
Sandor LAKATOS (HUN)
Chandra PRAKASH (IND)
Zhassulan ZHETPISBAY (KAZ)
Nurbek TALBUDIN (KAZ)
Piotr DUDZINSKI (POL)
Kacper GARCZYNSKI (POL)
Milos GAJIC (SRB)
Ivan RIABCHENKO (UKR)
Vadym SKRYNYTSIA (UKR)
Nicolas ARNEL (USA)
Andrei SKOLYSH (UWW)
Feruzbek UROKOV (UZB)

77kg
Kieto PACHECO (ANG)
Salomon MAYENGUE (CMR)
Aron HERNANDEZ MONTERO (ESP)
Hector SEPULVEDA PALMA (ESP)
Loan MOUTHON (FRA)
Arthur DEMONCEAUX (FRA)
Zoltan TOTH (HUN)
Jatin KUMAR (IND)
Nagaraja KAVADI (IND)
Sayyed CHERDEYAN (IRI)
Darkhan TOLYBAYEV (KAZ)
Aziz ALIYEV (KAZ)
Dumitru CEBAN (MDA)
Kamil ROSIAK (POL)
Jakub NAJDEK (POL)
Pavlo MAKSYMCHUK (UKR)
Illia SUKHODIEIEV (UKR)
Sam Eli SCHWARTZAPFEL (USA)
Adolfo SUAREZ ARIAS (VEN)

84kg
Inelton BOMBO (ANG)
Suren KHURDAYAN (ARM)
Hajimurad PURTIYEV (AZE)
Juan SUAREZ MONTESDEOCA (ESP)
Ruslan VALIEV (FRA)
Samy MEZACHE (FRA)
Lukas BRESSMER (GER)
Evangelos BOUKIS (GRE)
Csaba SZABO (HUN)
Soma SOLTESZ (HUN)
Amirali SAYAD (IRI)
Adlan MADAYEV (KAZ)
Magzhan MARATKHAN (KAZ)
Cristian TUGULEA (MDA)
Igor DZIAG (POL)
Kacper ROT (POL)
Tanguy DARBELLAY (SUI)
Mykhailo MUZYCHENKO (UKR)
Giuseppe LAMANNA (USA)
Daniel SHROCK (USA)

92kg
Pablo ESTEPA NIETO (ESP)
Antonio GARCIA CONEJO (ESP)
Wilfried EDMUND (FRA)
Reda MEBTOUCHE (FRA)
Amirani SVIMONISHVILI (GEO)
Leonhard PREIN (GER)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Konstantinos VAVOURAS (GRE)
Levente LAKY (HUN)
Akos SZEKERES (HUN)
Ruslan ISRAILOV (KAZ)
Ramazan KUSSAINOV (KAZ)
Mantas DAUBLYS (LTU)
Buyannemekh MUNKHSUKH (MGL)
Joris ROOKHUIJZEN (NED)
Mateusz MAZUR (POL)
Aleksandar DUKANOVIC (SRB)
Vladyslav ZENCHENKO (UKR)
Anthony ROBINSON (USA)
Timothy BARR (USA)

100kg
Vasif SAFARBAYOV (AZE)
Pavel SLANINA ANTON (ESP)
Luc ROUSSEAU (FRA)
Herve REDON (FRA)
Ilias BOUKIS (GRE)
Ramazan ABDRAKHIMOV (KAZ)
Bekarys SHYNGGYSBEK (KAZ)
Konstantin LI (KGZ)
Eldar RAFIGAEV (MDA)
Andrzej IWAT (POL)
Yevhenii MURADOV (UKR)
Gilberto AYALA RODRIGUEZ (VEN)

130kg
Nizami GAFAROV (AZE)
Abraham COBY MARTINEZ (ESP)
Niklas KOPICKI (GER)
Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE)
Amir FARHADPOR (IRI)
Arystan AITMOLDIN (KAZ)
Saulet ABUSSALIKHOV (KAZ)
Alexandr ROMANOV (MDA)
Ivan SNIHUR (UKR)
Oleksandr KOLDOVSKYI (UKR)
John HANSEN (USA)

Women’s Grappling Gi

53kg
Lilit DANIELYAN (ARM)
Pernelle ABOMO (CMR)
Carlota PRENDES LARIOS (ESP)
Madina UVALIYEVA (KAZ)
Zuzanna KOWALSKA (POL)
Viktoriia ISAIEVA (UKR)
Evelina FLORIAK (UKR)

58kg
Minerva MONTERO PEREZ (ESP)
MAMTA (IND)
Pinky SHARMA (IND)
Shynar UZBEKOVA (KAZ)
Nuraiym MUNAITBAS (KAZ)
Daria BRZOZOWSKA (POL)
Magdalena GIEC (POL)
Viktoriia SYNIAVINA SERHIIENKO (UKR)
Tetiana ASTAKHOVA (UKR)
Breanna STIKKELMAN (USA)

64kg
Mia MONTESINOS PERDOMO (ESP)
Ellen OBERBACH (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Szabina SZALAY (HUN)
Nikolett KIS (HUN)
Fariza KULYNTAY (KAZ)
Milana MURGUZOVA (KAZ)
Adrianna MAZUR (POL)
Sylwia WIERZBOWSKA (POL)
Andela NESOVANOVIC (SRB)
Snezhana MORAR (UKR)
Sheliah LINDSEY (USA)

71kg
Delfina FRANCISCO (ANG)
Fanny MOUNGOUN (CMR)
Daniella SANTANA FABELO (ESP)
Alycia QUENEE (FRA)
Mendy MACATIS (GER)
Sandra TRIEBEL (GER)
Maja SALAMON (POL)
Anna KOTIUK (UKR)
Sarah PAUL (USA)

Men’s Grappling No-Gi

58kg
Razmik MISAKYAN (ARM)
Farhad BAGIROV (AZE)
Samir BEN BELKACEM (FRA)
Daviti ZEDGINIDZE (GEO)
Alikhan ALSHINBAY (KAZ)
Rakhymzhan TURGANBEK (KAZ)
Zhyldyzbek ABYLBEKOV (KGZ)
Jerzy IZDEBSKI (POL)
Muhammet KARAVUS (TUR)
Bohdan CHORNEI (UKR)
Joseph DIEHL (USA)
Erik LUKER (USA)
Jaden SOSA (USA)

62kg
Rafayel KOSTANYAN (ARM)
Emil VERDIYEV (AZE)
Lucas AUBRY (FRA)
Mark BODO (HUN)
Laszlo KOCSIS (HUN)
MANDEEP (IND)
Talgat ZHUMAGALIYEV (KAZ)
Adlan ASUEV (KAZ)
Dmytro BARANOV (UKR)
Vadym SIROSHTAN (UKR)
Andrii TSVYK (UKR)
Asher URBAN HOYER (USA)
Kiryl AHEIKA (UWW)

66kg
Mayis NERSESYAN (ARM)
Giovanni SUAREZ ARTILES (ESP)
Cristofer MARTIN BARRIOS (ESP)
Anthony DE OLIVEIRA (FRA)
Giorgi RAZMADZE (GEO)
Adam VERES KOVACS (HUN)
Milan LUKASZ (HUN)
Bekzat KAPASHOV (KAZ)
Nurassyl TURUSPEKOV (KAZ)
Illia SVIATUN (UKR)
Yurii CHERKALIUK (UKR)
Jesse SOSA (USA)
Angel DIAZ (USA)
Avzal AKHMETOV (UZB)
Renzo MARTINEZ BARAZARTE (VEN)

71kg
Shahnur MEHTIYEV (AZE)
Kevin MARTIN TINOCO (ESP)
Francisco ALCALDE TORREBLANCA (ESP)
Samuel CHAGNY (FRA)
Sacha MARGUERITE (FRA)
Dzhimsher RAZMADZE (GEO)
Nico PULVERMUELLER (GER)
Stefanos VAVILIS (GRE)
Michail AKRITIDIS (GRE)
Mark UJVARI (HUN)
Sandor LAKATOS (HUN)
Chandra PRAKASH (IND)
Zhassulan ZHETPISBAY (KAZ)
Nurbek TALBUDIN (KAZ)
Kenzo BIYONG (NED)
Piotr DUDZINSKI (POL)
Kacper GARCZYNSKI (POL)
Milos GAJIC (SRB)
Ivan RIABCHENKO (UKR)
Vadym SKRYNYTSIA (UKR)
Nicolas ARNEL (USA)
Andrei SKOLYSH (UWW)
Feruzbek UROKOV (UZB)

77kg
Kieto PACHECO (ANG)
Aron HERNANDEZ MONTERO (ESP)
Hector SEPULVEDA PALMA (ESP)
Loan MOUTHON (FRA)
Arthur DEMONCEAUX (FRA)
Beka KARTVELISHVILI (GEO)
Angelos NIKOLOPOULOS (GRE)
Zoltan TOTH (HUN)
Jatin KUMAR (IND)
Nagaraja KAVADI (IND)
Sayyed CHERDEYAN (IRI)
Darkhan TOLYBAYEV (KAZ)
Adlan MADAYEV (KAZ)
Dumitru CEBAN (MDA)
Kamil ROSIAK (POL)
Jakub NAJDEK (POL)
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR)
Pavlo MAKSYMCHUK (UKR)
Illia SUKHODIEIEV (UKR)
Sam SCHWARTZAPFEL (USA)
Adolfo SUAREZ ARIAS (VEN)

84kg
Inelton BOMBO (ANG)
Suren KHURDAYAN (ARM)
Hajimurad PURTIYEV (AZE)
Juan SUAREZ MONTESDEOCA (ESP)
Ruslan VALIEV (FRA)
Samy MEZACHE (FRA)
Nika MUSHKUDIANI (GEO)
Lukas BRESSMER (GER)
Leonhard PREIN (GER)
Evangelos BOUKIS (GRE)
Georgios PREVOLARAKIS (GRE)
Lorinc NAGY (HUN)
Csaba SZABO (HUN)
Amirali SAYAD (IRI)
Maxat TOLENDI (KAZ)
Rauan ZHAKENULY (KAZ)
Cristian TUGULEA (MDA)
Igor DZIAG (POL)
Kacper ROT (POL)
Tanguy DARBELLAY (SUI)
Mykhailo MUZYCHENKO (UKR)
Dmytrii TKACHENKO (UKR)
Giuseppe LAMANNA (USA)

92kg
Pablo ESTEPA NIETO (ESP)
Antonio GARCIA CONEJO (ESP)
Wilfried EDMUND (FRA)
Reda MEBTOUCHE (FRA)
Amirani SVIMONISHVILI (GEO)
Givi KARTVELISHVILI (GEO)
Nikolaos KARAVANOS (GRE)
Theocharis KOUGIOUMTSIDIS (GRE)
Levente LAKY (HUN)
Akos SZEKERES (HUN)
Ruslan ISRAILOV (KAZ)
Ramazan KUSSAINOV (KAZ)
Mantas DAUBLYS (LTU)
Buyannemekh MUNKHSUKH (MGL)
Joris ROOKHUIJZEN (NED)
Mateusz MAZUR (POL)
Aleksandar DUKANOVIC (SRB)
Vladyslav ZENCHENKO (UKR)
Anthony ROBINSON (USA)

100kg
Vasif SAFARBAYOV (AZE)
Pavel SLANINA ANTON (ESP)
Luc ROUSSEAU (FRA)
Aleksandre TEVZADZE (GEO)
Ilias BOUKIS (GRE)
Georgios APOSTOLOU (GRE)
Karoly FOCZENY (HUN)
Ramazan ABDRAKHIMOV (KAZ)
Yerulan TOLEUBEKOV (KAZ)
Konstantin LI (KGZ)
Eldar RAFIGAEV (MDA)
Armin DOUZALI (NOR)
Andrzej IWAT (POL)
Yevhenii MURADOV (UKR)

130kg
Nizami GAFAROV (AZE)
Abraham COBY MARTINEZ (ESP)
Niklas KOPICKI (GER)
Ioannis KARGIOTAKIS (GRE)
Amir Ali FARHADPOR (IRI)
Arystan AITMOLDIN (KAZ)
Genrikh BAGDASSARYAN (KAZ)
Alexandr ROMANOV (MDA)
Ivan SNIHUR (UKR)
Oleksandr KOLDOVSKYI (UKR)
John HANSEN (USA)

Women’s Grappling No-Gi

53kg
Lilit DANIELYAN (ARM)
Carlota PRENDES LARIOS (ESP)
Madina UVALIYEVA (KAZ)
Zuzanna KOWALSKA (POL)
Viktoriia ISAIEVA (UKR)
Evelina FLORIAK (UKR)

58kg
Minerva MONTERO PEREZ (ESP)
Ellen OBERBACH (GER)
Lili RACZ (HUN)
Naima NASSRI (HUN)
MAMTA (IND)
Pinky SHARMA (IND)
Shynar UZBEKOVA (KAZ)
Nuraiym MUNAITBAS (KAZ)
Daria BRZOZOWSKA (POL)
Magdalena GIEC (POL)
Viktoriia SYNIAVINA SERHIIENKO (UKR)
Tetiana ASTAKHOVA (UKR)
Breanna STIKKELMAN (USA)
Rachel GUTIERREZ (USA)

64kg
Mia MONTESINOS PERDOMO (ESP)
Mendy MACATIS (GER)
Maria PREVOLARAKI (GRE)
Szabina SZALAY (HUN)
Nikolett KIS (HUN)
Fariza KULYNTAY (KAZ)
Milana MURGUZOVA (KAZ)
Adrianna MAZUR (POL)
Sylwia WIERZBOWSKA (POL)
Andela NESOVANOVIC (SRB)
Snezhana MORAR (UKR)
Sheliah LINDSEY (USA)

71kg
Delfina FRANCISCO (ANG)
Daniella SANTANA FABELO (ESP)
Alycia QUENEE (FRA)
Sandra TRIEBEL (GER)
Nikoleta BARMPA (GRE)
Maja SALAMON (POL)
Anna KOTIUK (UKR)
Sarah PAUL (USA)

#WrestleZagreb

Tazhudinov in search for answers despite bronze medal

By Vinay Siwach

ZAGREB, Croatia (September 16) -- A World Championships medal might be a career milestone for most wrestlers, but for Akhmed TAZHUDINOV (BRN), the bronze he won in Zagreb is a prize he hopes to forget.

Coming into the tournament in Zagreb, Tazhudinov was considered as the best wrestler in the world and the favorite to win the gold medal at the 97kg. He had built a reputation of a wrestler who bulldozes anyone who stands in his path, as he did to win the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

But Tazhudinov was anything but an Olympic and world champion in Zagreb.

He almost dropped his quarterfinal match with Mogomed KURBANOV (UWW), needing a front headlock roll to survive. The thrill of victory was short lived, as Amirali AZARPIRA (IRI) showed that Tazhudinov is indeed human, winning their semifinal 5-2 to end Tazhudinov's golden run.

"My initial goal was the gold medal," Tazhudinov said. "I wanted to become a two-time world champion. Unfortunately, it didn't happen -- maybe it was meant to be this way. It's very painful to lose."

As he searched for answers for his performance, Tazhudinov said that recent shoulder surgery may have affected his wrestling at the World Championships.

"I was coming back after surgery, after a serious injury," Tazhudinov said. "Maybe that had an effect, I don't even know. It took me a very long time to get myself together. At the beginning, training sessions were very difficult."

Tazhudinov returned from surgery to win two gold medals in a one-month span -- first at the Spain Grand Prix and then at the Budapest Ranking Series in June.

After the semifinal loss to Azarpira, Tazhudinov returned the next night for the bronze-medal bout with 34-year-old Akhmed MAGAMAEV (BUL), which only further put Tazhudinov under the scanner despite winning the match.

Magamaev was on the activity clock when he bodylocked Tazhudinov and slammed him for four points just before the 30 seconds elapsed. Tazhudinov rebounded with a takedown to make it 4-2 at the break.

He began the second period with another takedown to make it 4-4, but Magamaev continued the scramble and both wrestlers were awarded two exposure points each, putting the Bulgarian ahead 6-6 on criteria.

A counter lift to exposure gave Tazhudinov the lead for the first time, 8-6, and as Magamaev tried doing the counter lift, he gave up two as Tazhudinov blocked him. The final scramble, which gave Tazhudinov an 11-10 win, was challenged by Bulgaria. Eventually, it was scored 13-10.

Despite winning the bout, Tazhudinov shook his head as he left the mat, perhaps surprised himself by his lackluster performance.

"Honestly, I don't even know what went wrong," he said. "It means I wasn't well enough prepared. It means I wasn't in my best shape. It means I need to work even more."

Tazhudinov said he had difficulty preparing mentally for the bronze-medal bout after the loss to Azarpira.

"After the semifinal loss, I couldn't motivate myself at all for the bronze-medal match," he said. "I don't even know how I stepped onto the mat. I wasn't mentally ready to wrestle at all, and that's why the match was so difficult.

"But I will not give up -- I'll go home, work on my mistakes, and train even harder to come back stronger."