#RankingSeries

Rankings See Big Shifts After Yasar Dogu

By Vinay Siwach

ISTANBUL, Turkey (March 1) -- The first Ranking Series event on the calendar is in the rearview, and after the event, several wrestlers have improved their rankings, which will ultimately be used for the seedings at the 2022 Continental and World Championships. 

This year, UWW will award points according to the new ranking system. 

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. 

As of now, wrestlers who competed and subsequently earned points from the Tokyo Olympic Games and Oslo World Championships fill out the top-20 in the rankings heading into Istanbul.

Updated Ranking Series Point Distribution:
1st - 8000
2nd - 6400
3rd - 5200
5th - 4000
7th - 3520
8th - 3200
9th - 2800
10th - 2480
11th - 800
12th - 100
13th - 75
14th - 50
15th - 25
16th - 13

The number of points awarded at a competition will also be impacted by the number of wrestlers entered in each bracket. In weight categories with 2-5 competitors, ranking points will be reduced in half and only the top three finishers will be awarded points. In brackets that feature 6-12 participants, no additional points will be added. For weight categories with 13-16 entries, an additional 3000 points will be given. For categories with 16+ wrestlers entered, an additional 5000 will be awarded.

Additional points:
1 participant - no ranking or additional points
2-5 participants - ranking points reduced in half and only the first three will be awarded
6-12 participants - no additional points
13-16 participants - 3000 additional points to all wrestlers
16+ participants - 5000 additional points to all wresters

Greco-Roman

55kg
There were no changes in the top-10 but gold medalist Adem UZUN (TUR) debuts at No.11 with 8000 points, while silver medalist Amangali BEKBOLATOV (KAZ) enters the rankings at No. 13 with 6400 points.

60kg
No changes in the top-10.

63kg
Taleh MAMMADOV (AZE) moved up one sport after Istanbul. He went from being sixth to fifth after winning a bronze medal. He earned 5200 points, which moved him from 25000 points to 30200 points.

Gold medalist Islomjon BAKHRAMOV (UZB) entered the rankings at No.13 with 8000 points.

67kg
No changes in the top-10

72kg
Kristupas SLEIVA (LTU) was ranked third with 31000 points. He moved to the second spot ahead of Sergei KUTUZOV (RWF) with a 9400-point silver-medal finish.

Ulvu GANIZADE (AZE) moved from eighth to seventh with a 10th-place finish. He's earned 5480 points, enough to take him past Valentin PETIC (MDA).

Mikko PELTOKANGAS (FIN) moved into the top-10 from 12th with a fifth-place finish. He received 7000 points for his finish, bringing his tally to 15200 points.

77kg
World silver medalist Sanan SULEYMANOV (AZE) moved to the third spot after his silver medal in Istanbul. He had 37000 points but added 9400 points, bringing his overall total to 46400 points.

Viktor NEMES (SRB) broke into the top-10 after his fifth-place finish. He was ranked 12th previously but received 7000 points.

82kg
Rafig HUSEYNOV (AZE) and Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR) are ranked first and second, respectively. The two met in the semifinals in Istanbul, with Akbudak winning the 8000-point gold, while Huseynov picked up 5200 points for bronze. The Azerbaijan wrestler remains first with 50200 points, while Akbudak is second with 45000 points.

87kg
World champion Zurabi DATUNASHVILI (SRB) improved his points tally from 79200 points to 85600 points with a silver medal. Arkadiusz KULYNYCZ (POL) was ranked seventh [31000 points] but is now sixth after finishing seventh and getting 3520 points.

97kg
Young star and Tokyo fifth-place finisher Arvi SAVOLAINEN (FIN) made a big jump from 12th to sixth place with a silver medal. He scored 11400 points and moved from 23000 points to now 34400 points.

130kg
Riza KAYAALP (TUR) reached the fifth spot from seventh after he won a bronze medal. He had 34200 points, and the additional 8200-point bronze gave him 42200 points. 

Osman YILDIRIM (TUR) also moved two spots from ninth to seventh after the gold win and 11000 points. He now has 36000 points to his name.

Silver medalist and Kayaalp-slayer Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) entered top-10 at the No. 10 position with his silver medal. He had 17000 points but now has 26400 points.

Freestyle

57kg
World bronze medalist Horst LEHR (GER) missed out on earning a medal but still picked up 5100 points for finishing 12th in a bracket that had more than 16 participants. That helped him jump from his seventh position to fifth.

61kg
Ulukbek ZHOLDOSHBEKOV (KGZ) jumped seven places to break into the top-10 at 61kg. The former U23 world champion won a bronze medal and collected 10200 points. He was ranked 16th before the Yasar Dogu with 5400 points, but ended with 15600 points and is now ninth in the rankings.

Gold medalist Ravi KUMAR (IND), who is competing up a weight from his Tokoyo silver-medal winning weight of 57kg, added 13000 points and jumped up into the 12th spot.

65kg
World champion Zagir SHAKHIEV (RWF) is the new number-one ranked wrestler at 65kg. He won a silver medal in Istanbul and overtook the top spot from Olympic champion Takuto OTOGURO (JPN). He now has 56400 points as he added 11400 for his silver.

Otoguro [51000 points] has now slipped to third as Tulga TUMUR OCHIR (MGL) improved to second with a fifth-place finish. He entered the competition with 44500 points but now has 53500 points after the additional 9000 points.

Rohit ROHIT (IND) improved his ranking by one place. He grabbed 8200 points for his eighth-place finish and sit No. 8. Morteza GHIASI CHEKA (IRI) also moved from 16th to 13th with a 12th-placed finish and 5100 points.

70kg
World silver medalist Ernazar AKMATALIEV (KGZ) finished seventh in Istanbul but moved to the number-one ranking at 70kg after collecting 8520 points. He was ranked second with 37000 points but now leads world champion Magomedmurad GADZHIEV (POL) by 520 points.

Bronze medalist at Yasar Dogu, Zurabi IAKOBISHVILI (GEO), maintained his third position with 10200 points. He now has 41400 points.

Silver medalist James GREEN (USA) improved from seventh to fifth after leaving Istanbul with 11400 points. He now has 29600 points.

Gold medalist Amir YAZDANI (IRI) debuted at 70kg with 13000 points and is now ranked 11th.

Viktor RASSADIN (RWF) won bronze and has entered the rankings at 12th with 10200 points.

The two fifth-placed wrestlers -- Levan KELEKHSASHVILI (GEO) and Aliakbar FAZLIKHALILI (IRI) -- debut at 14th and 15th with 9000 points each. Since the Georgian had more classification points than Fazlikhalili in the tournament, he is ranked above the Iranian.

74kg
Fazli ERYILMAZ (TUR) broke into the top-three with a silver-medal finish in Istanbul. He was awarded 11400 points, enough to take him from the previous eighth position to third. He now has 42400 points.

86kg
Osman GOCEN (TUR) made a big leap from the 15th position to the seventh after he won the 86kg title. He now has 26500 points, adding 13000 points to his earlier total of 13000. Akhmed AIBUEV (FRA) also jumped from 14th to ninth after he finished fifth in Istanbul and picked up 9000 points. He now has 24500 points.

92kg
Ahmad BAZRIGHALEH (IRI) and Erhan YAYLACI (TUR) were the two wrestlers who improved their ranking at 92kg. Bazrighaleh debuts in this month's rankings with 11000 points for his gold medal in Istanbul.

Yaylaci, who won silver, added 9400 points to his previous 6600 points. That took him from 14th rank to ninth as he now has 16000 points.

97kg
Gold medalist at 97kg Mohammad MOHAMMADIAN (IRI) made a marginal jump of three spots from 17th to 14th despite getting 11000 points for the win. He now has 16400 points.

125kg
Taha AKGUL (TUR) and Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR (MGL) won the gold and silver, respectively, giving them 13000 and 11400 points. They remained third and fourth in the rankings.

The Turkish wrestler now has 78200 points but is still behind number two Geno PETRIASHVILI (GEO) who has 78400 points. Munkhtar now has 65400 points but no change in the rank.

Bronze medalist Yusup BATIRMURZAEV (KAZ) made a big jump from 22nd rank to 12th as he collected 10200 points. He had 6200 points but now has 16400 points to be placed 12th. Oleg BOLTIN (KAZ) improved from seventh to sixth with 8520 points for his eighth-place finish in Istanbul.

Gennadij CUDINOVIC (GER, who was previously ranked 13th,  jumped to eighth. He started with 23200 points and was awarded 8200 points for finishing eighth in the competition.

Women's Freestyle

50kg
Emilia VUC's (ROU) gold-medal win in Turkey moved her to the fourth position. She previously sat at No. 11 with 13000 points. She now has 42600 points.

Miglena SELISHKA (BUL) [31700 points] had a chance to be fourth but she missed out on winning gold. She received 10200 points for her bronze and is now fifth with 41900 points.

It was a similar case for Otgonjargal DOLGORJAV (MGL) [31000 points] and Nadezhda SOKOLOVA (RWF) [31000 points]. They remain seventh and eighth, respectively, despite winning bronze and finishing eighth.

Sarra HAMDI (TUN) finished 10th, which gave her 7480 points. That took her from 16th to 13th. She now has 20980 points.

53kg
Olympic bronze medalist Bolortuya BAT OCHIR (MGL) managed to topple Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) from the weight's No. 1 by winning the gold in Istanbul. She had 43200 points but an additional 13000 points brought her total to 56200, enough to move past Mukaida's 51000 points.

World silver medalist Iulia LEORDA (MDA) won a bronze and improved from sixth to fourth adding 10200 points to her previous 37000 points.

Junior world champion Emma MALMGREN (SWE) moved from 15th to 11th thanks to her ninth-place finish and 7800 points. Annika WENDLE (GER) moved from 17th to 12th as she finished seventh and got 8520 points.

55kg
Mehlika OZTURK (TUR) moved from tenth to seventh after collecting 8520 points for her eighth-place, while gold medalist Jacarra WINCHESTER (USA) is 11th with 11000 points.

57kg
Olympic bronze medalist Evelina NIKOLOVA (BUL) added 13000 points for her gold medal and consolidated her second position in the rankings. She now has 64200 points. Tokyo silver medalist Iryna KURACHKINA (BLR) was fifth with 41400 points but is now third after her 10200-point bronze.

Veronika CHUMIKOVA (RWF) moved from eighth to sixth after winning a bronze medal and 10200 points. She now has a total of 35200 points.

59kg
Alyona KOLESNIK (AZE), previously ranked tenth, moved to seventh with a bronze medal. She had 14300 points before the tournament but now has 22500 points.

Jowita WRZESIEN (POL) broke into the top-10 with a bronze medal and 8200 points. She is now ranked tenth from her earlier 12th as she now has 16400 points.

62kg
Taybe YUSEIN (BUL), who had 34200 points, jumped to the third-ranking after she collected 9000 points. She now has 43200 points, the same as fourth-ranked Kayla MIRACLE (USA), but is ranked third because the USA wrestler is yet to participate in a Ranking Series event this year.

Lais NUNES DE OLIVEIRA (BRA) was ranked eighth-ranked with 29600 points but is now fifth with 37400 points as she finished ninth and collected 7800 points.

Veranika IVANOVA (BWF) entered top-10 from No. 15 with a fifth-place finish and 9000 points. She had 15500 points but is now at 24500 points, 500 points shy of ninth place.

65kg
Forrest MOLINARI (USA) improved to the second rank at 65kg after she won the gold. Her points jumped from 31000 to 44000.

Dinara KUDAEVA SALIKHOVA (RWF) moved from tenth to seventh as she earned 5050 points for her 14th place finish. She now has 19350 points.

Kriszta INCZE (ROU) entered top-10 after a seventh-place finish. She picked up 8520 points which took her tally from 8200 points to 16720 points.

Silver medalist Mallory VELTE (USA) debuts at 13th place with 11400 points, while two bronze medalists Khadija JLASSI (TUN) and Emma BRUNTIL (USA) enter at 14th and 15th, respectively, with 10200 points.

Jlassi grabbed four extra classification points pushing her ahead of Bruntil.

68kg
Meerim ZHUMANAZAROVA (KGZ) is now the top-ranked wrestler at 68kg. Despite winning the silver in Istanbul, the 6400 points were enough to take her tally to 83600 points, 3600 points more than Tamyra MENSAH STOCK (USA), who has 80000 points.

Olympic silver medalist Blessing OBORUDUDU (NGR) won gold but remains third with 64400 points.

Adela HANZLICKOVA (CZE) moved from 10th to seventh with a bronze medal and 5200 points. She now has 28200 points.

72kg
Zhamila BAKBERGENOVA (KAZ) won the gold for 8000 points, tying her with top-ranked Masako FURUICHI (JPN). But as Furuichi finished with gold at the World Championships and Bakbergenova silver, the Kazak wrestler remains second.

World bronze medalist Anna SCHELL (GER) retained her third place with a silver medal, while Buse CAVUSOGLU TOSUN (TUR) fumbled her shot at jumping to No. 3 in the rankings after she finished fifth on home soil.

Kseniia BURAKOVA (RWF) moved from 13th to 11th with 4000 points for her fifth-place finish.

76kg
Second-ranked Aiperi MEDET KYZY (KGZ) closed the gap against top-ranked Adeline GRAY (USA) [86400 points] after winning a gold and 13000 points in Istanbul. She now has 67000 points

World bronze medalist Samar HAMZA (EGY) had 43300 points and needed to finish ninth or better to overtake Olympic champion Aline FOCKEN (GER) for the fourth spot. She finished ninth and took home 7800 points, moving past Focken for the fourth rank.

Francy RAEDELT (GER) won a bronze medal and jumped from 18th to 12th, thanks to the 10200 points. She now has 18400 points.

#WrestleTirana

European Championships 2026 Greco-Roman Preview

By Vinay Siwach

TIRANA, Albania (April 15) -- When Aleksandr KARELIN won his 12th European gold in 2000, it seemed like one of the most impregnable records in wrestling. In 2023, Riza KAYAALP (TUR) equaled that accomplishment but his hopes of going past Karelin came to naught after he was pinned in the final at Bucharest in 2024. [Kayaalp’s 12 golds include the 2025 European Games gold medal since no European Championships was held in that year].

Two years later, Kayaalp will take another shot at history when he steps onto the mat in Tirana next week for the European Championships in the 130kg weight class.

DOWNLOAD FULL PREVIEW HERE | European Championships 2026 Schedule | European Championships 2026 Freestyle Preview | European Championships 2026 Women's Wrestling Preview

Kayaalp began this season with a gold medal at the Zagreb Open Ranking Series to set the stage for an epic European comeback. Apart from breaking the record, a win in Tirana will give Kayaalp much-needed confidence as the 36-year-old continues his comeback after missing two years of action.

The field in Tirana includes Muhamet Malo Ranking Series winner and perhaps Kayaalp's biggest threat Marat KAMPAROV (UWW). 2025 European bronze medalists Jello KRAHMER (GER) and Darius VITEK (HUN) are returning with an aim to change the color of their medals.

Among other contenders are former U23 world champion Pavel HLINCHUK (UWW), former U20 world champion Mykhailo VYSHNYVETSKYI (UKR) and Beka KANDELAKI (AZE) who once pinned Kayaalp in Istanbul.

Turkiye will be hoping to win more golds than just Kayaalp's.

Defending champion at 63kg Kerem KAMAL (TUR) will look to find the same form he did in the first half of 2025, winning three gold medals in a span of four months.
 
Trying to stop Kamal from winning a second straight gold medal will be returning silver medalist Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) who fell short in a one-sided final last year. Also in the mix are U23 world champion Ziya BABASHOV (AZE) and world bronze medalist Vitalie ERIOMENCO (MDA). Babashov defeated Eriomenco in the final of the U23 World Championships but both can make a run for gold in Tirana.

Veteran Sergey EMELIN (UWW) enters with hopes of winning his third European gold and first since in 2021.

Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM)Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) is a four-time European champion. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Amoyan's World
There is no Greco-Roman wrestler who can be considered as dominant as Malkhas AMOYAN (ARM) among current wrestlers. The defending champion will land in Tirana in a bid to win his fifth straight European title. He last lost at the European Championships in 2021, dropping his 72kg final.

But since then, Amoyan has been untouched at the continental level. He never looked in trouble during his golden run in 2025 and is unlikely to suffer any upsets this year as well.

Lining up to challenge him are returning silver medalist Ramaz ZOIDZE (GEO) and former champion Robert FRITSCH (HUN). Joining them will be U23 world champion Alexandrin GUTU (MDA), Sergei STEPANOV (UWW) and world bronze medalist Ahmet YILMAZ (TUR).

Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE)Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) is one of the three defending Greco-Roman champions for Azerbaijan. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

Azerbaijan's Defending Champs
Azerbaijan is bringing all three of its 2025 champions as it looks to defend the team title. Olympic bronze medalist and world silver Hasrat JAFAROV (AZE) leads the charge at 67kg and is the favorite to win gold.

A possible rematch of last year's final is on the cards as Abu AMAEV (BUL) returns to maintain his 100 percent record of winning a medal at the European Championships. Amaev has two bronze and a silver at the tournament.

Two young stars who can pose a threat are U23 world silver medalist Diego CHKHIKVADZE (GEO) and former U20 world champion Erzu ZAKRIEV (UWW). Chkhikvadze began this year with two silver medals at the Zagreb Open and Muhamet Malo Ranking Series events.

Zakriev made his senior debut at the Muhamet Malo in Tirana and finished with a bronze medal.

Returning at 60kg is Nihat MAMMADLI (AZE) who began this season with a gold medal at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series. He would like to forget the medalless campaigns at World Championships and Islamic Solidarity Games and regain the form he was at last year's Europeans, winning three out of four bouts via technical superiority.

The only wrestler who troubled Mammadli was Georgij TIBILOV (SRB) who will be returning with the hope of changing his silver to gold this year. Tibilov's defense can be hard to penetrate but he has not been able to stop Mammadli's par terre offense, from where he lost the final last year.

Gurban GURBANOV (AZE) is the third returning champion for Azerbaijan as he looks to defend his 82kg gold medal. Apart from the two technical points he gave up, Gurbanov was unscored upon as he won four bouts to win the gold medal.

He blanked Gela BOLKVADZE (GEO), 4-0, in the semifinals but the Georgian will be keen on avenging that loss. The world silver medalist was not awarded the par terre position in the semifinals last year which could have changed the result of the bout.

Zoltan LEVAI (HUN), silver medalist at 77kg at Zagreb Open, is moving up to 82kg and will be among the medal contenders in Tirana along with Muhamet Malo Ranking Series silver medalist Adlet TIULIUBAEV (UWW).

Return of Novikov, Milov
After missing the entire 2025 season after the European Championships, Olympic champion Semen NOVIKOV (BUL) and European champion Kiril MILOV (BUL) will be back in action in Tirana with an aim to win gold medals at 87kg and 97kg respectively.

Novikov was stunned in the 87kg final last year by David LOSONCZI (HUN) but he will like to make amends and win his second European gold. At the recent Dan Kolov tournament in Bulgaria, Novikov suffered a 7-3 in the semifinal against Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR) who had troubled Novikov at the European Championships last year as well.

Filchakov will be in Tirana to challenge Novikov again along with several other stars including world champion Aleksandr KOMAROV (SRB) who picked up a bronze medal last year. Paris bronze medalist Turpal BISULTANOV (DEN), who skipped the tournament last year, will also be returning to action for the first time this year.

Returning bronze medalist Islam ABBASOV (AZE), former world champion Lasha GOBADZE (GEO), former European champion Istvan TAKACS (HUN) and Alan OSTAEV (UWW) are also in the hunt for medals at this weight class.

Kiril MILOV (BUL)Kiril MILOV (BUL) defeated Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) for the first time in his career and went on to win the 97kg gold. (Photo: United World Wrestling / Kostadin Andonov)

For Milov, the path to gold should be much simpler than Novikov. Milov stunned Artur ALEKSANYAN (ARM) last year, handing the Armenian legend his first European loss since 2017, before winning his second European gold medal. In Tirana, he will be joined by the three other medalists from the 2025 edition -- silver medalist Lucas LAZOGIANIS (GER), and bronze medalists Alex SZOKE (HUN) and Kiryl MASKEVICH (UWW).

But Milov's biggest threat will be world silver medalist Artur SARGSIAN (UWW) who suffered a shocking loss to Tyrone STERKENBURG (NED). Sargsian has an explosive offense from par terre and can defend as well as he did during the World Championships, winning four bouts by the score of 1-1 before losing the final.

At 55kg, it can well be the passing of the baton as world champion and returning bronze medalist Vakhtang LOLUA (GEO) takes on defending champion Emin SEFERSHAEV (UWW). These are the only two returning medalists but Lolua is primed to upset Sefershaev.

At 72kg, world silver medalist Ibrahim GHANEM (FRA), who had to share the gold medal with Levente LEVAI (HUN), will be the sole favorite this year. He has one of the most effective defenses in the world.

Among the few challengers will be Krisztian VANCZA (HUN), U20 world champion Gaspar TERTERYAN (ARM) and former U23 European champion Ruslan NURULLAYEV (AZE).