Freestyle wrestling is such a dynamic sport that it's difficult to beat the top wrestlers in the world on any kind of regular basis. Coming out on top of a wild scramble can win you a match, but it in no way assures that one will be able to duplicate the success a second time. World level bouts are won and lost on the tiniest of breaks and the tiniest of mistakes.
• Styles make matches. International wrestling sees countless examples of A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A. Freestyle technique and strategy can vary greatly from country to country and it's difficult to be equally prepared for all of them.
• Unlike other athletic disciplines, international wrestling occurs at irregular intervals. This affords athletes with much time to incorporate new moves into their arsenals. In college wrestling, by the time the NCAA Tournament comes along, everyone pretty much knows what to expect technique-wise from everyone else. In international wrestling, it's quite natural for one to encounter unexpected takedowns and turns from an opponent, even if they faced that wrestler the year before.
• Related to the above, video analysis of matches occurs at a very refined level and the ability of World-level wrestlers to make adjustments is huge. Mavlet Batriov of Russia lost to Stephen Abas of the U.S. in the opening round of the 2003 Worlds. By the time they met again in the Olympic finals the following year, Batriov had effectively dissected Abas' technique and came out a big winner.
• Wrestlers can wake up inspired on a particular day and have a fantastic string of matches that they don't repeat. Great, one-shot performances no matter how impressive, shouldn't place a wrestler on the "best" list. Mourat Umakanov put together an amazing gold-medal run in 2000, whipping 1995 and 1999 World champ Elbrus Tedeev of Ukraine, 1996 and 1999 silver medalist Jae Sung Jang of Korea and 1998 World champ Serafim Barzakov of Bulgaria. With such an amazing string of victories, you'd have to think Umakanov would be one of the best around or that this was the start of a brilliant career. That was his only world medal. He placed 10th at 60 kilos in Athens.
• The 2002 reduction and realignment in weight classes has had a severe impact on lists such as this. It's difficult not to speculate what additional medals such great athletes as Alireza Dabir of Iran and Daniel Igali of Canada would possess had they not been stuck between the new weights. I have to think that this contributed to their retirement. Likewise, it would seem that 2005 74-kilo bronze medalist Nicolai Paslar might be on the list if the 69-kilo weight class (where he won the worlds in 2001) hadn't gone away.
• FILA's constant changing of a system of advancement has been quite unforgiving. Scrutinizing a wrestler's placement in the worlds from year to year often doesn't paint an accurate picture of their true abilities. In Athens last year, Eldar Kurtanidze, who had won two straight World titles, didn't advance out of his pool when he lost to longtime rival Alireza Heydari of Iran in his opening match. Upon such a loss, should we conclude that Kurtandize had "lost a step" and was no longer one of the very top wrestlers in the world? Considering he split matches with Olympic champ Gatsalov this year, I'd say not.
As you can see, there are lot of elements to factor in with this list. In considering the various athletes and their credentials, I had three main philosophies.
1. You've got to win when it counts. Just like folkstyle wrestlers focus on peaking in the last tournament of the season, senior level freestyle wrestlers need to win at the Worlds and Olympics.
2. I place more stock in long-term consistency than the most recent results.
3. I give more weight to younger wrestlers winning their first medals than older wrestlers who finally "break through." This is simply because I believe the younger wrestler has a better chance of beginning a long medal run than the older wrestler.
Honorable Mention:
Cael Sanderson (USA, 84 kilos)
I need to officially hear that Cael Sanderson has not retired before placing him on this list. Reports have said that international wrestling was quite stressful for Cael and that he really loves coaching at his alma mater. If Cael returns to competition, he'd probably take Romero's spot on the list. Cael's probably not the best "freestyler" but rather is such a good folkstyler that he forces international success. He doesn't get a lot of turns, but from his feet, everyone knows the ankle pick is coming and simply can't stop it.
Sajid SajidovIn 2003, Sajidov seemed like the best around. Now, after two disappointing World-level tourneys, the shine is off the apple. He was placed on this year's world team after not winning the Russian Nationals (he injury defaulted in the finals) and after this year's performance, I expect no such automatic placement on the team.
Revaz Midorashivili (Georgia, 84 kilos)
Midorashivili had an amazing tourney in Budapest, beating Sajidov and Romero. However, only subsequent results will illustrate if his 2005 performance was unusual, or merely representative of a new level of ability.
Aydin Poltaci (Turkey, 120 kilos)
Polatci could be at the beginning of a long medal run, but I'd like to see it extend at least one more year before being convinced he's in the top ten.
Makhach Murtazaliev (Russia, 66 kilos)
This is probably the omission that will get me into the most trouble. Murtazaliev is a young, crafty wrestler with wins over Tedeev, Barzakov and fellow countryman and 2003 World champ Farniev. In America, he's probably best known for his upset loss to Jamill Kelly in the semi finals of the Olympics. In all honesty, I'm probably personally turned off by Murtazaliev's style. He doesn't seem to be above gamesmanship and simply does whatever it takes to win. I also thought he got some calls this year against Barzakov. That said, I would hardly be surprised if Murtazaliev remained at the top of the podium for quite some time. If he wins again next year, he's definitely on the list.
Alan Dudaev (Russia, 60 kilos)
The young Dudaev had a great tourney in Budapest, but placed seventh at the 2005 European Championships. Only more competition will reveal how good he is.
The List
10. Yoel Romero (Cuba, 84 kilos, 1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
He's not the best in the world on top, but on his feet Romero is an explosive, powerful, flexible wrestler and has won a good number of medals over the years. He only has one gold, but I think the match-deciding overtime call against him in the World finals of 2002 was the wrong one. It sure looked to me like he took Adam Saitiev down. Born 4-30-77.
9. Alexis Rodriguez (Cuba, 120 kilos, 1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
Another Cuban who hasn't won gold in a while, but has been earning World medals with regularity. Rodriguez has been beatable at various tournaments throughout the year, but seems to peak when it matters. That said, he was quite impressive in winning the 2003 FILA absolute championship where he beat David Moussoulbes, Steven Mocco and Georgi Gogchelidze. It's possible that Rodriguez has lost a step, but not much of one. His finals loss to Aydin Polatci in Budapest did go three periods. Born 7-7-78.
8. Yandro Miguel Quintana (Cuba, 60 kilos, 1 gold, 2 silver)
Yandro Miguel Quintana7. Serafim Barzakov (Bulgaria, 66 kilos, 2 gold, 3 silver)
He's been around a while, but Barzakov still looked sharp to me in Hungary. In the semifinals, he got revenge from his loss in the Olympics with an impressive pin over Spiridonov. In the finals, he got some bad breaks against Murtazaliev and lost. Barzakov is a funky wrestler who's able to turn many positions to his advantage. His long term rivalry with Elbrus Tedeev of Ukraine has been one of the most entertaining. It's my understanding that fellow Bulgarian and World champ Nicolai Paslar can also make 66 kilos, but can't beat out Barzakov. Born 7-22-75
6. Dilshod Mansurov (Uzbekistan, 55 kilos, 2 gold)
Mansurov benefited this year from none of the three standing medalists competing in Hungary (Batriov and Abas have moved up in weight and Tanabe appears to have retired). Mansurov himself also competed at 60 kilos at the 2005 World Cup, so perhaps the weight is a struggle for him as well. If Mansurov can stay at 55 kilos it's difficult not to see the young talent from Uzbekistan winning more gold. He's VERY fast and his technique is certainly solid. Born 12-12-83.
5. Khadshimourad Gatsalov (Russia, 96 kilos, 2 gold)
What's possibly most impressive about Gatsalov is just how much he improved once he moved up to 96 kilos from 84 kilos. In watching the way he steamrolls massive opponents with his double leg takedowns, you'd never guess he came from the lighter weight. Moreover the success was instantaneous. He made the switch between 2003 and 2004 and pummeled his way through a pretty deep field in Athens. Born 12-11-82.
4. Eldar Kurtanidze (Georgia, 96 kilos, 2 gold, 2 sliver, 3 bronze)
Eldar Kurtanidze3. Artur Taimazov (Uzbekistan, 120 kilos, 2 gold, 2 silver)
I'm willing to give Taimazov the benefit of the doubt that he was not 100 percent in Budapest. The four medals he's won since debuting in 2000 suggest that something wasn't right in his second round loss this year. Taimazov is a big, athletic Heavyweight and has numerous wins over Kuramagomedov of Russia, Rodriquez of Cuba, and McCoy of the U.S., not to mention a solid 3-1 win over this year's World champ, Polatci of Turkey, in the semis of the 2004 Olympics. Born 7-20-79.
2. Elbrus Tedeev (Ukraine, 66 kilos, 4 gold, 1 bronze)
To the best of my knowledge, Tedeev hasn't officially retired. Tedeev looked as good as he's ever been in Athens and has been at this game a long time. He's got amazing technique both on his feet and on the mat. Tedeev did lose to Murtazaliev in the finals of the 2004 European Championships, but it's my understanding that he had a lot of distractions during that period of his life. Tedeev has five world medals and rarely seems to have an out and out "bad" year as he often places very high. Born 12-5-74.
1. Buvaisar Saitiev (Russia, 76 kilos, 8 gold)
Quite frankly, not enough has been written about the greatest active freestyle wrestler on the planet. It's difficult to imagine another wrestler coming around like the great Buvaisar Saitiev. Perhaps someone will match his medal tally, but I can't fathom someone doing it the way he wrestles. Saitiev has an uncanny ability to make last-second adjustments. He's able to turn positions that would be deadly to anyone else into points on the scoreboard. His offense is completely unconventional and he constantly does things that no one else can do. This is different than say, Sergei Beloglazov (another all time great), who's success stemmed from technique so classical that he'd have moves perfected down to the quarter-inch. And in the never-been-tougher world of international wrestling, the risks Saitiev takes are truly risks. His only Olympic loss came when American Brandon Slay merely waited for Saitiev to stand up out of position and then blasted a power double in overtime. Two years later, Saitiev had a 2-0 lead in the finals of the Russian Nationals but then got thrown for three from the clinch. These two blemishes say more to me about the toughness of the sport than of any chinks in Saitiev's armor.
As far as how great Saitiev is against the successes wrestlers before him, if he wins another gold medal, he'll have one more than countrymen Beloglazov and Arsen Fadzaev (who won eight each). If he wins through Beijing, he'll have 11 gold medals, which will put him one ahead of Alexander Medved (who has 10). Buvaisar Saitiev is 30 years old now and it will certainly be interesting to see how long he can continue his dominance. Born 11-3-1975.
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