10. Ramazan Sahin (Turkey)
About Sahin: A Chechen who went to wrestle for Turkey, Sahin is one of Turkey's all-time greatest wrestlers after putting up an impressive two years on the mat. The 66-kilo wrestler won his Olympic title at 24 years old. He would end up losing to Kazakhstan's Akzhurek Tanatarov in the semifinals of the repechage at the 2012 Games in London.
9. Revaz Mindorashvili (Georgia)
About Mindorashvili: A mainstay at 84 kilos for much of the aughties, Mindorashvili won the 2008 Beijing Games after a brutal, and well-wrestled match over Russian transplant Yusup Abdusalomov of Tajikistan. The Georgian showed his versatility, scoring several one-point takedowns in the championship match, largely from creative and athletic counters.
8. Sharif Sharifov (Azerbaijan)
About Sharifov: Though embroiled in one of the larger Olympic judging scandals of 2012, Sharifov is the type of wrestler pressing towards an impressive career of achievements. After finishing with bronze at the 2009 World Championships in Herning, Sharifov was back in 2011 where he faced 2004 Olympic champion Cael Sanderson in the quarterfinals, defeating the American legend 3-1 and 4-1 in straight periods.
Despite being one of the more controversial matches of his career, the match against Jake Herbert at the 2012 Olympics shows Sharifov's potential to score points quickly and keeps wrestling through positions. (Just ignore the poor officiating.)
7. Bilyal Makhov (Russia)
About Makhov: Makhov might feel like the man who would have been an Olympic legend were it not for the quadrennial greatness of Artur Taymazov. Makhov has not only had to fight off the Russian monsters that appear every year at that country's national tournament, but once he's on the world stage he's had to wrestle a man of equal talent, but superior luck.
Makhov is rehabbing a bad shoulder injury, an injury that forced him out of this year's Russian national tournament. Should he come back he'll have to face off against North Ossetia's Alan Khugaev, who won this year's national tournament.
Still when looking back at his career, it's difficult to ignore that his World Championships win over Cuba's Alexis Rodriguez (2007), Iran's Fardin Mousami (2009), and his win over Artur Taymazov (2010) in Russia.
6. Jordan Burroughs (United States)
About Burroughs: Burroughs' accomplishments on the world and Olympic stage are limited to two seasons on the mat, but what he's done in that time is remarkable enough to catapult him past more decorated wrestlers. Like no wrestler since John Smith, who utilized low ankle attacks despite every defense invented to stop it, Burroughs has made the double leg an indefensible attack.
What sets Burroughs apart from others on the list is his ongoing unbeaten streak and his enormous international popularity. No current wrestler is more discussed by fans, or idolized by competitors than Burroughs. Part of his appeal stems from his unbeaten streak which recently crested 60 straight. That's still far from the record, but Burroughs has tested it against better competition than most any other wrestler with a comparable streak.
5. Besik Kudukhov (Russia)
About Kudukhov: Though he would come to dominate the international scene, Kudukhov has yet to find Olympic gold. Like his predecessor Batirov, Kudukhov has made the jump from 55 kilos to 60 kilos, which is what essentially ended Batirov's career. The Ossetian wrestler lost to Azerbaijani Toghrul Asgarov in the gold-medal match in the 2012 Olympic Games 1-0, 5-0.
Unlike other wrestlers on this list who have reached the end of their careers, or are on a downslope, Kudukhov could find himself on more World and Olympic teams in the coming years. However, it won't be in 2013 as he lost to Dagestan's Bekhan Goygereev in the semifinals of Russian Nationals and finished third.
4. Khadzhimurat Gatsalov (Russia)
About Gatsalov: Seven world-level medals ain't bad, but is even more impressive when you come from Russia where the internal competition is often tougher than the rest of the world. Gatsalov earned his spot in the list by being a physically dominating 96-kilo wrestler who could find throws and creative three-point takedowns.
Though the highlight of Gatsalov's career came in 2004 with his gold-medal win over Magomed Ibragimov of Uzbekistan (beat Daniel Cormier, too), it was always suspicious that he missed the 2008 Olympics won by countrymen Shirvani Muradov, a Dagestani whose only appearance was in winning an Olympic gold. Still, his late career back-and-forth battles with Azerbaijan's Khetag Gazyumov defined the last few years of his career, winning their finals match in 2009 while losing the rematch in 2010.
Though arguably one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time, Gatsalov's career seems to be running out of steam, an impressive decline when considering he's only 30 years old. Gatsalov placed third at Russian Nationals, losing to eventual champion Anzor Boltukaev of Chechnya 4-0.
3. Mavlet Batirov (Russia)
About Batirov: Though only on the world-level senior circuit from 2003-2008, Batirov managed to win his medals when it mattered most. An explosive wrestler, Batirov began his career at 55 kilos. After a few Junior and Cadet-level tournaments he made his senior level debut at the 2003 World Championships in New York City where he lost to Stephen Abas 4-2 after a throw from the clinch in overtime landed him on his back. Batirov did manage to win the rematch in the 2004 Olympic gold-medal match, dominating Abas 9-1. Batirov was only 20 years old at the time of his first gold medal, and in 2008 bumped up to 60 kilos to repeat his gold-medal performance, beating Vasyl Fedoryshyn (Ukraine) 2-1. Sadly, he disappeared from international competition after 2008, unable to keep up with Besik Kudukhov, who won four World championships from 2007-2011.
2. Artur Taymazov (Uzbekistan)
About Taymazov: The best big man since Alexander Karelin sliced his way through the Greco-Roman ranks, Taymazov's three Olympic gold medals make him the greatest freestyle heavyweight of all-time, and among the top ten wrestlers to have ever competed in the Olympic Games.
Large but always agile and in-shape Taymazov's 3-0 win over Davit Modzmanashvili (Georgia) showed that even under great pressure he was able to perform when it mattered. But it is his long-standing rivalry with Bilyal Makhov that has helped define his career. A wrestler of equal talent who has beaten Taymoazov on several occasions, including the 2010 World championships, Makhov has pushed the Uzbeki transfer to new heights.
1. Buvaisar Saitiev (Russia)
About Saitiev: The obvious No. 1 choice, Saitiev will go down as one of history's all-time Olympic greats. Perhaps no wrestler has advanced the sport more than Saitiev, who used impossible angles and leverage to create advantageous scrambles and exposure positions.
As the rules changed, Saitiev adapted, never losing objective sight of the fact that offense, whether from a defensive position or of his own creation, was the only way to win. Were it not for a disappointing 2000 Olympics, Saitiev could be the sport's first four-time Olympic champion and be the undisputed GOAT. As it stands few can argue that his wrestling career helped define a generation and create the modern sport we see on the mats today.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now