2025 Senior World Championships Preview: Men's Freestyle (Part Two: 79 kg - 125kg)

We’re less than a week away from the 2025 Senior World Championships. The World Championships are where wrestlers can immortalize themselves in USA Wrestling lore. The Olympics are more prestigious from a general sports fan's perspective; however, the World Championship brackets are much bigger and feature many more threats, and most are wrestling at their ideal weights.

Typically, the year after an Olympic Games is a transition year for the World Championships. Wrestlers might highlight the Olympics as a retirement date, win or lose. With ten weights, opposed to six at the Olympics, we might see wrestlers move up or down in weight to compete at a non-Olympic weight that suits their bodies more appropriately. Some are beaten down by the pursuit of the Olympics and take a year off. All of these situations open the door for new faces to shine.

New faces are prevalent on the US men’s freestyle team. Only two of the ten world teamers have competed at a Senior World Championship event (and a third was in the Olympics). That isn’t to say it will be a down year. We just have a lot of wrestlers that haven’t gotten the opportunity to shine yet at the Senior World level. Most have earned international medals at the age-group level. Now, it’s their time to take the next step.

In our preview, we feature the eight seeded wrestlers at each weight, along with past world/Olympic medalists, as well as other notable threats at the weight. Along with some analysis about our representatives, the medal prospects, and potential hazards.

For part one of our men’s freestyle preview: Click Here

79 kg - Levi Haines

Seeds

To see the full article purchase an InterMat Premium membership for $10 per month or $50 per year. This gives you access to the top coverage of wrestling throughout the season.
Click here to purchase your Premium membership today!