Sadulaev Shuts Out Taylor in Opening Round at World Championships

On the last Wednesday of October, at about 6 a.m. Eastern, in Tirana, Albania, one of the most anticipated international matches ever took place. Olympic Champion and three-time world champion David Taylor squared off with Russian legend Abdulrashid Sadulaev. Sadulaev is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and a five-time world champion. 

Before this spring, this type of matchup would only be considered the stuff of fantasy and hypotheticals. Taylor’s accolades all came at 86 kg. Sadualev started his Senior-level career at that weight but hasn’t competed under 97 kg since 2017. 

That changed at the US Olympic Team Trials where Taylor lost the 86 kg slot to Aaron Brooks. Shortly thereafter, Taylor surprisingly accepted the head coaching position at Oklahoma State University which seemed to signal the end of his competitive career. 

In the weeks leading up to the World Team Trials for non-Olympic weights, word out of Stillwater was that Taylor was training for the 92 kg spot on the world team. That proved to be accurate, and Taylor took out Zahid Valencia in two straight matches to earn a spot on the 2024 team. 

At the same time, Sadulaev, who was not allowed to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games because of his support for Russia in their ongoing war with Ukraine, expressed his desire to wrestle and that he would drop to 92 kg to make it happen. Had Sadulaev been able to participate in the Olympics, we would not have been eligible to wrestle this week in Albania. 

Despite all of the factors that contributed to making this dream match happen, it didn’t have a storybook ending for American wrestling fans. 

Early in the opening period, Taylor got in on a low-leg attack - which ended up being his best opportunity of the bout to score. Sadualev countered with a crotch-lift that yielded no points but made the American lose his position. 

Shortly after the first exchange, Sadulaev was able to get the first points of the contest after working from a front headlock - a position that would be vital for him throughout the six-minute bout. Later in the opening period, Sadulaev snapped Taylor down and spun for a second takedown and a commanding 4-0 lead. 

Even at the midway break, there was a path to victory for Taylor, who has always had an excellent gas tank against an opponent that was coming down a significant amount in weight. The potential for the Russian to fade seemed possible. 

Those proved to be fleeting hopes as Sadulaev showed no noticeable effects from the weight cut. The second period saw Taylor more active and more aggressive with his leg attacks; however, nothing could phase the Russian legend. 

After blocking a Taylor attack, Sadulaev went to work from the front headlock position and nearly garnered another takedown, but settled for a step-out and a 5-0 lead. 

Later in the final period, Taylor fired off another attack and found himself over-extended. Sadulaev was able to expose Taylor to bring the score to 7-0. 

Despite plenty of attempts, Taylor was never able to get on the scoreboard against the man dubbed “The Russian Tank.” Sadulaev prevailed 7-0 to hand Taylor his first international loss since the 2021 World finals against Iran’s Hassan Yazdani. 

In order for Taylor to be in the bronze medal hunt, he would need Sadulaev to make the finals. Expected to be waiting in the semifinals for Sadulaev is Iran’s Kamran Ghasempour, a two-time world champion himself.