u23 predictions cheers boys

[Truzzcat]

57kg: Kicking things off with what to me is one of the least interesting weights of the tournament. 57kg in general can lead at times to more competitive matches than one may originally assume and if anyone has a bad cut it could skew results, however I think this is Lukes weight to lose by a decent margin. Ozdamirov may be some peoples pick to challenge Luke or potentially even win however I do not think that match is at all competitive. Ozdamirov had a great u20’s last year but he was by no means dominant and had been teched a euros. Luke has also wrestled Russia’s senior rep and was winning with short time left and I do believe he has improved marginally since then. Bagirov, Rohit, and Bazarbayev are the other medal threats in my eyes, and I think Bazarbayev may be my pick to wrestle Luke in the finals and I can see that being a close match score wise. Bazarbayev largely competed at 61kg this year where he did not find a ton of success but was in some really close matches with very good guys. He has a 5-3 loss to Tavitov, a 3-0 loss to Abakarov and a 6-2 loss to Mehkitikanov up at 61kg. Bazarbayev has not wrestled scratch 57kg since 2023 u20’s where he DNP’d but did take silver in 2022. If the cut is ok I think he is probably my silver medal pick over Ozdamirov.

Gold: Luke
Silver: Bazarbayev
Bronze: Ozdamirov
Bronze: Bagirhov

61kg: This weight will be fun to watch, there are a lot of guys that I view as being very comparable however I do think Davino is head and toes above the field. Mukaida to me probably has the greatest ability to pull off an upset against Ben simply because of his offense but I think the most likely outcome is that Ben’s positioning is to good and Mukaida makes mistakes that allow Ben to blow it open. Mukaida’s accomplishments are 2x Meji cup runner up which is part of japans senior team qualification process as well as bronze at u23’s last year jax beat him 15-5. Begoyan, Zangaladze, Lopes, Atainov, Allahverydiev , Ozbek are the other medal contenders in my eyes. Begoyan gave Marcus his toughest match at u20’s last year but he acted like a POS and the ref was letting him get away with some crazy stuff I will not be rooting for him but he is certainly tough, he was selected for Armenias spot over Levik Mikelyan who is a 2x u23 euro champ. Zangaladze is the man who teched Ozdamirov at euros but ended up moving up to 61 for u20’s last year. Atainov teched Knox last year at u20’s and took bronze at u20’s he also won u23 asian gold but it was against a very weak field. Matty Lopes is a real wild card for me here. I am expecting big things from him during the NCAA season and I think this could be a glimpse at a potential breakout season.

Gold: Davino
Silver: Mukaida
Bronze: Lopes
Bronze: Begoyan

 

65kg:I think people are downplaying a bit how good this dield is, the flow guys mentioned that Bo likely will not have many competitive matches here and while that could be true I believe he could be in some dog fights with a bad draw. Jaskaran singh won the takiti cup last year despite being under a 3 year suspension I am not entirely sure why he thought he could wrestle but it is a notable result. Also of note is it would seem he got the spot over Kumar Mohit who won u23 Asians.  Kaiji Ogino is very good and I think he has a style that matches up well against Bo I am not sure however that he can hold a pace. It seems like people are doing wrestling math and because Real beat him 9-1 last year Bo will steamroll him but I would urge you to rewatch Oginos match with Real and I also believe that was a better version of Real than Bo beat recently. Oginos results include a 7-3 win over Nishiuchi at the emperors cup. Nishiuchi is very good he beat Lilledahl a few years ago he lost to Bashir 7-5 and Sujeet 3-2 at u23’s last year. Ogino’s last two losses are 3-1 and 3-2 to Kiyooka. The other two guys in my eyes to watch out for are Akhmadudinov of Russia and Maghamedkhanov presumably of Russia by the way of Belarus. Akhmadudinov was second at Russian nationals this year losing to Abasghadzi but does have a win over Abasghadzi in the past. Magomedkhanov won euros this year and was bronze last year at 61kg losing to Blaze 15-4, he wrestled Nachyn Kuular who can be very good at times to a 6-4 loss in a ranking series event.

 

Gold: Ogino
Silver: Akhmadudinov
Bronze: Bassett
Bronze: Magomedkhanov

 

70kg: Will not be talking a ton about Jordan Williams hope he proves me wrong, but I do not think he is much of a contender here. There are 3 guys that immediately stand out here. Gaidarli, Eltemirov, and Elahi.  All 3 of the guys are age group medalist and I believe on their best day could medal at seniors. Picking who would win out of the 3 is a coin flip but my lean would be Gaidarli given recent form and consistency. Some guys I would expect to make some noise are Kahkarov from Kyrgstan he is a fomer cadet world champ and Toprak who has medaled copious amounts of time down at 65kg and is supremely talented for about 90 seconds before his lungs give out. It will be interesting to see if less of a weight cut makes his cardio better. Worth Noting that PJ beat Elahi and Gaidarli last year in two very competitive matches I wanted something to boast about for USA here because I do not think J will is going to supply it. Also of note Gaidarli beat Eltemirov at u23 euros and lost to Baev 2-1 at Seniors Baev may be the favorite to win gold at seniors.

Gold: Gaidarli
Silver: Eltemirov
Bronze: Elahi
Bronze: Toprak

 

74kg: This weight is nasty. The heavy hitters are James, Wagin, Baitukaev, Novoruzov, Kobakhize, LJ Araujo, Ogawa Karamphour. I have seen a lot of predictions for Jayden here, and while that is not crazy I think it is worth noting that Ogawa outplaced Yoshida who beat james at u20’s in the meji cup by two rounds and Wagin was injured at u20’s. Baitukaev has no gas tank but is very very skilled he is a 4x age level medalist and has won age level Russian nationals 6 times. Kobakhize beat Novurozv for bronze at Euros Novuruzov is a former medalist and has been relatively competitive on the senior level. Karampour took silver in a 2024 bracket where Bassett was bronze teching Gaidarli (Gaidarli was not that guy then). He took third at the Dogu this year losing to Monday, He was someone I was very high on after that u20’s but has not met the hype for me but perhaps he has found his weight.

Predictions:
Gold: Wagin
Silver: Ogawa
Bronze: James
Bronze: Baitukaev

79kg:Low confidence again here for USA but I do like this weight. Chandermohan of Inida is the u23 Asian killer he has won it twice but has done absolutely nothing. Yaprak is the returning silver medalist, he lost to Levi 11-1 in the finals. Saidulov got bronze last year and has done really well in Russia this year taking third at nationals and winning the Kadyrov cup. He lost to Youseffi last year who is also in the field but I think he could reverse that result. The real wild card is Christopher Minto who does not really have any freestyle accolades to point to so we have to go off of NCAA results and the Raf results which were two losses albeit to studs like KOT and Nolf both by 5 points. Kanata Yamaguchi is also in the field, he beat Dee for bronze last year at 74kg and gave Khaniev his best match of the tournament. I think he has a really small stature for 79kg which could either help or hurt him, it is going to be very difficult to get to his legs.

Predictions:
Gold: Yamaguchi
Silver: Saidulov
Bronze: Youseffi
Bronze: Minto

 

86kg: I believe we have a 3 horse race here with Sinclair, Balanian, and Asano. Asano seems to have been competing at 92kg where he was 3^rd at the emperors cup and 2^nd at the meji cup. Balaian is the defending u23 champ and the #3 for russias senior team at what is a deep weight for them. Of course then you have the u20 champ this year Sinclair who I think may be our guy in 2028.

Gold: Balaian
Silver: Sinclair
Bronze: Asano
Bronze: Yagan

92kg:
Gold: Kurashvili
Silver: Rahmani
Bronze: Kurugliev
Bronze: Bagaev

 

97kg:
Gold: Khaniev
Silver: Azimi
Bronze: Rademacher
Bronze: Poyonov

 

125kg:
Gold: Nezhad
Silver: Merill
Bronze: Karsanov
Bronze: Ronak

 

@Husker_Du
@Jon_Kozak
@Tyler Perry

Always appreciate feedback.

[Curt Foley]

Absolutely awesome post!  Where do you find the time?  To know these international athletes this well is impressive alone, let alone the analysis.   We'll done!  Peace!

~Curt 

[Simpleman424]

2 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

57kg: Kicking things off with what to me is one of the least interesting weights of the tournament. 57kg in general can lead at times to more competitive matches than one may originally assume and if anyone has a bad cut it could skew results, however I think this is Lukes weight to lose by a decent margin. Ozdamirov may be some peoples pick to challenge Luke or potentially even win however I do not think that match is at all competitive. Ozdamirov had a great u20’s last year but he was by no means dominant and had been teched a euros. Luke has also wrestled Russia’s senior rep and was winning with short time left and I do believe he has improved marginally since then. Bagirov, Rohit, and Bazarbayev are the other medal threats in my eyes, and I think Bazarbayev may be my pick to wrestle Luke in the finals and I can see that being a close match score wise. Bazarbayev largely competed at 61kg this year where he did not find a ton of success but was in some really close matches with very good guys. He has a 5-3 loss to Tavitov, a 3-0 loss to Abakarov and a 6-2 loss to Mehkitikanov up at 61kg. Bazarbayev has not wrestled scratch 57kg since 2023 u20’s where he DNP’d but did take silver in 2022. If the cut is ok I think he is probably my silver medal pick over Ozdamirov.

Gold: Luke
Silver: Bazarbayev
Bronze: Ozdamirov
Bronze: Bagirhov

61kg: This weight will be fun to watch, there are a lot of guys that I view as being very comparable however I do think Davino is head and toes above the field. Mukaida to me probably has the greatest ability to pull off an upset against Ben simply because of his offense but I think the most likely outcome is that Ben’s positioning is to good and Mukaida makes mistakes that allow Ben to blow it open. Mukaida’s accomplishments are 2x Meji cup runner up which is part of japans senior team qualification process as well as bronze at u23’s last year jax beat him 15-5. Begoyan, Zangaladze, Lopes, Atainov, Allahverydiev , Ozbek are the other medal contenders in my eyes. Begoyan gave Marcus his toughest match at u20’s last year but he acted like a POS and the ref was letting him get away with some crazy stuff I will not be rooting for him but he is certainly tough, he was selected for Armenias spot over Levik Mikelyan who is a 2x u23 euro champ. Zangaladze is the man who teched Ozdamirov at euros but ended up moving up to 61 for u20’s last year. Atainov teched Knox last year at u20’s and took bronze at u20’s he also won u23 asian gold but it was against a very weak field. Matty Lopes is a real wild card for me here. I am expecting big things from him during the NCAA season and I think this could be a glimpse at a potential breakout season.

Gold: Davino
Silver: Mukaida
Bronze: Lopes
Bronze: Begoyan

 

65kg:I think people are downplaying a bit how good this dield is, the flow guys mentioned that Bo likely will not have many competitive matches here and while that could be true I believe he could be in some dog fights with a bad draw. Jaskaran singh won the takiti cup last year despite being under a 3 year suspension I am not entirely sure why he thought he could wrestle but it is a notable result. Also of note is it would seem he got the spot over Kumar Mohit who won u23 Asians.  Kaiji Ogino is very good and I think he has a style that matches up well against Bo I am not sure however that he can hold a pace. It seems like people are doing wrestling math and because Real beat him 9-1 last year Bo will steamroll him but I would urge you to rewatch Oginos match with Real and I also believe that was a better version of Real than Bo beat recently. Oginos results include a 7-3 win over Nishiuchi at the emperors cup. Nishiuchi is very good he beat Lilledahl a few years ago he lost to Bashir 7-5 and Sujeet 3-2 at u23’s last year. Ogino’s last two losses are 3-1 and 3-2 to Kiyooka. The other two guys in my eyes to watch out for are Akhmadudinov of Russia and Maghamedkhanov presumably of Russia by the way of Belarus. Akhmadudinov was second at Russian nationals this year losing to Abasghadzi but does have a win over Abasghadzi in the past. Magomedkhanov won euros this year and was bronze last year at 61kg losing to Blaze 15-4, he wrestled Nachyn Kuular who can be very good at times to a 6-4 loss in a ranking series event.

 

Gold: Ogino
Silver: Akhmadudinov
Bronze: Bassett
Bronze: Magomedkhanov

 

70kg: Will not be talking a ton about Jordan Williams hope he proves me wrong, but I do not think he is much of a contender here. There are 3 guys that immediately stand out here. Gaidarli, Eltemirov, and Elahi.  All 3 of the guys are age group medalist and I believe on their best day could medal at seniors. Picking who would win out of the 3 is a coin flip but my lean would be Gaidarli given recent form and consistency. Some guys I would expect to make some noise are Kahkarov from Kyrgstan he is a fomer cadet world champ and Toprak who has medaled copious amounts of time down at 65kg and is supremely talented for about 90 seconds before his lungs give out. It will be interesting to see if less of a weight cut makes his cardio better. Worth Noting that PJ beat Elahi and Gaidarli last year in two very competitive matches I wanted something to boast about for USA here because I do not think J will is going to supply it. Also of note Gaidarli beat Eltemirov at u23 euros and lost to Baev 2-1 at Seniors Baev may be the favorite to win gold at seniors.

Gold: Gaidarli
Silver: Eltemirov
Bronze: Elahi
Bronze: Toprak

 

74kg: This weight is nasty. The heavy hitters are James, Wagin, Baitukaev, Novoruzov, Kobakhize, LJ Araujo, Ogawa Karamphour. I have seen a lot of predictions for Jayden here, and while that is not crazy I think it is worth noting that Ogawa outplaced Yoshida who beat james at u20’s in the meji cup by two rounds and Wagin was injured at u20’s. Baitukaev has no gas tank but is very very skilled he is a 4x age level medalist and has won age level Russian nationals 6 times. Kobakhize beat Novurozv for bronze at Euros Novuruzov is a former medalist and has been relatively competitive on the senior level. Karampour took silver in a 2024 bracket where Bassett was bronze teching Gaidarli (Gaidarli was not that guy then). He took third at the Dogu this year losing to Monday, He was someone I was very high on after that u20’s but has not met the hype for me but perhaps he has found his weight.

Predictions:
Gold: Wagin
Silver: Ogawa
Bronze: James
Bronze: Baitukaev

79kg:Low confidence again here for USA but I do like this weight. Chandermohan of Inida is the u23 Asian killer he has won it twice but has done absolutely nothing. Yaprak is the returning silver medalist, he lost to Levi 11-1 in the finals. Saidulov got bronze last year and has done really well in Russia this year taking third at nationals and winning the Kadyrov cup. He lost to Youseffi last year who is also in the field but I think he could reverse that result. The real wild card is Christopher Minto who does not really have any freestyle accolades to point to so we have to go off of NCAA results and the Raf results which were two losses albeit to studs like KOT and Nolf both by 5 points. Kanata Yamaguchi is also in the field, he beat Dee for bronze last year at 74kg and gave Khaniev his best match of the tournament. I think he has a really small stature for 79kg which could either help or hurt him, it is going to be very difficult to get to his legs.

Predictions:
Gold: Yamaguchi
Silver: Saidulov
Bronze: Youseffi
Bronze: Minto

 

86kg: I believe we have a 3 horse race here with Sinclair, Balanian, and Asano. Asano seems to have been competing at 92kg where he was 3^rd at the emperors cup and 2^nd at the meji cup. Balaian is the defending u23 champ and the #3 for russias senior team at what is a deep weight for them. Of course then you have the u20 champ this year Sinclair who I think may be our guy in 2028.

Gold: Balaian
Silver: Sinclair
Bronze: Asano
Bronze: Yagan
 

92kg:
Gold: Kurashvili
Silver: Rahmani
Bronze: Kurugliev
Bronze: Bagaev

 

97kg:
Gold: Khaniev
Silver: Azimi
Bronze: Rademacher
Bronze: Poyonov

 

125kg:
Gold: Nezhad
Silver: Merill
Bronze: Karsanov
Bronze: Ronak

 

@Husker_Du
@Jon_Kozak
@Tyler Perry

Always appreciate feedback.

I’d be extremely happy to see Ben take gold…I hope you’re right!

[Truzzcat]

7 minutes ago, Simpleman424 said:

I’d be extremely happy to see Ben take gold…I hope you’re right!

At his best I think Ben is probably a top 10 guy in the world right now, Mukaida is very good but I think its actually a pretty good style matchup for Ben. Lopes and Begoyan honestly probably worry me a bit more because I could see it being a match he is controlling but its within the margins and something weird happening late.

[Tyler Perry]

5 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

57kg: Kicking things off with what to me is one of the least interesting weights of the tournament. 57kg in general can lead at times to more competitive matches than one may originally assume and if anyone has a bad cut it could skew results, however I think this is Lukes weight to lose by a decent margin. Ozdamirov may be some peoples pick to challenge Luke or potentially even win however I do not think that match is at all competitive. Ozdamirov had a great u20’s last year but he was by no means dominant and had been teched a euros. Luke has also wrestled Russia’s senior rep and was winning with short time left and I do believe he has improved marginally since then. Bagirov, Rohit, and Bazarbayev are the other medal threats in my eyes, and I think Bazarbayev may be my pick to wrestle Luke in the finals and I can see that being a close match score wise. Bazarbayev largely competed at 61kg this year where he did not find a ton of success but was in some really close matches with very good guys. He has a 5-3 loss to Tavitov, a 3-0 loss to Abakarov and a 6-2 loss to Mehkitikanov up at 61kg. Bazarbayev has not wrestled scratch 57kg since 2023 u20’s where he DNP’d but did take silver in 2022. If the cut is ok I think he is probably my silver medal pick over Ozdamirov.

Gold: Luke
Silver: Bazarbayev
Bronze: Ozdamirov
Bronze: Bagirhov

61kg: This weight will be fun to watch, there are a lot of guys that I view as being very comparable however I do think Davino is head and toes above the field. Mukaida to me probably has the greatest ability to pull off an upset against Ben simply because of his offense but I think the most likely outcome is that Ben’s positioning is to good and Mukaida makes mistakes that allow Ben to blow it open. Mukaida’s accomplishments are 2x Meji cup runner up which is part of japans senior team qualification process as well as bronze at u23’s last year jax beat him 15-5. Begoyan, Zangaladze, Lopes, Atainov, Allahverydiev , Ozbek are the other medal contenders in my eyes. Begoyan gave Marcus his toughest match at u20’s last year but he acted like a POS and the ref was letting him get away with some crazy stuff I will not be rooting for him but he is certainly tough, he was selected for Armenias spot over Levik Mikelyan who is a 2x u23 euro champ. Zangaladze is the man who teched Ozdamirov at euros but ended up moving up to 61 for u20’s last year. Atainov teched Knox last year at u20’s and took bronze at u20’s he also won u23 asian gold but it was against a very weak field. Matty Lopes is a real wild card for me here. I am expecting big things from him during the NCAA season and I think this could be a glimpse at a potential breakout season.

Gold: Davino
Silver: Mukaida
Bronze: Lopes
Bronze: Begoyan

 

65kg:I think people are downplaying a bit how good this dield is, the flow guys mentioned that Bo likely will not have many competitive matches here and while that could be true I believe he could be in some dog fights with a bad draw. Jaskaran singh won the takiti cup last year despite being under a 3 year suspension I am not entirely sure why he thought he could wrestle but it is a notable result. Also of note is it would seem he got the spot over Kumar Mohit who won u23 Asians.  Kaiji Ogino is very good and I think he has a style that matches up well against Bo I am not sure however that he can hold a pace. It seems like people are doing wrestling math and because Real beat him 9-1 last year Bo will steamroll him but I would urge you to rewatch Oginos match with Real and I also believe that was a better version of Real than Bo beat recently. Oginos results include a 7-3 win over Nishiuchi at the emperors cup. Nishiuchi is very good he beat Lilledahl a few years ago he lost to Bashir 7-5 and Sujeet 3-2 at u23’s last year. Ogino’s last two losses are 3-1 and 3-2 to Kiyooka. The other two guys in my eyes to watch out for are Akhmadudinov of Russia and Maghamedkhanov presumably of Russia by the way of Belarus. Akhmadudinov was second at Russian nationals this year losing to Abasghadzi but does have a win over Abasghadzi in the past. Magomedkhanov won euros this year and was bronze last year at 61kg losing to Blaze 15-4, he wrestled Nachyn Kuular who can be very good at times to a 6-4 loss in a ranking series event.

 

Gold: Ogino
Silver: Akhmadudinov
Bronze: Bassett
Bronze: Magomedkhanov

 

70kg: Will not be talking a ton about Jordan Williams hope he proves me wrong, but I do not think he is much of a contender here. There are 3 guys that immediately stand out here. Gaidarli, Eltemirov, and Elahi.  All 3 of the guys are age group medalist and I believe on their best day could medal at seniors. Picking who would win out of the 3 is a coin flip but my lean would be Gaidarli given recent form and consistency. Some guys I would expect to make some noise are Kahkarov from Kyrgstan he is a fomer cadet world champ and Toprak who has medaled copious amounts of time down at 65kg and is supremely talented for about 90 seconds before his lungs give out. It will be interesting to see if less of a weight cut makes his cardio better. Worth Noting that PJ beat Elahi and Gaidarli last year in two very competitive matches I wanted something to boast about for USA here because I do not think J will is going to supply it. Also of note Gaidarli beat Eltemirov at u23 euros and lost to Baev 2-1 at Seniors Baev may be the favorite to win gold at seniors.

Gold: Gaidarli
Silver: Eltemirov
Bronze: Elahi
Bronze: Toprak

 

74kg: This weight is nasty. The heavy hitters are James, Wagin, Baitukaev, Novoruzov, Kobakhize, LJ Araujo, Ogawa Karamphour. I have seen a lot of predictions for Jayden here, and while that is not crazy I think it is worth noting that Ogawa outplaced Yoshida who beat james at u20’s in the meji cup by two rounds and Wagin was injured at u20’s. Baitukaev has no gas tank but is very very skilled he is a 4x age level medalist and has won age level Russian nationals 6 times. Kobakhize beat Novurozv for bronze at Euros Novuruzov is a former medalist and has been relatively competitive on the senior level. Karampour took silver in a 2024 bracket where Bassett was bronze teching Gaidarli (Gaidarli was not that guy then). He took third at the Dogu this year losing to Monday, He was someone I was very high on after that u20’s but has not met the hype for me but perhaps he has found his weight.

Predictions:
Gold: Wagin
Silver: Ogawa
Bronze: James
Bronze: Baitukaev

79kg:Low confidence again here for USA but I do like this weight. Chandermohan of Inida is the u23 Asian killer he has won it twice but has done absolutely nothing. Yaprak is the returning silver medalist, he lost to Levi 11-1 in the finals. Saidulov got bronze last year and has done really well in Russia this year taking third at nationals and winning the Kadyrov cup. He lost to Youseffi last year who is also in the field but I think he could reverse that result. The real wild card is Christopher Minto who does not really have any freestyle accolades to point to so we have to go off of NCAA results and the Raf results which were two losses albeit to studs like KOT and Nolf both by 5 points. Kanata Yamaguchi is also in the field, he beat Dee for bronze last year at 74kg and gave Khaniev his best match of the tournament. I think he has a really small stature for 79kg which could either help or hurt him, it is going to be very difficult to get to his legs.

Predictions:
Gold: Yamaguchi
Silver: Saidulov
Bronze: Youseffi
Bronze: Minto

 

86kg: I believe we have a 3 horse race here with Sinclair, Balanian, and Asano. Asano seems to have been competing at 92kg where he was 3^rd at the emperors cup and 2^nd at the meji cup. Balaian is the defending u23 champ and the #3 for russias senior team at what is a deep weight for them. Of course then you have the u20 champ this year Sinclair who I think may be our guy in 2028.

Gold: Balaian
Silver: Sinclair
Bronze: Asano
Bronze: Yagan
 

92kg:
Gold: Kurashvili
Silver: Rahmani
Bronze: Kurugliev
Bronze: Bagaev

 

97kg:
Gold: Khaniev
Silver: Azimi
Bronze: Rademacher
Bronze: Poyonov

 

125kg:
Gold: Nezhad
Silver: Merill
Bronze: Karsanov
Bronze: Ronak

 

@Husker_Du
@Jon_Kozak
@Tyler Perry

Always appreciate feedback.

Your write ups are awesome as always. I did not realize Yamaguchi was the guy who beat Dee! Or that Ogina beat Yoshida 

[Tyler Perry]

I have an article coming out on Rokfin, but I’d love to hear your guys opinion on it, fair warning, it is long. It took me about 3 days 

 

 U23 World Predictions Article  

 

U23 Worlds kick off October 12th and goes through the 19th, with MFS starting Friday, October 16th. So let’s dive into my predictions for the medal stand before brackets come out. This will basically be me talking about the best wrestlers here in my opinion. Then once brackets come out later in the week, we’ll dive into the draws and revised predictions. 

 

57KG: 

Predictions:

Luke Lilledahl (USA)

Magomed Ozdamirov (RUS)

Vasif Baghirov (AZE)

Merey Bazarbaev (KAZ)

The two top contenders in this bracket are Luke Lilledahl and Magomed Ozdamirov. Luke comes in as the favorite here, he enters the tournament #2 in the world as a U17, U20, and U23 world champ. This past year, at the U.S. Open, he took out 2024 Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee (USA) , before losing two straight matches to him a few weeks later at final X for the senior world team spot. 

Ozdamirov enters the tournament ranked #13 in the world. He won gold at U20’s last year, as well as winning Russian Nationals this past summer, where he beat Lev Pavlov (#15 at 57kg). 

Vasif Baghirov got bronze at at U20’s last year, beating Rin Sakamoto (JPN) in repechage after winning U20 Eruos before that. He followed it up this year by getting silver at U23 Euros, losing 7-3 in the finals. He’s very fast to his single, as well as a good scrambler, and provides a threat to anyone in the field.

Merey Bazarbaev is my last pick to medal, he’s bounced around between 57 and 61kg this year. He’s very strong in the handfight, and has a good gas tank. At the Muhamet Malo tournament, He had a close 3-0 loss in the bronze medal match to Zelimkhan Abakarov (#16 at 61kg). At a later ranking tournament in July, he notably beat Wanhou Zou (CHN), a guy who has notably gave Spencer Lee some of his toughest matches on the world stage. 

 

 

61KG:

Predictions: 

Ben Davino (USA)

Nurdanat Aitanov (KAZ)

Akito Mukaida (JPN)

Nika Zangaladze (GEO)

While we haven’t seen much of Davino on the world stage, his domestic resume is as impressive as any. He’s currently ranked #10 in the world by Flo Wrestling, and this past year, he made the NCAA finals, where he beat Marcus Blaze in the semis. He also Jax Forrest and Austin DeSanto at the U.S. Open, and lost close matches to world champ Massa Ono and multiple time world medalist Aran Harutunyan (#2 at 61KG) (ARM) at RAF, who beat Spencer Lee down at 57kg at last year’s worlds. Davino’s world class defense and excellent offense will have him in any match, and I think that will be enough to bring home gold. 

Nurdanat Aitanov was bronze at U20s last year, beating Anthony Knox down at 57kg in the opening round, before losing a close 3-1 match to the eventual champ Ozdamirov. He does a lot of his work with an underhook, showing a good throw by single/seatbelt series from there. He also has a nice head in the middle leg lace, which he can end the match with. 

Nika Zangaladze’s highlight win was beating U20 World champ Magomed Ozdamirov (10-0) in the semis of the 2025 European Championships to claim silver before dropping a 9-6 match in the finals. 

Two other guy I think can go toe to toe with the previous two are  Akito Mukaida and Ebrahim Khari. Mukaida is lightning quick and an excellent technician, as most Japanese wrestlers are. He’s a 2025 U23 world bronze medalist, and has a 13-11 win over Nika Zangaladze in this field. Mukaida is a real threat to make the finals depending on his draw.

Ebrahim Khari is also in this field. He comes in boasting a U23 bronze and U20 silver from 2024. At last years Zagreb Open, he beat Reza Momeni, who was 7th at senior worlds the year prior. 

Other guys in this field include Tulga Ozbek (TUR), a U23 bronze medalist, Vaibhav Patil (IND), a 2022 U17 world bronze, and Sargis Begoyan (ARM).

 

 

65KG: 

Predictions:

Bo Bassett (USA)

Eldar Alhmadudinov (RUS)

Ahora Khateri (USA)

Omar Ayoub (PUR)

65KG is a fun weight with a possibility of several intriguing matchups. My pick for gold is Bo Bassett, currently ranked #11 in the world, and recently beat 2025 senior bronze medalist Real Woods in two straight matches to make the U.S. senior world team. He also won U20’s in dominant fashion a couple months ago. His relentless pace and offense leave his opponents gasping for air, and he has already proven to be one of the best in the world already. 

However, he will have a tough competitor to reach his goal of a gold medal with Eldar Akhmadudinov standing in his way. Akhmadudinov is currently ranked #5 in the world by Flo after a breakout performance at Russian Nationals earlier this year, getting silver after beating Bashir Magomedov (#6) to make the finals, before ultimately losing a 10-9 match in Abasgadzhi Magomedov. His performance at Russian Nationals make him a real threat, and it’ll be fun to see a possible matchup between two top 12 ranked guys.

Ahora Khateri has world class defense. He isn’t a guy who you will see lighting up the score board, he’s calculated, and picks his spots to win big matches. His resume speaks for itself on the caliber of wrestler he is. He’s a two time U20 world medalist, getting silver last year, losing to Marcus Blaze in the finals, and getting bronze this summer. He does need to improve his gas tank, as you will see his pace drop significantly at the end of some matches, but his defense and wrestling IQ makes him a medal contender in just about any bracket he enters.

Omar Ayoub has legitimate big move potential. He’s developed an excellent scrambling ability while being in the Nebraska room the past couple years. He also has a great gas tank, and has ran guys down while being down big multiple times with the ability to put points up in bunches. He has a nasty left handed single, which he pairs with a solid hand fight and powerful snaps in which he can run the corner with effectively. His combination of speed and savvy make him a real medal threat. 

Magomedkhan Magamedkhanov comes in with a U20 world bronze from last year, only losing to Marcus Blaze in the semis, and a U23 Euro’s gold earlier this summer. He has a strong chest wrap and a powerful hand fight. He does have some suspect par tare defense though, so if you can get on top, you have a chance to create separation, which is why I don’t see him in that upper tier with Bassett and Akhmadudinov. 

There’s a lot of guys I think can challenge for a medal here, One guy in particular is Kaji Ogino. Ogino captured a U23 world silver back in 2024, and has been active this year, where he placed 5th at the ranking series in Albania, losing only to two senior world medalists in Rahman Amouzad (#1) and Real Woods (#9). 

 A few other guys I yhink can make some noise here  are Oskonbai Abdisamatov (KGZ), Karson Brown (CAN), and Singh Jaskaran (IND). 

 

70KG: 

Abdullah Toprak (TUR)

Magomed Eletmirov (RUS)

Alexandr Gaidarli (MDA)

Elsayed Ahmed (EGY)

Similar to the 70KG senior field, the U23 field is wide open, with three guys inside Flo’s top 20, and many more who can push them. 

Abdullah Toprak is not currently one of those ranked in the top 20 internationally, but he’s very dangerous. He already has two U20 bronze medals, a U23 bronze, and a U17 gold on his resume. He’s ungodly quick on his feet, with a nice single and excellent par tare offense. He was two points away from teching Luke Stanich (USA) in the first period before gassing out and giving up 18 straight points. Stanich went on to win a U20 world title. Toprak can roll with anyone in the first three minutes, it’s the last three minutes that concern me. 

Magomed Eletmirov is the highest ranked wrestler in this bracket, coming in at #8 after getting bronze at Russian Nationals. At the Ulaanbaatar Open this summer, he took home a bronze medal, with his lone loss coming to Tulga Tumur Ochir (#5) 2-0 in the semis. He can go toe-to-toe with the best in the world, and it’ll be very interesting to see how he does in this bracket.

Alexandr Gaidarli took 5th at U23 worlds last year, as well as taking silver at U20s that year as well, losing 7-5 in the finals to PJ Duke (USA). On top of that, he boasts a 3-2 win over Eletmirov at U23 Euros this summer. 

I have Elsayed Ahmed in the second bronze spot. You could say he’s my sleeper of the tournament. Ahmed doesn’t have many major results, placing 5th at U20 worlds this summer, losing tough matches to Sina Khalili (#11) and Davit Davtyan. He’s super funky and an excellent scrambler. He can get caught at times over wrestling some positions, but he’s a very fun watch, and someone who I think can have a breakout performance. 

Other medal threats here are, Ebrahim Elahi (IRI), who took bronze at last year’s U20s, Ramik Heybetov (AZE), a bronze medalist at U23 Euro’s this year, Sumit Bharaskar (IND), Maiis Aliyev (KAZ), and who took 5th at U23s and gold at U23 Asians. On top of that, you also have two American wrestlers in the mix with Jordan Williams and Kade Brown (CAN) as guys who can make some noise. 

 

 

74KG: 

Jayden James (USA)

Manuel Wagin (GER)

Nurdaulet Seilbekov (KAZ)

Magomed Baitukaev (RUS)

This may be the most fun weight to watch of the tournament, with 12 age level medalist split between the top six guys. 

We’ll start with Jayden James. He won gold at U17s, then followed that up this year with a silver medal at U20s, losing 13-12 to Japan’s Yoshida in the finals. Very close to the top of America’s senior ladder, James’s dynamic offense and ability to wrestle through positions make him a strong contender for gold here.

Manuel Wagin comes in with wins over elite competition, including Magomed Baitukaev from Russia, who he beat 7-1 at U23 Euros this summer. He has great offense, and haa dangerous par tare ability. He does struggle keeping up his high pace at the end of matches, but he’s very good nonetheless. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Wagin has yet to put a full tournament together. Can this be the tournament he finally does?

Nurdaulet Seilbekov was bronze at this year’s U20s. He’s an elite scrambler who’s almost impossible to score on if he is able to extend the position. He’s extremely mat savvy, knowing what to do in seemingly every position, making him a tough out for anybody. 

Magomed Baitukaev comes in with a 2024 U20 silver and a 2023 U20 bronze. He’s explosive and extremely powerful, sprawling is almost useless when he shoots because of his ability to scoot his hips in and drive up with ease. 

This weight is fun with several other guys who could push for a medal. Adilet Akylbekov (KGZ) was silver at last year’s U20s, Aghanazar Norvruzov (AZE) and Karampour (IRI) were both 2024 U20 bronze medalists, Fazliddin Nastritdinov (UZB) was bronze at this year’s U23 Asians, and 5th at this years Senior Asians. Tolui Munkhbat (MGL) is tough, as well as Toki Ogawa (JPN). LJ Arujau (BRA) and Crigor Chlakyan (ARM) are two Americans representing other countries as well. LJ Araujo is more of a medal threat than Crigor Chlakyan, as LJ is much better defensively and as a scrambler. LJ is a tough early round draw for anybody with his ability to slow down the match, but both guys should be fun to watch. 

 

 

79KG: 

Mahdi Yousefi (IRI)

Chris Minto (JAM)

Ibrahim Yaprak (TUR)

Kanata Yamaguchi (JPN)

Another open weight here, the favorite is Mahdi Yousefi. Yousefi is ranked #9 in the world, having a 2024 U23 world gold, a 2024 U20 bronze, a 2025 U20 gold, and a 2025 U23 bronze. This spring, at Senior Asians, he placed 6th, winning over China’s Feng Lu, currently ranked #16 in the world. He notably beat Will Henckel (USA) in the U20 finals last year, showing off excellent hand fighting skills and ability to control center. His resume makes him the favorite in Vegas.

Chris Minto being here is a curveball, as we have not seen a lot from him on the freestyle scene. The two time All American (4th and 2nd) recently wrestled former national champs Jason Nolf and Keegan O’Toole at RAF, where he lost 10-5 and 14-9 respectively. Minto is a strong hand fighter with world class defense, as in his last two matches with senior world silver medalist Levi Haines, he didn’t give up a single takedown. He is inexperienced in freestyle, but he has a already shown to be developing quickly. 

Next we have Ibrahim Yaprik, a 2025 U23 silver medalist, as well as a 2023 U20 world bronze. He lost to Levi Haines in the finals of U23s last year. He has good baseline defense, and likes to hop over the near leg on his go behind, which has been quite effective for him. He has a chance to add another U23 medal to his trophy case here. 

Joe Sealey (USA) is another guy who could medal but have him just missing. He hasn’t been on a world team since making the U17 team in 2022, where he won worlds. But most recently, he beat David Carr 5-3 at the U.S. Open to take 3rd place, after losing a close 3-2 match to 2026 senior world teamer James Green. 

 

 

 

86KG:

Aeoden Sinclair (USA)

Arsen Balaian (RUS)

Alp Arslan Begenjenov (TKM)

Eugeniu Mihalcean (MDA)

Coming in at #20 on Flo’s rankings, Aeoden Sinclair enters the tournament as hot as anyone in the world. Sinclair has been active recently, wrestling at RAF this summer, where he beat 2025 senior bronze Khidir Saipudinov 9-4, before losing 8-2 to 2025 senior world champ Zahid Valencia, and Olympic champ Mahomed Ramazanov 6-3. He won U20’s this summer as well. His mat IQ and elite re-attack ability make him almost impossible to score on. He would be a threat on the senior level, much less here at U23’s. 

Arsen Balaian has been on one hell of a run over the past two years. He won a U23 world bronze medal back in 2024, then, in 2025, won both U23 Euros and U23 worlds. He has a dominant 10-0 win over Eugeniu Mihalcean, another medal contender in this weight.

Alp Arslan Begenjenov has had a relatively good year so far. He was bronze at Senior Asians and at this year’s U20s, but followed that up going 1-1 at Asian Games. Previously, he was a 2024 U20 champ. He has a nice outside step that he can turn into a filthy super duck. He also has a win over Mahdi Yousefi en route to a U20 title back in 2024. Overall, Begenjenov is a tough competitor while I don’t think he’ll challenge Sinclair for golf, he’s right in that second tier. 

Eugeniu Mihalcean is another excellent wrestler in this field. He was silver at last year’s U23 worlds, losing 10-0 to Arsen Balaian in the finals. He also took bronze at Senior Euros this summer. He has some of the heaviest snaps in this whole tournament, routinely bouncing guys faces off the mat. He has good defense and is very quick on his go behinds. 

Some other medal threats are Amit Amit (IND), he placed 5th at U20s in both 2024 and 2025. He’s very sound defensively, and times his re attacks well while having the power to blast through his opponents. Reza Afshar (IRI) and Razmik Yepremyan (ARN) are very tough. Ryogo Asano (JPN) has placed 5th at U20 worlds in both 2024 and 2025 as well. Abylaikahn Uzembayev (KAZ) was silver at U23 Asians, and finally, Ahmet Yagan (TUR) has two U20 bronze medals. 

 

 

92KG: 

Arslan Bagaev (RUS)

Abolfazi Rahmani (IRI)

Kamil Kurugliyev (KAZ)

Sandro Kurashvili (GEO)

Another fun weight here, we’ll start with my gold medal pick, Arslan Bagaev. Bagaev currently has a 2024 U23 world gold, as well as a bronze at U23 Euros. He’s incredibly quick for his size, and has excellent change of direction ability for his size. He incorporates a lot of fakes and misdirection into his wrestling, keeping his opponents on their heels. His ability to keep his opponents off balance and reacting to his movements is second to none in this tournament, and makes him a very difficult matchup for anyone here. 

Abolfazi Rahmani is coming off a U20 silver after losing in the finals to Sandro Kurashvili. Rahmani won Senior Asians in 2025, and also got bronze at both U20s and U23s in 2025. His most notable result came at the Zagreb Open earlier this year, where he lost a 12-9 match to 2025 Senior world champ Trent Hidlay. 

Kamil Kurugliyev enters the field with a ton of accolades under his belt. He was 5th at Senior worlds last year, was bronze at U23s last year, and was U20 bronze in both 2024 and 2025. Kurugliyev also finished 5th at the Muhamet Malo tournament this year, getting a 6-4 win over a tough Dustin Plott (USA). Kurugliyev has strong offense which he pairs with an excellent gut wrench to make him one of the better wrestlers in the weight. 

Sandro Kurashvili comes in fresh off a U20 world gold, winning a last second thriller in the finals over the aforementioned Abolfazl Rahmani 5-3, who’s also in the field. While he did win just a couple months earlier, Rahmani’s body of work is stronger than Kurashvilis. 

Other medal contenders here include Anar Jafarli (AZE), a 2024 U20 bronze and 2025 U20 5th. Ulubek Soorombekov (KGZ) won U23 Asians this year, finishing with a win over Myadov (TKM). Fatih Altunbas (TUR) has a 2024 U23 5th. Nikhil (IND) won U23 Asians in 2025, 

Seth Shumate (USA) is the guy for the U.S. here. This will be Shumate’s first ever world team, it’s hard to see him getting on the medal stand here, as he just doesn’t have any results to go off. Maybe we see a surprise performance out of him, but it’s hard to say that confidently right now. 

 

 

 

97KG:

Mobin Azimi (IRI) 

Mukhamed Takhir Khaniev (RUS)

Justin Rademacher (USA)

Konstantine Petriashvili (GEO)

There are two top dogs at this weight in Azimi of Iran and Khaniev of Russia. Starting off with my pick, Azimi is currently ranked #3 in the world at 92KG. Azimi lost 2-1 to #2 ranked Amir Firouzpour for the senior national team spot. He won U23s in 2025 beating Mukhamed Takhir Khaniev 5-3 in the finals, and so far this year, has captured titles at both the Zagreb Open and Asian Championships, notching wins over Magomed Shapirov (#14 at 92KG), Sherzod Poyonov (UZB), and Dustin Plott (#13 at 92KG). One of the best in the world, Azimi has a real shot at bringing home another gold to his trophy case.

With as good as Azimi is, gold isn’t a guarantee with Mukhamed Takhir Khaniev in his way. Khaniev finished with a silver at U23s last year, as well as winning U20s back in 2023. This year, he was silver at the Muhamet Malo, making a statement, taking down now #1 in the world, Kyle Snyder 10-4. Khaniev’s results speak for themselves, and a match between him and Azimi may be the best of the whole tournament.

Justin Rademacher comes in as the reigning U20 champ at the weight, defeating Russia’s Magomedgadzhi Magomedov 4-1 in the finals. Rademacher wrestles with a high pace, always looking to add on points. On top of that, his folkstyle background allows him to excel as a scrambler, making it very difficult for his already tired opponents to counter score on him in extended positions. He may not have the same accolades as the two guys ahead, but he will be a tough out for whoever he wrestles. 

Then we have Konstantine Petriashvili, the younger brother of legendary heavyweight, Geno Petriashvili. Konstantine is not just a legacy name though, he himself is a U20 bronze medal winner each of the last two years, as well as a two time U17 medal winner (gold/bronze). Over the past year, he has wins over Nikolaos Karavanos (GRE) and Ashab Dadaev (FRA) as well. Petriashvili lost 14-4 in the semis of U20 worlds last year to Justin Ramemacher who’s in the field, but he is a very real factor here.  

This weight has a lot of guys that can be landmines and could push for a medal. We’ll start with Nikolaos Karavanos (GRE), Karavanos was 5th at this year’s U20 worlds, and 5th at this year’s U23 Euros. Sherzod Poyonov (UZB) and Ivan Prymachenko (UKR) are both U23 world medalist, with Poyonov also boasting a U20 gold in 2025. Rifat Gidak (TUR) is a two time age level medalist, and finally, Uladzislau Kazlou (BLR) is a U23 bronze medalist that can also muck things up with any of these guys. 

 

 

125KG:

Abolfazi Mohammad Nezhad (IRI)

Coby Merrill (USA)

Khetag Karsanov (AZE)

Ronak (IND)

I have Abolfazi Mohammad Nezhad coming home with a gold in this bracket. Nezhad won U20s this year after beating Dreshaun Ross (USA) 5-3 in the finals. Nezhad is a freak athlete with unbelievable speed and athleticism for a heavyweight. At just 19, he is ranked #9 in the world, and already has U20 and U23 gold medals, as well as a U20 silver. I believe Nezhad could be a threat to medal at seniors, but unfortunately, he has the best heavyweight in the world, Amir Zare in his way. Still, Nezhad can stack up age level medals until he reaches that point, and training with Zare will only make him even more dangerous as the years go by. 

Meeting Nezhad in the finals, I have Coby Merrill. Merrill is built like a wall, and has made a name for himself by being a bully on the mat. Merrill broke out at this year’s U.S. Open, beating 2024 Olympian Mason Parris. Coby Merrill is straight up stronger than you, and does a great job holding center and collecting push out points like infinity stones. He isn’t the most exciting wrestler, and probably won’t run you down if he’s behind, but he’s an extremely positionally sound wrestler who makes it almost impossible to get to his legs with his low stance and baseline defense, making him an extremely frustrating opponent to wrestle. Unfortunately, that’s a style that closely resembles Zare, someone who Nezhad is surely fimiliar with, and I think he will be equipped to beat Merrill should they see each other.

Khetag Karsanov comes in with a silver medal in both U20s and U23s, and is a viable threat here. Karsanov is an athletic heavyweight with an abundance of entries and leg attacks. His best is a hard snap to a blast double, which he can quickly transition into a low level shot to quickly put his opponents on their butts. 

The field drops off after the top three, but at the second bronze medal spot, I have Ronak, though it is a toss up between him and a few others. India has done a good job developing their upper weights into solid competitors, specializing in the hand fight hand and with good baseline defense. The bottom of the podium is wide open, so it will be fun to see who navigates their way through. 

A few guys to keep an eye on. Hakan Buyukcingil (TUR) was bronze at U23s last year, Volodymyr Kochanov (UKR) has a U23 bronze back in 2024, Kachatur Khaxhatryan (ARM) was 5th at U23s last year, and Andrei Bestaev (RUS) is a name to watch, his last world result was a U20 bronze all the way back in 2021. 

Overall, while U23s are often the least covered age level championships, there is always amazing wrestling that occurs, and this is a tournament where stars are born. It’ll be fun to track the results, and there will be more U23 content to come.

-Tyler 

 

 

[Truzzcat]

1 hour ago, Tyler Perry said:

I have an article coming out on Rokfin, but I’d love to hear your guys opinion on it, fair warning, it is long. It took me about 3 days 

 

 U23 World Predictions Article  

 

U23 Worlds kick off October 12th and goes through the 19th, with MFS starting Friday, October 16th. So let’s dive into my predictions for the medal stand before brackets come out. This will basically be me talking about the best wrestlers here in my opinion. Then once brackets come out later in the week, we’ll dive into the draws and revised predictions. 

 

57KG: 

Predictions:

Luke Lilledahl (USA)

Magomed Ozdamirov (RUS)

Vasif Baghirov (AZE)

Merey Bazarbaev (KAZ)

The two top contenders in this bracket are Luke Lilledahl and Magomed Ozdamirov. Luke comes in as the favorite here, he enters the tournament #2 in the world as a U17, U20, and U23 world champ. This past year, at the U.S. Open, he took out 2024 Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee (USA) , before losing two straight matches to him a few weeks later at final X for the senior world team spot. 

Ozdamirov enters the tournament ranked #13 in the world. He won gold at U20’s last year, as well as winning Russian Nationals this past summer, where he beat Lev Pavlov (#15 at 57kg). 

Vasif Baghirov got bronze at at U20’s last year, beating Rin Sakamoto (JPN) in repechage after winning U20 Eruos before that. He followed it up this year by getting silver at U23 Euros, losing 7-3 in the finals. He’s very fast to his single, as well as a good scrambler, and provides a threat to anyone in the field.

Merey Bazarbaev is my last pick to medal, he’s bounced around between 57 and 61kg this year. He’s very strong in the handfight, and has a good gas tank. At the Muhamet Malo tournament, He had a close 3-0 loss in the bronze medal match to Zelimkhan Abakarov (#16 at 61kg). At a later ranking tournament in July, he notably beat Wanhou Zou (CHN), a guy who has notably gave Spencer Lee some of his toughest matches on the world stage. 

 

 

61KG:

Predictions: 

Ben Davino (USA)

Nurdanat Aitanov (KAZ)

Akito Mukaida (JPN)

Nika Zangaladze (GEO)

While we haven’t seen much of Davino on the world stage, his domestic resume is as impressive as any. He’s currently ranked #10 in the world by Flo Wrestling, and this past year, he made the NCAA finals, where he beat Marcus Blaze in the semis. He also Jax Forrest and Austin DeSanto at the U.S. Open, and lost close matches to world champ Massa Ono and multiple time world medalist Aran Harutunyan (#2 at 61KG) (ARM) at RAF, who beat Spencer Lee down at 57kg at last year’s worlds. Davino’s world class defense and excellent offense will have him in any match, and I think that will be enough to bring home gold. 

Nurdanat Aitanov was bronze at U20s last year, beating Anthony Knox down at 57kg in the opening round, before losing a close 3-1 match to the eventual champ Ozdamirov. He does a lot of his work with an underhook, showing a good throw by single/seatbelt series from there. He also has a nice head in the middle leg lace, which he can end the match with. 

Nika Zangaladze’s highlight win was beating U20 World champ Magomed Ozdamirov (10-0) in the semis of the 2025 European Championships to claim silver before dropping a 9-6 match in the finals. 

Two other guy I think can go toe to toe with the previous two are  Akito Mukaida and Ebrahim Khari. Mukaida is lightning quick and an excellent technician, as most Japanese wrestlers are. He’s a 2025 U23 world bronze medalist, and has a 13-11 win over Nika Zangaladze in this field. Mukaida is a real threat to make the finals depending on his draw.

Ebrahim Khari is also in this field. He comes in boasting a U23 bronze and U20 silver from 2024. At last years Zagreb Open, he beat Reza Momeni, who was 7th at senior worlds the year prior. 

Other guys in this field include Tulga Ozbek (TUR), a U23 bronze medalist, Vaibhav Patil (IND), a 2022 U17 world bronze, and Sargis Begoyan (ARM).

 

 

65KG: 

Predictions:

Bo Bassett (USA)

Eldar Alhmadudinov (RUS)

Ahora Khateri (USA)

Omar Ayoub (PUR)

65KG is a fun weight with a possibility of several intriguing matchups. My pick for gold is Bo Bassett, currently ranked #11 in the world, and recently beat 2025 senior bronze medalist Real Woods in two straight matches to make the U.S. senior world team. He also won U20’s in dominant fashion a couple months ago. His relentless pace and offense leave his opponents gasping for air, and he has already proven to be one of the best in the world already. 

However, he will have a tough competitor to reach his goal of a gold medal with Eldar Akhmadudinov standing in his way. Akhmadudinov is currently ranked #5 in the world by Flo after a breakout performance at Russian Nationals earlier this year, getting silver after beating Bashir Magomedov (#6) to make the finals, before ultimately losing a 10-9 match in Abasgadzhi Magomedov. His performance at Russian Nationals make him a real threat, and it’ll be fun to see a possible matchup between two top 12 ranked guys.

Ahora Khateri has world class defense. He isn’t a guy who you will see lighting up the score board, he’s calculated, and picks his spots to win big matches. His resume speaks for itself on the caliber of wrestler he is. He’s a two time U20 world medalist, getting silver last year, losing to Marcus Blaze in the finals, and getting bronze this summer. He does need to improve his gas tank, as you will see his pace drop significantly at the end of some matches, but his defense and wrestling IQ makes him a medal contender in just about any bracket he enters.

Omar Ayoub has legitimate big move potential. He’s developed an excellent scrambling ability while being in the Nebraska room the past couple years. He also has a great gas tank, and has ran guys down while being down big multiple times with the ability to put points up in bunches. He has a nasty left handed single, which he pairs with a solid hand fight and powerful snaps in which he can run the corner with effectively. His combination of speed and savvy make him a real medal threat. 

Magomedkhan Magamedkhanov comes in with a U20 world bronze from last year, only losing to Marcus Blaze in the semis, and a U23 Euro’s gold earlier this summer. He has a strong chest wrap and a powerful hand fight. He does have some suspect par tare defense though, so if you can get on top, you have a chance to create separation, which is why I don’t see him in that upper tier with Bassett and Akhmadudinov. 

There’s a lot of guys I think can challenge for a medal here, One guy in particular is Kaji Ogino. Ogino captured a U23 world silver back in 2024, and has been active this year, where he placed 5th at the ranking series in Albania, losing only to two senior world medalists in Rahman Amouzad (#1) and Real Woods (#9). 

 A few other guys I yhink can make some noise here  are Oskonbai Abdisamatov (KGZ), Karson Brown (CAN), and Singh Jaskaran (IND). 

 

70KG: 

Abdullah Toprak (TUR)

Magomed Eletmirov (RUS)

Alexandr Gaidarli (MDA)

Elsayed Ahmed (EGY)

Similar to the 70KG senior field, the U23 field is wide open, with three guys inside Flo’s top 20, and many more who can push them. 

Abdullah Toprak is not currently one of those ranked in the top 20 internationally, but he’s very dangerous. He already has two U20 bronze medals, a U23 bronze, and a U17 gold on his resume. He’s ungodly quick on his feet, with a nice single and excellent par tare offense. He was two points away from teching Luke Stanich (USA) in the first period before gassing out and giving up 18 straight points. Stanich went on to win a U20 world title. Toprak can roll with anyone in the first three minutes, it’s the last three minutes that concern me. 

Magomed Eletmirov is the highest ranked wrestler in this bracket, coming in at #8 after getting bronze at Russian Nationals. At the Ulaanbaatar Open this summer, he took home a bronze medal, with his lone loss coming to Tulga Tumur Ochir (#5) 2-0 in the semis. He can go toe-to-toe with the best in the world, and it’ll be very interesting to see how he does in this bracket.

Alexandr Gaidarli took 5th at U23 worlds last year, as well as taking silver at U20s that year as well, losing 7-5 in the finals to PJ Duke (USA). On top of that, he boasts a 3-2 win over Eletmirov at U23 Euros this summer. 

I have Elsayed Ahmed in the second bronze spot. You could say he’s my sleeper of the tournament. Ahmed doesn’t have many major results, placing 5th at U20 worlds this summer, losing tough matches to Sina Khalili (#11) and Davit Davtyan. He’s super funky and an excellent scrambler. He can get caught at times over wrestling some positions, but he’s a very fun watch, and someone who I think can have a breakout performance. 

Other medal threats here are, Ebrahim Elahi (IRI), who took bronze at last year’s U20s, Ramik Heybetov (AZE), a bronze medalist at U23 Euro’s this year, Sumit Bharaskar (IND), Maiis Aliyev (KAZ), and who took 5th at U23s and gold at U23 Asians. On top of that, you also have two American wrestlers in the mix with Jordan Williams and Kade Brown (CAN) as guys who can make some noise. 

 

 

74KG: 

Jayden James (USA)

Manuel Wagin (GER)

Nurdaulet Seilbekov (KAZ)

Magomed Baitukaev (RUS)

This may be the most fun weight to watch of the tournament, with 12 age level medalist split between the top six guys. 

We’ll start with Jayden James. He won gold at U17s, then followed that up this year with a silver medal at U20s, losing 13-12 to Japan’s Yoshida in the finals. Very close to the top of America’s senior ladder, James’s dynamic offense and ability to wrestle through positions make him a strong contender for gold here.

Manuel Wagin comes in with wins over elite competition, including Magomed Baitukaev from Russia, who he beat 7-1 at U23 Euros this summer. He has great offense, and haa dangerous par tare ability. He does struggle keeping up his high pace at the end of matches, but he’s very good nonetheless. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride, Wagin has yet to put a full tournament together. Can this be the tournament he finally does?

Nurdaulet Seilbekov was bronze at this year’s U20s. He’s an elite scrambler who’s almost impossible to score on if he is able to extend the position. He’s extremely mat savvy, knowing what to do in seemingly every position, making him a tough out for anybody. 

Magomed Baitukaev comes in with a 2024 U20 silver and a 2023 U20 bronze. He’s explosive and extremely powerful, sprawling is almost useless when he shoots because of his ability to scoot his hips in and drive up with ease. 

This weight is fun with several other guys who could push for a medal. Adilet Akylbekov (KGZ) was silver at last year’s U20s, Aghanazar Norvruzov (AZE) and Karampour (IRI) were both 2024 U20 bronze medalists, Fazliddin Nastritdinov (UZB) was bronze at this year’s U23 Asians, and 5th at this years Senior Asians. Tolui Munkhbat (MGL) is tough, as well as Toki Ogawa (JPN). LJ Arujau (BRA) and Crigor Chlakyan (ARM) are two Americans representing other countries as well. LJ Araujo is more of a medal threat than Crigor Chlakyan, as LJ is much better defensively and as a scrambler. LJ is a tough early round draw for anybody with his ability to slow down the match, but both guys should be fun to watch. 

 

 

79KG: 

Mahdi Yousefi (IRI)

Chris Minto (JAM)

Ibrahim Yaprak (TUR)

Kanata Yamaguchi (JPN)

Another open weight here, the favorite is Mahdi Yousefi. Yousefi is ranked #9 in the world, having a 2024 U23 world gold, a 2024 U20 bronze, a 2025 U20 gold, and a 2025 U23 bronze. This spring, at Senior Asians, he placed 6th, winning over China’s Feng Lu, currently ranked #16 in the world. He notably beat Will Henckel (USA) in the U20 finals last year, showing off excellent hand fighting skills and ability to control center. His resume makes him the favorite in Vegas.

Chris Minto being here is a curveball, as we have not seen a lot from him on the freestyle scene. The two time All American (4th and 2nd) recently wrestled former national champs Jason Nolf and Keegan O’Toole at RAF, where he lost 10-5 and 14-9 respectively. Minto is a strong hand fighter with world class defense, as in his last two matches with senior world silver medalist Levi Haines, he didn’t give up a single takedown. He is inexperienced in freestyle, but he has a already shown to be developing quickly. 

Next we have Ibrahim Yaprik, a 2025 U23 silver medalist, as well as a 2023 U20 world bronze. He lost to Levi Haines in the finals of U23s last year. He has good baseline defense, and likes to hop over the near leg on his go behind, which has been quite effective for him. He has a chance to add another U23 medal to his trophy case here. 

Joe Sealey (USA) is another guy who could medal but have him just missing. He hasn’t been on a world team since making the U17 team in 2022, where he won worlds. But most recently, he beat David Carr 5-3 at the U.S. Open to take 3rd place, after losing a close 3-2 match to 2026 senior world teamer James Green. 

 

 

 

86KG:

Aeoden Sinclair (USA)

Arsen Balaian (RUS)

Alp Arslan Begenjenov (TKM)

Eugeniu Mihalcean (MDA)

Coming in at #20 on Flo’s rankings, Aeoden Sinclair enters the tournament as hot as anyone in the world. Sinclair has been active recently, wrestling at RAF this summer, where he beat 2025 senior bronze Khidir Saipudinov 9-4, before losing 8-2 to 2025 senior world champ Zahid Valencia, and Olympic champ Mahomed Ramazanov 6-3. He won U20’s this summer as well. His mat IQ and elite re-attack ability make him almost impossible to score on. He would be a threat on the senior level, much less here at U23’s. 

Arsen Balaian has been on one hell of a run over the past two years. He won a U23 world bronze medal back in 2024, then, in 2025, won both U23 Euros and U23 worlds. He has a dominant 10-0 win over Eugeniu Mihalcean, another medal contender in this weight.

Alp Arslan Begenjenov has had a relatively good year so far. He was bronze at Senior Asians and at this year’s U20s, but followed that up going 1-1 at Asian Games. Previously, he was a 2024 U20 champ. He has a nice outside step that he can turn into a filthy super duck. He also has a win over Mahdi Yousefi en route to a U20 title back in 2024. Overall, Begenjenov is a tough competitor while I don’t think he’ll challenge Sinclair for golf, he’s right in that second tier. 

Eugeniu Mihalcean is another excellent wrestler in this field. He was silver at last year’s U23 worlds, losing 10-0 to Arsen Balaian in the finals. He also took bronze at Senior Euros this summer. He has some of the heaviest snaps in this whole tournament, routinely bouncing guys faces off the mat. He has good defense and is very quick on his go behinds. 

Some other medal threats are Amit Amit (IND), he placed 5th at U20s in both 2024 and 2025. He’s very sound defensively, and times his re attacks well while having the power to blast through his opponents. Reza Afshar (IRI) and Razmik Yepremyan (ARN) are very tough. Ryogo Asano (JPN) has placed 5th at U20 worlds in both 2024 and 2025 as well. Abylaikahn Uzembayev (KAZ) was silver at U23 Asians, and finally, Ahmet Yagan (TUR) has two U20 bronze medals. 

 

 

92KG: 

Arslan Bagaev (RUS)

Abolfazi Rahmani (IRI)

Kamil Kurugliyev (KAZ)

Sandro Kurashvili (GEO)

Another fun weight here, we’ll start with my gold medal pick, Arslan Bagaev. Bagaev currently has a 2024 U23 world gold, as well as a bronze at U23 Euros. He’s incredibly quick for his size, and has excellent change of direction ability for his size. He incorporates a lot of fakes and misdirection into his wrestling, keeping his opponents on their heels. His ability to keep his opponents off balance and reacting to his movements is second to none in this tournament, and makes him a very difficult matchup for anyone here. 

Abolfazi Rahmani is coming off a U20 silver after losing in the finals to Sandro Kurashvili. Rahmani won Senior Asians in 2025, and also got bronze at both U20s and U23s in 2025. His most notable result came at the Zagreb Open earlier this year, where he lost a 12-9 match to 2025 Senior world champ Trent Hidlay. 

Kamil Kurugliyev enters the field with a ton of accolades under his belt. He was 5th at Senior worlds last year, was bronze at U23s last year, and was U20 bronze in both 2024 and 2025. Kurugliyev also finished 5th at the Muhamet Malo tournament this year, getting a 6-4 win over a tough Dustin Plott (USA). Kurugliyev has strong offense which he pairs with an excellent gut wrench to make him one of the better wrestlers in the weight. 

Sandro Kurashvili comes in fresh off a U20 world gold, winning a last second thriller in the finals over the aforementioned Abolfazl Rahmani 5-3, who’s also in the field. While he did win just a couple months earlier, Rahmani’s body of work is stronger than Kurashvilis. 

Other medal contenders here include Anar Jafarli (AZE), a 2024 U20 bronze and 2025 U20 5th. Ulubek Soorombekov (KGZ) won U23 Asians this year, finishing with a win over Myadov (TKM). Fatih Altunbas (TUR) has a 2024 U23 5th. Nikhil (IND) won U23 Asians in 2025, 

Seth Shumate (USA) is the guy for the U.S. here. This will be Shumate’s first ever world team, it’s hard to see him getting on the medal stand here, as he just doesn’t have any results to go off. Maybe we see a surprise performance out of him, but it’s hard to say that confidently right now. 

 

 

 

97KG:

Mobin Azimi (IRI) 

Mukhamed Takhir Khaniev (RUS)

Justin Rademacher (USA)

Konstantine Petriashvili (GEO)

There are two top dogs at this weight in Azimi of Iran and Khaniev of Russia. Starting off with my pick, Azimi is currently ranked #3 in the world at 92KG. Azimi lost 2-1 to #2 ranked Amir Firouzpour for the senior national team spot. He won U23s in 2025 beating Mukhamed Takhir Khaniev 5-3 in the finals, and so far this year, has captured titles at both the Zagreb Open and Asian Championships, notching wins over Magomed Shapirov (#14 at 92KG), Sherzod Poyonov (UZB), and Dustin Plott (#13 at 92KG). One of the best in the world, Azimi has a real shot at bringing home another gold to his trophy case.

With as good as Azimi is, gold isn’t a guarantee with Mukhamed Takhir Khaniev in his way. Khaniev finished with a silver at U23s last year, as well as winning U20s back in 2023. This year, he was silver at the Muhamet Malo, making a statement, taking down now #1 in the world, Kyle Snyder 10-4. Khaniev’s results speak for themselves, and a match between him and Azimi may be the best of the whole tournament.

Justin Rademacher comes in as the reigning U20 champ at the weight, defeating Russia’s Magomedgadzhi Magomedov 4-1 in the finals. Rademacher wrestles with a high pace, always looking to add on points. On top of that, his folkstyle background allows him to excel as a scrambler, making it very difficult for his already tired opponents to counter score on him in extended positions. He may not have the same accolades as the two guys ahead, but he will be a tough out for whoever he wrestles. 

Then we have Konstantine Petriashvili, the younger brother of legendary heavyweight, Geno Petriashvili. Konstantine is not just a legacy name though, he himself is a U20 bronze medal winner each of the last two years, as well as a two time U17 medal winner (gold/bronze). Over the past year, he has wins over Nikolaos Karavanos (GRE) and Ashab Dadaev (FRA) as well. Petriashvili lost 14-4 in the semis of U20 worlds last year to Justin Ramemacher who’s in the field, but he is a very real factor here.  

This weight has a lot of guys that can be landmines and could push for a medal. We’ll start with Nikolaos Karavanos (GRE), Karavanos was 5th at this year’s U20 worlds, and 5th at this year’s U23 Euros. Sherzod Poyonov (UZB) and Ivan Prymachenko (UKR) are both U23 world medalist, with Poyonov also boasting a U20 gold in 2025. Rifat Gidak (TUR) is a two time age level medalist, and finally, Uladzislau Kazlou (BLR) is a U23 bronze medalist that can also muck things up with any of these guys. 

 

 

125KG:

Abolfazi Mohammad Nezhad (IRI)

Coby Merrill (USA)

Khetag Karsanov (AZE)

Ronak (IND)

I have Abolfazi Mohammad Nezhad coming home with a gold in this bracket. Nezhad won U20s this year after beating Dreshaun Ross (USA) 5-3 in the finals. Nezhad is a freak athlete with unbelievable speed and athleticism for a heavyweight. At just 19, he is ranked #9 in the world, and already has U20 and U23 gold medals, as well as a U20 silver. I believe Nezhad could be a threat to medal at seniors, but unfortunately, he has the best heavyweight in the world, Amir Zare in his way. Still, Nezhad can stack up age level medals until he reaches that point, and training with Zare will only make him even more dangerous as the years go by. 

Meeting Nezhad in the finals, I have Coby Merrill. Merrill is built like a wall, and has made a name for himself by being a bully on the mat. Merrill broke out at this year’s U.S. Open, beating 2024 Olympian Mason Parris. Coby Merrill is straight up stronger than you, and does a great job holding center and collecting push out points like infinity stones. He isn’t the most exciting wrestler, and probably won’t run you down if he’s behind, but he’s an extremely positionally sound wrestler who makes it almost impossible to get to his legs with his low stance and baseline defense, making him an extremely frustrating opponent to wrestle. Unfortunately, that’s a style that closely resembles Zare, someone who Nezhad is surely fimiliar with, and I think he will be equipped to beat Merrill should they see each other.

Khetag Karsanov comes in with a silver medal in both U20s and U23s, and is a viable threat here. Karsanov is an athletic heavyweight with an abundance of entries and leg attacks. His best is a hard snap to a blast double, which he can quickly transition into a low level shot to quickly put his opponents on their butts. 

The field drops off after the top three, but at the second bronze medal spot, I have Ronak, though it is a toss up between him and a few others. India has done a good job developing their upper weights into solid competitors, specializing in the hand fight hand and with good baseline defense. The bottom of the podium is wide open, so it will be fun to see who navigates their way through. 

A few guys to keep an eye on. Hakan Buyukcingil (TUR) was bronze at U23s last year, Volodymyr Kochanov (UKR) has a U23 bronze back in 2024, Kachatur Khaxhatryan (ARM) was 5th at U23s last year, and Andrei Bestaev (RUS) is a name to watch, his last world result was a U20 bronze all the way back in 2021. 

Overall, while U23s are often the least covered age level championships, there is always amazing wrestling that occurs, and this is a tournament where stars are born. It’ll be fun to track the results, and there will be more U23 content to come.

-Tyler 

 

 

Great write up! I am very eager to see how Khateri does up a weight, I thought he looked huge at 61kg from a frame standpoint.

[ScottishSteel]

I, for the most part, know my routine for overseas worlds; got it down on how to get up at 3AM to watch wrestling and still be a quality dad, husband, and employed human . . . this late night stuff; I dunno if I like it - gotta figure out a new routine!

 

Great write ups men, excited to stay up past my bedtime on a school night for a week

[Truzzcat]

29 minutes ago, ScottishSteel said:

I, for the most part, know my routine for overseas worlds; got it down on how to get up at 3AM to watch wrestling and still be a quality dad, husband, and employed human . . . this late night stuff; I dunno if I like it - gotta figure out a new routine!

 

Great write ups men, excited to stay up past my bedtime on a school night for a week

I am perfectly fine with the 3 ams I can get enough nicotine and caffeine in my system that I am good and then on with the day. I agree this being 3 hours behind is not my thing at all.

[MPhillips]

Buckeyes have five in the tournament. 

Rogotzke opens up today with three-time age-group World medalist Darius Kiefer of Germany at 97.

[Husker_Du]

Good luck today, LJB

[ScottishSteel]

6 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

I am perfectly fine with the 3 ams I can get enough nicotine and caffeine in my system that I am good and then on with the day. I agree this being 3 hours behind is not my thing at all.

I'm worried about too much caffeine late and over-shooting it

[Tyler Perry]

22 hours ago, Truzzcat said:

Great write up! I am very eager to see how Khateri does up a weight, I thought he looked huge at 61kg from a frame standpoint.

Thank you. I wonder if that helps his gas tank 

[Truzzcat]

7 hours ago, Tyler Perry said:

Thank you. I wonder if that helps his gas tank 

my thoughts about Toprak as well. Khateri actually reminds me of a young Amouzad he was just a torso and limbs obviously lofty expectations but sometimes once guys let themselves actually grow their wrestling really takes off. Side note I think willie mentioned on the show that Matty lopes may be going 125 for Lehigh which makes this tournament for him even more intriguing because I think he could do serious damage at 125.

[juniorvarsity]

I am very hopeful we get to see Merrill vs Nezhad.

Another is Minto vs Yousefi. If Minto can win this match. Side note, why isn't he going to seniors for Jamaica?

I mostly only recognize wrestlers who've been to prior world championships or wrestlers who have faced higher profile guys at senior events, so I very much appreciate the breakdowns! @Truzzcat @Tyler Perry

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

14 minutes ago, juniorvarsity said:

I am very hopeful we get to see Merrill vs Nezhad.

Another is Minto vs Yousefi. If Minto can win this match. Side note, why isn't he going to seniors for Jamaica?

I mostly only recognize wrestlers who've been to prior world championships or wrestlers who have faced higher profile guys at senior events, so I very much appreciate the breakdowns! @Truzzcat @Tyler Perry

Did Jamaica have an entry at his weight at Pan Ams?

[juniorvarsity]

2 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Did Jamaica have an entry at his weight at Pan Ams?

Off the top of my head, I don't know. Is that the rule?

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

10 minutes ago, juniorvarsity said:

Off the top of my head, I don't know. Is that the rule?

It has been in the past

[juniorvarsity]

9 hours ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

It has been in the past

Now that you say that, I have a weak memory of Myles Amine not attending a continental and hearing  he justt had to have a representative of San Marino compete at a continental to be able to go to worlds. So I think one of his brothers went and he was at worlds that year.

You're probably the one who is right here. Jamaica does not have an entry at 79kg in the preminary release of entries for Worlds. I only saw an entry at heavyweight. I would guess we see him in the mix at 86kg next year. It seems like he could be the second best guy at Pan Ama. If he falls short there, Jamaica would be a candidate for the Last Chance Qualifiee.