Senior Predictions?

[Lleynor]

Is there a list somewhere? If not, I’d love to hear Champion predictions per weight. 

[Lucho]

I'll throw my hat in the ring. Here are my predictions for freestyle this year. For the record I know I'm going to be completely off for 90% of these predictions. But I'm going to let my Iran tinted glasses make the decisions.

57:

Gold: Spencer Lee

Silver: Tuskaev

Bronze: RBY and Khndzrtsyan   

In all fairness I don't follow this weight class too closely but no Higuchi, Aman or Abdullaev have made this weight class a lot weaker. I feel like Spencer Lee is the most complete wrestler out of the field and if in form is the best guy on the planet. North Korea and Armenia are probably the two guys that can beat him but I think he will get the job done this year.

61:

Gold: Uguev

Silver: Blaze

Bronze: Abdullaev and Abakarov

Not much to say here Uguev is one of the most dominant wrestlers of his generation. Blaze is still too inexperienced to hang with him. The rest of the field is good but not as good as the top 2.

65:

Gold: Amouzad

Silver: Sujeet

Bronze: Mamedov and Magomedov

Very tough weight class to predict. But I think this is the most likely scenario to unfold. 

70:

Gold: Akmataliev

Silver: Ochir

Bronze: Heybatov and Ibragimov

This weight class is a lot more stacked than I realised. A lot of really good wrestlers here. But I think Akmataliev wins worlds and Ibragimov goes on a tear before losing by pin to Ochir in the semis who then proceeds to lose a mind numbing match in the final. Khalili probably gets to repechage and drops a close match to one of Ibragimov or Heybatov and gets fifth.

74:

Gold: Aoyagi

Silver: Yazdani

Bronze: Salkazanov and Sheriev 

No Sidakov and no Zhamalov apparently. Either way Aoyagi I think is the most complete wrestler here. Salkazanov is good but I don't know whether his gas tank will hold up. I'm hoping Amir Mohammad Yazdani has a good tournament since he beat Emami who ran the field at Asian Games.

79:

Gold: Nokhodi

Silver: Khaniev

Bronze: Haines and Gharedaghi

I think its Nokhodi's time to finally win a world title. Again 79 like 70 is pretty stacked with good wrestlers. Overall Nokhodi's experience makes him the most well-rounded wrestler here.

86:

Gold: Ghasempour

Silver: Ramazanov 

Bronze: Kadiev and Dzhioev 

Honestly could go either way here. I think Dake loses an early match to Dzhioev or Kadiev who then loses to Ghasempour/Ramazanov. In the final I'm hoping Ghasempour avenges the Paris Olympics loss and wins his third world title.

92:

Gold: Hidlay

Silver: Amanula Gazdhimagomedov

Bronze: Firouzpour and Kurugliev

Hidlay is the best guy in this weight class. Not much to say here tbh. Kurugliev being here makes things interesting though.

97:

Gold: Snyder

Silver: Sadulaev

Bronze: Yazdani and Yoshida

Very tough one. I don't see Yazdani, Yoshida or Tazhudinov winning worlds its between Snyder or Sadulaev. Either way I think Snyder will get the job done. Snyder looks very ready for worlds this year. 

125:

Gold: Zare

Silver: Sharipov

Bronze: Siyar and Kassimbek

Zare is the best in the world. Kassimbek will definitely cause him problems though. 

[maligned]

1 hour ago, Lucho said:

I'll throw my hat in the ring. Here are my predictions for freestyle this year. For the record I know I'm going to be completely off for 90% of these predictions. But I'm going to let my Iran tinted glasses make the decisions.

57:

Gold: Spencer Lee

Silver: Tuskaev

Bronze: RBY and Khndzrtsyan   

In all fairness I don't follow this weight class too closely but no Higuchi, Aman or Abdullaev have made this weight class a lot weaker. I feel like Spencer Lee is the most complete wrestler out of the field and if in form is the best guy on the planet. North Korea and Armenia are probably the two guys that can beat him but I think he will get the job done this year.

61:

Gold: Uguev

Silver: Blaze

Bronze: Abdullaev and Abakarov

Not much to say here Uguev is one of the most dominant wrestlers of his generation. Blaze is still too inexperienced to hang with him. The rest of the field is good but not as good as the top 2.

65:

Gold: Amouzad

Silver: Sujeet

Bronze: Mamedov and Magomedov

Very tough weight class to predict. But I think this is the most likely scenario to unfold. 

70:

Gold: Akmataliev

Silver: Ochir

Bronze: Heybatov and Ibragimov

This weight class is a lot more stacked than I realised. A lot of really good wrestlers here. But I think Akmataliev wins worlds and Ibragimov goes on a tear before losing by pin to Ochir in the semis who then proceeds to lose a mind numbing match in the final. Khalili probably gets to repechage and drops a close match to one of Ibragimov or Heybatov and gets fifth.

74:

Gold: Aoyagi

Silver: Yazdani

Bronze: Salkazanov and Sheriev 

No Sidakov and no Zhamalov apparently. Either way Aoyagi I think is the most complete wrestler here. Salkazanov is good but I don't know whether his gas tank will hold up. I'm hoping Amir Mohammad Yazdani has a good tournament since he beat Emami who ran the field at Asian Games.

79:

Gold: Nokhodi

Silver: Khaniev

Bronze: Haines and Gharedaghi

I think its Nokhodi's time to finally win a world title. Again 79 like 70 is pretty stacked with good wrestlers. Overall Nokhodi's experience makes him the most well-rounded wrestler here.

86:

Gold: Ghasempour

Silver: Ramazanov 

Bronze: Kadiev and Dzhioev 

Honestly could go either way here. I think Dake loses an early match to Dzhioev or Kadiev who then loses to Ghasempour/Ramazanov. In the final I'm hoping Ghasempour avenges the Paris Olympics loss and wins his third world title.

92:

Gold: Hidlay

Silver: Amanula Gazdhimagomedov

Bronze: Firouzpour and Kurugliev

Hidlay is the best guy in this weight class. Not much to say here tbh. Kurugliev being here makes things interesting though.

97:

Gold: Snyder

Silver: Sadulaev

Bronze: Yazdani and Yoshida

Very tough one. I don't see Yazdani, Yoshida or Tazhudinov winning worlds its between Snyder or Sadulaev. Either way I think Snyder will get the job done. Snyder looks very ready for worlds this year. 

125:

Gold: Zare

Silver: Sharipov

Bronze: Siyar and Kassimbek

Zare is the best in the world. Kassimbek will definitely cause him problems though. 

Good analysis. 

[Bulldozer Without Brakes]

10 hours ago, Lucho said:

I'll throw my hat in the ring. Here are my predictions for freestyle this year. For the record I know I'm going to be completely off for 90% of these predictions. But I'm going to let my Iran tinted glasses make the decisions.

57:

Gold: Spencer Lee

Silver: Tuskaev

Bronze: RBY and Khndzrtsyan   

In all fairness I don't follow this weight class too closely but no Higuchi, Aman or Abdullaev have made this weight class a lot weaker. I feel like Spencer Lee is the most complete wrestler out of the field and if in form is the best guy on the planet. North Korea and Armenia are probably the two guys that can beat him but I think he will get the job done this year.

61:

Gold: Uguev

Silver: Blaze

Bronze: Abdullaev and Abakarov

Not much to say here Uguev is one of the most dominant wrestlers of his generation. Blaze is still too inexperienced to hang with him. The rest of the field is good but not as good as the top 2.

65:

Gold: Amouzad

Silver: Sujeet

Bronze: Mamedov and Magomedov

Very tough weight class to predict. But I think this is the most likely scenario to unfold. 

70:

Gold: Akmataliev

Silver: Ochir

Bronze: Heybatov and Ibragimov

This weight class is a lot more stacked than I realised. A lot of really good wrestlers here. But I think Akmataliev wins worlds and Ibragimov goes on a tear before losing by pin to Ochir in the semis who then proceeds to lose a mind numbing match in the final. Khalili probably gets to repechage and drops a close match to one of Ibragimov or Heybatov and gets fifth.

74:

Gold: Aoyagi

Silver: Yazdani

Bronze: Salkazanov and Sheriev 

No Sidakov and no Zhamalov apparently. Either way Aoyagi I think is the most complete wrestler here. Salkazanov is good but I don't know whether his gas tank will hold up. I'm hoping Amir Mohammad Yazdani has a good tournament since he beat Emami who ran the field at Asian Games.

79:

Gold: Nokhodi

Silver: Khaniev

Bronze: Haines and Gharedaghi

I think its Nokhodi's time to finally win a world title. Again 79 like 70 is pretty stacked with good wrestlers. Overall Nokhodi's experience makes him the most well-rounded wrestler here.

86:

Gold: Ghasempour

Silver: Ramazanov 

Bronze: Kadiev and Dzhioev 

Honestly could go either way here. I think Dake loses an early match to Dzhioev or Kadiev who then loses to Ghasempour/Ramazanov. In the final I'm hoping Ghasempour avenges the Paris Olympics loss and wins his third world title.

92:

Gold: Hidlay

Silver: Amanula Gazdhimagomedov

Bronze: Firouzpour and Kurugliev

Hidlay is the best guy in this weight class. Not much to say here tbh. Kurugliev being here makes things interesting though.

97:

Gold: Snyder

Silver: Sadulaev

Bronze: Yazdani and Yoshida

Very tough one. I don't see Yazdani, Yoshida or Tazhudinov winning worlds its between Snyder or Sadulaev. Either way I think Snyder will get the job done. Snyder looks very ready for worlds this year. 

125:

Gold: Zare

Silver: Sharipov

Bronze: Siyar and Kassimbek

Zare is the best in the world. Kassimbek will definitely cause him problems though. 

What makes you so bullish on Snyder? He lost to Khaniev 10-4 earlier this year. I don’t think that means he can’t win but I haven’t seen him have a dominant year to suggest he looks super ready for worlds this year.

[jdw21]

As much as I'd like to see Snyder win, I'm in agreement with BWB.  Is the hype overstated because of Snyder's win over Sad in a RAF event where Sad was injured?  Yazdani may be slightly undersized at 97kg but he's pretty freaking good too.  Tough field to navigate in general.

Edited October 21 by jdw21

[bnwtwg]

7 hours ago, Bulldozer Without Brakes said:

What makes you so bullish on Snyder? He lost to Khaniev 10-4 earlier this year. I don’t think that means he can’t win but I haven’t seen him have a dominant year to suggest he looks super ready for worlds this year.

Snyder has always been dominant but fun fact he only has ONE undefeated freestyle year (2022) and Sadulaev was not allowed to compete at worlds thath season. He will be fine. Not sure he will be beat Sadulaev or Taz fine, but he is squarely in the conversation of where they stack up in 2026.

[jdw21]

Trying to be realistic for the USA finishes.  Here are my quick picks for Gold and USA finishes:

57 - Lee (USA)

61 - Uguev (RUS)

Blaze (USA) - DNP

65 - Sujeet (IND)

Bassett (USA) - DNP

70 - Retherford (USA)

74 - Aoyagi (JAP)

Green (USA) - DNP

79 - Nokhodilarimi (IRN)

Haines (USA) - Bronze

86 - Ghasempour (IRN)

Dake - DNP

92 - Firouzpourbandpei (IRN)

Hidlay (USA) - Bronze

97 - Sadulaev (RUS)

Snyder (USA) - Silver/Bronze

125 - Zare (IRN)

Hendrickson (USA) - DNP

 

 

 

 

[Bulldozer Without Brakes]

24 minutes ago, jdw21 said:

Trying to be realistic for the USA finishes.  Here are my quick picks for Gold and USA finishes:

57 - Lee (USA)

61 - Uguev (RUS)

Blaze (USA) - DNP

65 - Sujeet (IND)

Bassett (USA) - DNP

70 - Retherford (USA)

74 - Aoyagi (JAP)

Green (USA) - DNP

79 - Nokhodilarimi (IRN)

Haines (USA) - Bronze

86 - Ghasempour (IRN)

Dake - DNP

92 - Firouzpourbandpei (IRN)

Hidlay (USA) - Bronze

97 - Sadulaev (RUS)

Snyder (USA) - Silver/Bronze

125 - Zare (IRN)

Hendrickson (USA) - DNP

 

 

 

 

Fairest American assessment I’ve ever seen

[jdw21]

Ha…well, I hope I underestimated a bit but I fear didn’t.  Hoping for better but 5 medals (with 2 golds) wouldn’t be terrible!

Edited October 22 by jdw21

[jdw21]

I just glanced at Flo’s predictions for the first 7 weights.  6 medals.  I suspect they will predict 2 more in the last three weights (possibly all 3 if they include Hendrickson).  8-9 medals would be pretty nuts.

[Caveira]

43 minutes ago, jdw21 said:

I just glanced at Flo’s predictions for the first 7 weights.  6 medals.  I suspect they will predict 2 more in the last three weights (possibly all 3 if they include Hendrickson).  8-9 medals would be pretty nuts.

Is Flo broadcasting this ?   I am not sure they are.   They need the clicks now cause they won’t get many during the comp.   

[jdw21]

I’m just referring to the prediction articles they’ve written on the first 7 weights.

[bnwtwg]

18 hours ago, jdw21 said:

Trying to be realistic for the USA finishes.  Here are my quick picks for Gold and USA finishes:

57 - Lee (USA)

61 - Uguev (RUS)

Blaze (USA) - DNP

65 - Sujeet (IND)

Bassett (USA) - DNP

70 - Retherford (USA)

74 - Aoyagi (JAP)

Green (USA) - DNP

79 - Nokhodilarimi (IRN)

Haines (USA) - Bronze

86 - Ghasempour (IRN)

Dake - DNP

92 - Firouzpourbandpei (IRN)

Hidlay (USA) - Bronze

97 - Sadulaev (RUS)

Snyder (USA) - Silver/Bronze

125 - Zare (IRN)

Hendrickson (USA) - DNP

 

 

 

 

I like it all but will add Zain DNP unfortunately

[jdw21]

1 hour ago, bnwtwg said:

I like it all but will add Zain DNP unfortunately

Yeah, I think that’s my most optimistic pick but I like the underdog here!  

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

13 hours ago, Caveira said:

Is Flo broadcasting this ?   I am not sure they are.   They need the clicks now cause they won’t get many during the comp.   

I think they have all UWW rights for worlds, continentals and ranking.

[MPhillips]

5 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

I think they have all UWW rights for worlds, continentals and ranking.

I believe that is correct.

[Caveira]

8 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

I think they have all UWW rights for worlds, continentals and ranking.

Fair.  Fair.  
 

but bonkers predictions to get clicks is sort of right up flo’s (or anyone in that business) alley they need traffic not accuracy.  When people lose their marbles over early ncaa rankings I chalk it up to that very single time ha 

they also have a precise small window of time to get said clicks 

Edited October 22 by Caveira

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

On 10/21/2026 at 12:12 PM, jdw21 said:

As much as I'd like to see Snyder win, I'm in agreement with BWB.  Is the hype overstated because of Snyder's win over Sad in a RAF event where Sad was injured?  Yazdani may be slightly undersized at 97kg but he's pretty freaking good too.  Tough field to navigate in general.

Sad hasn't looked great "healthy"

He might still win it, but his shine dulled a bit in his last three bouts

[Caveira]

13 minutes ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Sad hasn't looked great "healthy"

He might still win it, but his shine dulled a bit in his last three bouts

Women (hookers) weaken legs

 

 

[bnwtwg]

1 hour ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

Sad hasn't looked great "healthy"

He might still win it, but his shine dulled a bit in his last three bouts

Considering he was 26 years old when he won his first title back in 2014, I'd say he looks downright phenomenal for his age.

[Mr. PeanutButter]

6 minutes ago, bnwtwg said:

Considering he was 26 years old when he won his first title back in 2014, I'd say he looks downright phenomenal for his age.

I thought he was 21. His birth certificate was shared in Russian wrestling forums

[bnwtwg]

1 hour ago, Mr. PeanutButter said:

I thought he was 21. His birth certificate was shared in Russian wrestling forums

I also need an afternoon coffee

 

[Interviewed_at_Weehawken]

16 hours ago, bnwtwg said:

Considering he was 26 years old when he won his first title back in 2014, I'd say he looks downright phenomenal for his age.

You really think he looked great against Braunagel and in his wrestle off? I'm not talking about "for his age," Im talking about him showing the ability to have close matches or even lose.  He could tech his way through the field next week, but I would say unlikely.  However, heavier weights tend to have greater longevity in combat sports, so we will see.

[bnwtwg]

4 hours ago, Interviewed_at_Weehawken said:

You really think he looked great against Braunagel and in his wrestle off? I'm not talking about "for his age," Im talking about him showing the ability to have close matches or even lose.  He could tech his way through the field next week, but I would say unlikely.  However, heavier weights tend to have greater longevity in combat sports, so we will see.

I'll be the first to say that Brawlnagel is a terribly boring free/folk wrestler. When you combine two defense-first wrestlers you're going to have a bad time. I'm glad you all could enjoy the false hope that he might just pull out the win, I dealt with it for 7 years.

Sadulaev was coming off whatever happened to him against Snyder.

Sadulaev is notorious for being in shape once a year.

I will never bet against him.

 

[Truzzcat]

57kg: 
Gold: Roman Bravo Young
Silver: Valizadeh
Bronze: Chong sang
Bronze: Tuskaev
(Roman has looked great as has Valizadeh Chong songs loss from asians is up at 61. Spencer has not won a meaningful tournament since 2024 trials where you can argue he was just far and away better than the field. I think you can make an argument that he is still that here but it just feels like something always trips him up. Lilledahls recent showing also gives me concerns given he took one from spencer.)

61kg:
Gold: Blaze
Silver: Uulu
Bronze: Uguev
Bronze: Haryutunyan 
(A lot of this is predicated on which side guys are on. I think Uulu can beat uguev and I think Marcus beats Haryutunyan. I am not sure that I currently see a path to Marcus beating Uguev, to me Uguev has more ways to score and can hold center if not control center against Marcus. I would have picked Jax if he was the guy so I am picking Marcus Uulu is my sleeper though that kids crazy and I believe hes 18 or 19.)

65kg:
Gold: Amouzad
Silver: Mamedov
Bronze: Sujeet
Bronze: Kudiev
(I always like to give myself a buffer by saying I think the weight cut matters for Amouzad. Assuming its ok he is the best guy. Tenabe and Kudiev were the guys I was toying with in the last slot I think both are great and can beat just about anyone. Tairybek zhamashbek uulu is also worth watching out for, he has wrestled Amouzad close has beaten tenabe, bilol sharp uulu who beat blaze last year and Nick lee.)

70kg:
Gold: Khalili
Silver: Enrie
Bronze: Tomiyama
Bronze: Heybatov
(I have no idea with this weight I want to say it stinks but I think thats just my lean because it lacks guys that I have any confidence in.)

74kg:
Gold: Amir Yazdani
Silver: Aoyagi
Bronze: Sheriev
Bronze: Salk
(Emami is doing a lot of heavy lifting for Yazdani here. I have been waiting for the Yaz tournament since he got that silver in 2023, key is going to be limiting the damage early against Aoyagi.)

79kg:
Gold: Haines
Silver: Nohkodi
Bronze: Khaniev
Bronze: kadik
(I just think freestyle is perfect he does not need to finish shots he just needs to get his hands locked and then hes horsing you up and pushing you out. It will be fun to watch and see if Nohkodi can stop levi from getting to his head outside shots.)

86kg:
Gold: Natsura okazawa (yeah I did it)
Silver: Kadiev
Bronze: Ramazonov
Bronze: Ghas
(Okazawa blew me away at u20's despite not winning it and he earned this spot over returning silver Ishiguro. If he can wrestled for 4 minutes and 30 seconds as long as he does not face Kyle or Dhizoev I think he will be able to fend off everyone else running him down. As to Kyle I think he can win the entire thing but given his age and having lost to Kadiev and Dhizoev its hard for me to see him winning the grind out matches he normally does against this field.)

92kg:
Gold: Hoagie
Silver: Firouz
Bronze: Gahdzimagomedov
Bronze: Tckoaev
(Trent keeps getting better but I think after getting a feel for him Firouz wrestles a much cleaner match against Gahdzi and then Trent gets a super close match in the finals)

97kg:
Gold: Yaz
Silver: Saddy cakes
Bronze: Taz
Bronze: Snyder
(gimme in my opinion 2 of the 3 best wrestlers of the 2020's in the finals) 

125kg:
Gold: Zare 
Silver: Kassimbek
Bronze: sharipov 
Bronze: Wyatt
(I think we see a much better Wyatt, I do not think he can wrestle a clean enough 6 minutes to beat Kassimbek or Zare but I think its a much better showing than last year.)

These predictions feel heinous 

 

 

Edited Friday at 11:14 PM by Truzzcat