Legit or Pretender- Arash Yoshida (Japan - 97kg)

[Wrasslin]

Discuss amongst yourselves . . .GO!

[shiraz321]

Thought pretender previously. Think he's legit now. He's younger than I thought also. I thought he was mid 20s for some reason. I wonder why we never saw him at junior worlds. 

[bnwtwg]

Once is luck, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.

The first was Snyder, the second was making Asians champs finals, the third time was beating 2023 92kg world champ Aitmhukhan  (who won as a junior!!) - that bracket also had 2023 92kg junior world champ Azimi from Iran take third [lost to Autmhukhan in semis].

[wrestlingfan22]

I agree that at this point he has to be considered legit, also think it is really interesting that he is half-Iranian. That is a good combo for wrestling and further, Japan having a legit wrestler above 79kg makes a huge difference for them in potentially winning a team world title (though they likely still struggle to outscore the big three nations)

[D3 for LU]

(Aw, I had to do this one... tanxs Wrasslin!)

D3

[bnwtwg]

2 hours ago, wrestlingfan22 said:

I agree that at this point he has to be considered legit, also think it is really interesting that he is half-Iranian. That is a good combo for wrestling and further, Japan having a legit wrestler above 79kg makes a huge difference for them in potentially winning a team world title (though they likely still struggle to outscore the big three nations)

Brooks better be scared to bump up. He only gets his underhooks from one deity but Yoshida gets his underhooks from Buddha AND Allah. 2 gods > 1 the math speaks for itself 

[Wrasslin]

I'm not ready to crown him just yet . . .I'm going to reserve judgement until after Worlds- if he medals then I'll come around.

[Truzzcat]

He was not competitive with Azarpira last year. I think he has grown into 97kg better. He is definitely a contender I just don't know where his ceiling is, not because I don't think he has the talent. If he continues to train in Japan though I have no idea who is going to be able to push him at this point given his size and the lack of depth in Japan at that weight.

 

I would also like to add I think there is a chance that Atimukhans results may have been more of an outlier compared to how good he actually is.

Edited Tuesday at 03:57 PM by Truzzcat

[Wrasslin]

On 4/1/2025 at 8:56 AM, Truzzcat said:

He was not competitive with Azarpira last year. I think he has grown into 97kg better. He is definitely a contender I just don't know where his ceiling is, not because I don't think he has the talent. If he continues to train in Japan though I have no idea who is going to be able to push him at this point given his size and the lack of depth in Japan at that weight.

 

I would also like to add I think there is a chance that Atimukhans results may have been more of an outlier compared to how good he actually is.

A couple of interesting points you make here- First, in 2023 Worlds when Aitmukhan won his Senior world title @ 92kg, Yoshida was in that bracket (as was Azarpira- more on that later). Yoshida was teched in the Semis by Nurmagomedov 10-0 and also teched by Zahid Valencia in the bronze medal match 11-0.

Funny enough, I really thought that tournament was Zahid's to lose after his win over Azarpira in the 2nd round- he wrestled like a man possessed. His next match with Nurmagomedov in quarters was disappointing and really came down to one exchange where Zahid got behind in standing position and was unable to get the takedown (I need to watch that match again). 

Given the above, more questions . . .

• Has Yoshida not only jumped weights but also jumped levels? "We'll see" is where I stand
• Is Zahid our guy at 86kg?
• Is Atimukhan really as good as his results indicate as Truzzcat pointed out above? He wasn't competitive against Snyder and gassed and lost to Jay Aiello at Kunayev in 2024 so . . .