InterMat Staff

53 kg world team member Dom Parrish (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 50 kg Women's Freestyle 53 kg Women's Freestyle 65 kg Women's Freestyle 76 kg Women's Freestyle

Two-time world finalist Kayla Miracle (photo courtesy of Kadir Caliskan/UWW) Almost a month to the day of her special wrestle-off for the 62 kg slot on the women's world team, Kayla Miracle clinched her second consecutive world finals berth. Going back to August, another world medal seemed like it could be a longshot, as Miracle had to delay her Final X match with Jennifer Rogers and was pushed to the brink in her three-match series. Seeing how Miracle generally had to gut out some wins on Monday, maybe the challenge from Rogers in her wrestle-off was the best thing for Miracle. Miracle's day started off with a 17-6 tech over Xiaojun Luo (China) that was much closer on the mat than it appears on paper. Trailing by a point in the second period, Miracle fended off a leg attack from Luo and locked up a cradle. From there, the rest of the match was all Miracle as things snowballed against Luo. A 6-1 over Azerbaijan's Tetiana Omelchenko set the stage for today's semifinal against Canada's Ana Godinez-Gonzalez. Miracle and Godinez-Gonzalez had met twice previously, with Miracle getting both wins, the most recent of which came at February's Bout at the Ballpark. In this contest, Godinez-Gonzales got off to an early lead with a takedown and a third point following a lost challenge. There was no panic in Miracle as she shot and landed her trademark dump. That maneuver took Godinez-Gonzalez directly to her back where she'd never leave. After a bit of a fight, Miracle secured the fall at 1:37. In the finals, Miracle will meet Japan's Nonoka Ozaki. Ozaki defeated Miracle's 2021 world finals opponent Aisuluu Tynybekova (Krygyzstan), 11-5 to get to the gold medal match. Ozaki, a 2022 U20 World Champion, fell to Tynybekova last year at Senior Worlds, but rebounded to take bronze. Bronze is what the other woman who took the mat for the American team, Jacarra Winchester, will chase tomorrow. Winchester notched a pair of wins, which placed her in the world semifinals. There she met a buzzsaw in Japan's Mayu Mukaida and fell 12-0 in the opening period. Tomorrow's repechage round will sort out Winchester's opponent. Three others will compete for the chance to challenge the 2019 world champion. This will be the fourth consecutive world/Olympic tournament in which Winchester has competed for a medal. She lost in the bronze medal match at the 2018 World Championships and at the 2020 Olympics. In addition to the women's team, Greco-Roman wrestlers Ildar Hafizov (60 kg) and Cohlton Schultz (130 kg) also were in action for the first time. Both were victorious in the opening match, but Schultz was defeated in their second. Hafizov advanced to the quarterfinals and lost, but was pulled into repechage after Zholman Sharshenbekov (Kyrgyzstan) made the finals. He'll need to win two matches to secure his first world medal. If Hafizov can beat Krisztian Kecskemeti (Hungary), he'll challenge Aidos Sultangali (Kazakhstan) for the bronze. 2022 Senior World Championship American Results 60 kg Greco-Roman Qualification: Ildar Hafizov over Dichter Toro Castaneda (Colombia) 9-6 Round of 16: Ildar Hafizov over Michal Tracz (Poland) 7-1 Quarterfinals: Zholman Sharshenbekov (Kyrgyzstan) over Ildar Hafizov Fall :45 130 kg Greco-Roman Qualification: Cohlton Schultz over David Ovasapyan (Armenia) 1-1 Round of 16: Oscar Marvik (Norway) over Cohlton Schultz 5-0 55 kg Women's Freestyle Round of 16: Jacarra Winchester over Otgonjargal Ganbaatar (Mongolia) 8-3 Quarterfinals: Jacarra Winchester over Roksana Zasina (Poland) 4-2 Semifinals: Mayu Mukaida (Japan) over Jacarra Winchester 12-0 62 kg Women's Freestyle Round of 16: Kayla Miracle over Xiaojun Luo (China) 17-6 Quarterfinals: Kayla Miracle over Tetiana Omelchenko (Azerbaijan) 6-1 Semifinals: Kayla Miracle over Ana Godinez-Gonzalez (Canada) Fall 1:37

From left, Zain Retherford, Jordan Burroughs, David Taylor, Hayden Zillmer (photos courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) Another year, another world championship. Even without the inclusion of returning World/Olympic champions Russia, the competition in Belgrade will be excellent with headlining matchups brewing between 2021 Olympic medalists #2 Ravi Kumar (IND) and #3 Thomas Gilman at 57 KG and #1 Hassan Yazdani Charati (IRI) and #2 David Taylor (USA) at 86 KG in a rematch of the world finals won by Yazdani that avenged his Olympic finals loss to Taylor. Day one of the World championships for men's freestyle will see competition from athletes at the 70, 79, 86, and 125 kilogram weight classes. Read below to figure out who are the favorites, who's got the chance to medal, and who are the dark horses that could break through. 70 KG Title Contenders Ilyas Bekbulatov (UZB) - 4x 65 KG Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix Champion (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018), 2015 65 KG Russian Nationals champion, 2017 65 KG European champion, 2018 65 KG European championships runner-up, 2020 70 KG Asian champion, 2015 65 KG European Games bronze medalist, 2019 70 KG Dan Kolov champion. Key Wins: #2 (65) Haji Aliyev (2018 Indian Pro Wrestling League), #7 Anzor Zakuev (2021 Russian Pro League, 2019 70 KG Dan Kolov finals), #6 (74) David Baev (2021 Russian Pro League finals), Soslan Ramonov (2015 65 KG Russian Nationals finals), #7 Cherman Valiev (2017 65 KG Yarygin finals), #3 Viktor Rassadin (2019 70 KG Dan Kolov), Akhmed Chakaev (2018 65 KG Yarygin finals), #19 Zurab Iakobishvili (2017 65 KG European Championships), Magomed Kurbanaliev (2015 65 KG Russian Nationals finals), Brent Metcalf (2013 & 2015 65 KG Yarygin finals). Key Losses: Togrul Asgarov (2015 65 KG European Games), #11 Ernazar Akmataliev (2021 65 KG Asian OG Qualifier semifinals), Julian Gergenov (2019 65 KG Russian Nationals), #2 (65) Haji Aliyev (2018 65 KG European championships finals) For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

87 kg world champion Zurabi Datunashvili of host Serbia (photo courtesy of Kadir Caliskan/UWW) 55 kg Greco-Roman Gold Medal Match: Eldaniz Azizli (Azerbaijan) over Nugzari Tsurtsumia (Georgia) 8-0 Bronze Medal Match: Yu Shiotani (Japan) over Max Nowry (USA) 7-0 Bronze Medal Match: Jasurbek Ortikboev (Uzbekistan) over Amangali Bekbolatov (Kazakhstan) 9-5 72 kg Greco-Roman Gold Medal Match: Ali Feizollah Arsalan (Serbia) over Ulvi Ganizade (Azerbaijan) 7-4 Bronze Medal Match: Andrii Kulyk (Ukraine) over Ibrahim Ghanem (Iran) 4-3 Bronze Medal Match: Selcuk Can (Turkey) over Ibragim Magomedov (Kazakhstan) 3-3 77 kg Greco-Roman Gold Medal Match: Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Zoltan Levai (Hungary) 8-0 Bronze Medal Match: Malkhas Amoyan (Armenia) over Viktor Nemes (Serbia) 7-1 Bronze Medal Match: Yunus Basar (Turkey) over Hyeonwoo Kim (Korea) 4-1 87 kg Greco-Roman Gold Medal Match: Zurabi Datunashvili (Serbia) over Turpal Bisultanov (Denmark) 6-2 Bronze Medal Match: David Losonczi (Hungary) over Alex Kessidis (Sweden) 6-2 Bronze Medal Match: Ali Cengiz (Turkey) over Naser Ghasem Alizadeh (Iran) 7-1

2021 World silver medalist Kayla Miracle (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) 60 kg Greco-Roman 130kg Greco-Roman 55 kg Women's Freestyle 62kg Women's Freestyle

55 kg World 5th Place finisher Max Nowry (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) After a day of competition at theSenior World Championships, Max Nowry at 55 kg, was the lone American in medal contention. Nowry made the semifinals, but fell to the eventual champion Eldaniz Azizli (Azerbaijan). That dropped Nowry into the bronze medal match opposite two-time Asian champion Yu Shiotani (Japan). Shiotani got the scoring underway with a four-pointer early in the first period. That proved to be the difference as Nowry was never able to penetrate the defense of the Japanese star and fell 7-0. It wasn't for a lack of trying as Nowry tried multiple headlock attempts, but was never able to land one. This was the second time (2019) that Nowry lost in the bronze medal match. He battled through an apparent elbow injury that was aggravated during the first bout of the tournament, yet he still managed to notch a pair of falls. Day two at the 2022 Senior World Championships saw one of the late additions to the Greco-Roman world team, Sammy Jones, hit the mat first at 63 kg. Less than a week ago, it was announced publicly that Jones would replace Jesse Thielke as the American representative. Jones' first world team event saw him take on India's Neeraj. After no scoring for the first minute and a half of the contest, Jones was deemed passive and sent down in par terre. Neeraj was able to take advantage of favorable position and added a pair of points with a gut wrench. That gave the Indian wrestler a 3-0 lead heading into the second period. The second period mainly consisted of hand fighting and small positional battles. Neeraj was the only wrestler to put up any points, as he added a single score via step out. Despite a hard-charging Jones' efforts, Neeraj prevailed via 4-0 score. 2020 Olympian Alex Sancho was the next American to start his tournament on Sunday. Sancho's opponent at the 67 kg weight class was Norva Kalala Bukasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Sancho was the aggressor in the early going, which led to a passivity call on Kalala Bukasa. Right away, Sancho was able to convert with a four-point lift. Not content with a 5-0 lead, Sancho was able to get a second lift going out of bounds, which resulted in another four-points. That was enough for the technical superiority criteria and match termination. Sancho's win put him into the Round of 16 opposite Ukraine's Parviz Nasibov. The 2020 Olympic silver medalist, Nasibov, got on the board first as he was given a point due to perceived passivity on Sancho's part. Nasibov added to his score with a four-point lift. That would be the only scoring sequence for the entire bout. 2021 U20 Greco-Roman World bronze medalist Braxton Amos wasted no time in his Senior world debut. Just :25 seconds into his bout in the qualification round against Vladen Kozliuk (Ukraine), Amos was able to counter an attack from Kozliuk and toss the Ukrainian for four points of his own. Shortly thereafter, Amos avoided disaster, when Kozliuk threw a headlock and nearly pinned the American. Back on their feet, Kozliuk tried for another and Amos deftly ducked the manuever and crunched his opponent to the match for another two points. The pair would head into the break with Amos leading 6-2. Kozliuk got right back in the match in the second period with a duckunder followed immediately by a gut wrench. Though the bout was knotted at six points, Amos still led with criteria. Late in the period, with Kozliuk looking to take the lead and seeking an opening, Amos brought out a headlock of his own, to blow the match wide open at 10-6. During the same sequence, Amos scored with a trapped-arm gut to extend his lead to 12-6, which ended up being the final tally. In the Round of 16 Amos faced Kyrgyzstan's Beksultan Makhmudov, an Asian bronze medalist in 2021. As often is the case in Greco, the first scoring sequence took place after Amos was called for passivity. Makhmudov immediately locked up a trapped arm gut and rolled Amos through two times to take a 5-0 lead. That lead would prove insurmountable as Amos would add individual points for a step out and passivity, but still fell, 5-2. The final member of the American contingent to start their tournament on Sunday was Spencer Woods at 82 kg. Woods got on the scoreboard right away with a four-point throw. That was a sign of things to come in a back-and-forth shootout that looked to favor Woods or opponent Chengwu Wang (China) on multiple different occasions. Woods led the contest 12-6 after the first period, but the lead was extended by a point after a failed challenge from the Chinese corner. The tide turned once again, and for the final time, early in the second period when Wang used an over-under body lock to throw Woods for four points. Woods fought off his back from over :20 seconds, but eventually Wang was able to secure the fall. 2022 American Senior World Championship Results 55 kg Greco-Roman Bronze Medal Match: Yu Shiotani (Japan) over Max Nowry 7-0 63 kg Greco-Roman Qualification: Neeraj (India) over Sammy Jones 4-0 67 kg Greco-Roman Qualification: Alex Sancho over Norva Kalala Bukasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) 9-0 Round of 16: Parviz Nasibov (Ukraine) over Alex Sancho 5-0 82 kg Greco-Roman Chengwu Wang (China) over Spencer Woods 4:01 97 kg Greco-Roman Qualification: Braxton Amos over Vladen Kozliuk (Ukraine) 12-6 Round of 16: Beksultan Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) over Braxton Amos 5-2

63kg World Team Member Sam Jones (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 63kg 67kg 82kg 97kg

Penn State's 197 lb national champion Max Dean (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Worlds week is here and I predict an easy ten gold medals for the US of A in men's freestyle. Don't even worry about waking up in the middle of the night for the opening rounds. All the gold medal matches take place midday. But if you do decide on the graveyard shift, I admire you. The worst thing about Worlds besides repechage is the brutal start times. My offer to UWW is this. If America wins ten golds in MFS then the next ten World Championships take place on American soil, so I can watch at a normal time. If they don't, I'll never miss or be a day late with a mailbag again. Deal? Great. Let's get to the questions. What possible individual matchup throughout the NCAA season are you most excited to see? What weight class has the most intrigue for you? Wiems19 Well, that's easy. Beard-Dean is the match that I think everyone is looking forward to seeing. We've seen this story play out before at Penn State with Bubba Jenkins and David Taylor. Well, I haven't seen it because I wasn't paying attention back then, but you know what I mean. Finding good storylines in wrestling can be tough at times but a stud losing his spot and then leaving and getting a chance to prove his old team wrong is about as good as it gets. Throw in the match happening as the 928th Lehigh-PSU dual in history and it should have the makings of a fun event. 141 is the weight class I'm most interested in. No returning champs! Can Cole Matthews build on what he started last year and get Keith Gavin his first champ? How does the Black and Gold fit Real Woods? How does Sammy Alvarez, who at one point was going to overtime with RBY, look after settling into a new weight class? Same goes for Beau Bartlett. Does CJ Composto have a ceiling or does he "Slay" the entire weight class? Remember, he already has a win over the top-ranked Matthews. Andrew Alirez, besides being the coolest wrestler west of the Mississippi, is also very dangerous. Last year, Ryan Jack pushed Jaydin Eierman to the brink and nearly got a pin. Just a very intriguing weight class that will be fun to see shake out over the course of the season. Who has the best haircut in wrestling and why is it Gerrit Nijenhuis? Jkos11 I admit he makes the mullet work, but that doesn't mean it's ok. Frankly, I don't understand why kids are bringing back this relic of a hairstyle. I lived through the legit mullet years and I thought we buried it for good in 1992 with the rise of grunge. If you're going to bring back this fashion then do it right. Get the denim jacket. Get the stone-washed jeans. Get a damn Camaro! Do you need cassette tapes? I still have some in the closet somewhere. You don't half-ass the style of my youth. It's full-ass or no-ass at all. I suggest you start sewing that giant KISS Army patch on the back of your jacket pronto. If collegiate wrestling awarded a Jagger trophy as they do with the Dan Hodge, what would its criteria be and who would you expect to be the frontrunner for it this season? Ben Kenobi  I'm still working on this one but you will get an answer before the season starts Alright you Jagoffs, it's Saturday so go get some chores done so you can enjoy all the wrestling and football this afternoon and tomorrow. Until next week, take it sleazy.

World Semifinalist Max Nowry (photo courtesy of Kadir Caliskan/UWW) The 2022 Senior World Championships got underway from Belgrade, Serbia this morning as the Greco-Roman portion of the tournament started competition at four weights. Alan Vera, at 87 kg, was the first American to take the mat, as just the second match on Mat D. Vera got on the scoreboard first with a point for passivity in the opening period; however, he could not capitalize on the par terre position that followed and held a 1-0 lead going into the break. His opponent, Haitao Qian (China), benefitted from a passivity call in the second period and was able to take advantage of situation with a four-point gut wrench. That 5-1 lead turned out to be insurmountable for Vera, though he did add two points for a takedown late in the second period. Ultimately, it wasn't enough and Qian went on to win 5-3. Just a few minutes after Vera hit the mat, the second American of the event, Benji Peak, was in action at 72 kg against Hungary's Robert Fritsch. Like Vera, Peak got on the scoreboard first with a passivity point. Also like Vera, Peak wasn't able to convert the par terre advantage into any additional points. In the second period, Fritsch scored a takedown after an arm drag, during some heavy hand fighting. He would later add an additional point via step out. Despite a late charge from Peak, Fritsch was able to hang out for the 3-1 victory. After a four-year absence, Kamal Bey was back on the raised stage at the World Championships, taking on 2017 world champion Viktor Nemes (Serbia). Nemes got the scoring started with a point for passivity on Bey in the opening period. Nemes appeared to be ready to add to the lead as he pulled the American up to his feet and looked for a throw. Bey was able to turn the position into an advantageous one for himself and attempted his own throw. Though it didn't register with the judges, it made the best out of a potentially dangerous predicament. Just before the buzzer at the end of the second period, Nemes added to his lead with a step-out point. In period two, Nemes was working with an underhook near the boundary and was able to obtain a bodylock. Bey chose to limit damage and conceded a takedown, rather than give up a four or five point throw. That extended the Serbian's lead to 4-0, which is where the match would end. It was the wrestler who took the mat last that would end up with the most success on the day. 55 kg veteran Max Nowry advanced to the semifinals after notching falls in each of his first two matches. Nowry trailed 3-1 in the second period against his opening opponent Arjun Halakurki (India) when he hit a four-point arm throw. Eventually, he maneuvered the Indian onto his back for a fall. In the quarterfinals, Nowry gained the upperhand after a passive call on Germany's Fabian Schmitt. In par terre, Nowry was able to get a set of exposure points, but kept Schmitt from rolling onto his stomach. After a prolonged fight, Nowry was able to sink in a deep half nelson and got the fall. Nowry will have the top-seed, Eldaniz Azizli (Azerbaijan), a 2018 world champion and two-time world bronze medalist in the semis. 2022 Senior World Championship Results 55 kg Greco-Roman Round of 16: Max Nowry over Arjun Halakurki (India) Fall 5:02 Quarterfinals: Max Nowry over Fabian Schmitt (Germany) 4:58 72 kg Greco-Roman Qualification Round: Robert Fritsch (Hungary) over Benji Peak 3-1 77 kg Greco-Roman Round of 32: Viktor Nemes (Serbia) over Kamal Bey 4-0 87 kg Greco-Roman Qualification Round: Haitao Qian (China) over Alan Vera 5-3

2x U20 World Champion Amit Elor (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) With the U17 World Championships in July and U20's in August, it means that we are on the precipice of the Senior World Championships, which take place September 10-18th from Belgrade, Serbia. Final X determined the Americans who will compete at world's and, for the most part, the rest of the world has made it official who will participate, as well (A country can change their entry up until 24 hours before their style starts weigh-ins). So who should our Americans look out for in the quest for gold? Below we have credentials for all of the current entries, along with seeds for the 2022 tournament, medalists from 2021, and information about the US entrant. 72kg Women's Freestyle Entries Shauna Kuebeck (Canada) 2020 Pan-American Bronze Medalist Erica Ngakali (Congo) 2022 African 4th Place For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

2020 Olympic Gold Medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) With the U17 World Championships in July and U20's in August, it means that we are on the precipice of the Senior World Championships, which take place September 10-18th from Belgrade, Serbia. Final X determined the Americans who will compete at world's and, for the most part, the rest of the world has made it official who will participate, as well (A country can change their entry up until 24 hours before their style starts weigh-ins). So who should our Americans look out for in the quest for gold? Below we have credentials for all of the current entries, along with seeds for the 2022 tournament, medalists from 2021, and information about the US entrant. 68kg Women's Freestyle Entries Gabriela Pedro da Rocha (Brazil) 3x Pan-American Bronze Medalist, 2022 Zouhaier Sghaier Bronze Medalist Sofiya Georgieva (Bulgaria) 2018 European U23 Silver Medalist, 2022 Ion Corneanu & Ladislau Simon Silver Medalist, 2022 Dan Kolov/Nikola Petrov Silver Medalist For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

Two-time World Team member Alan Vera (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) 55kg 72kg 77kg 87kg

2022 World Team member Abby Nette (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) With the U17 World Championships in July and U20's in August, it means that we are on the precipice of the Senior World Championships, which take place September 10-18th from Belgrade, Serbia. Final X determined the Americans who will compete at world's and, for the most part, the rest of the world has made it official who will participate, as well (A country can change their entry up until 24 hours before their style starts weigh-ins). So who should our Americans look out for in the quest for gold? Below we have credentials for all of the current entries, along with seeds for the 2022 tournament, medalists from 2021, and information about the US entrant. 59kg Women's Freestyle Entries Alyona Kolesnick (Azerbaijan) 2x U23 World 5th Place, 2022 Ivan Yarygin Champion Fatme Shaban (Bulgaria) 2022 U20 World 10th Place, 2022 European U20 Bronze Medalist For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

Three-time All-American Bryce Meredith (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) While the top wrestlers in the world are ready to compete at the upcoming World Championships, there are many former wrestlers who are ready to fight in MMA this weekend. This week's edition of the guide features multiple former All-Americans, a Swedish national champion and an Olympic bronze medalist. Tuesday: Dana White's Contender Series Jimmy Lawson vs. Kevin Szaflarski The MMA weekend got off to an early start as the former Penn State All-American became one of the latest contestants to try to win a UFC contract on the Tuesday night show. Unfortunately, Lawson came up short and dropped a decision against Karl Williams. Interestingly enough, Williams was the one who relied on his wrestling. He scored three takedowns and spent the vast majority of the fight in control positions. With the loss, Lawson fell to 4-2 in MMA. Friday: LFA 141 Bryce Meredith vs. Nathan Fought Meredith is scheduled to return to the cage for his third professional fight on Friday night. While at Wyoming, he was a three-time All-American, and he made the finals of the 2018 NCAA tournament at 141 pounds. Meredith made his MMA debut in 2021 and has picked up a pair of stoppage victories over Steven Merrill and Jay Viola. Fought will be making his professional debut against Meredith. However, the 38-year-old fighter out of the Jackson Wink MMA gym does have an undefeated 6-0 record as an amateur. Fought last fought against Richard Jennings in February and won via split decision. The bout is scheduled to kickoff the main card of LFA 141, which begins at 10:00pm ET on UFC Fight Pass. Saturday: KSW 74 Damian Janikowski vs. Tom Breese The top promotion in Poland is back with a show featuring one of their brightest domestic stars. Janikowski represented his home country on the international stage in Greco. He won a silver medal at the 2011 World Championships at 84kg and followed that up with a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. Janikowski made his MMA debut in 2017 and currently holds a 7-4 record. He is coming off a first-round knockout victory over Tomasz Jakubiec last March. Breese fought eight times for the UFC between 2015 and 2021. He went 5-3 in the promotion but left following a submission loss against Omari Akhmedov last year. Since leaving the UFC, Breese has picked up back-to-back wins in Amsterdam and pushed his professional record to 14-3. KSW 74 will air live via Internet pay-per-view at KSWTV.com at 1:00pm ET. Saturday: UFC 279 Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz In the main event of UFC 279, Chimaev will take his most high-profile fight to date against Diaz. After beginning his wrestling career in Russia, Chimaev migrated to Sweden in 2013. There he won the Swedish Nationals three times with his last title coming in 2018. Chimaev made his UFC debut in 2020 and has stuck to his wrestling roots in the Octagon. Diaz rose to national prominence when he split a two-fight series against Conor McGregor in 2016. He has been fighting in the UFC since 2007 and has picked up multiple impressive victories. Diaz has fought only once since 2019 and dropped a decision against current UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards. Tony Ferguson vs. Jingliang Li During his high school days, Ferguson was a three-time all-state selection in Michigan. He continued to wrestle on the collegiate level and spent time at Central Michigan, Muskegon Community College and Grand Valley State. While at GVSU, he won the 2006 NCWA title at 165 pounds. Ferguson made his professional MMA debut in 2008 and won the 13th season of “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2011. He was long considered one of the top lightweights in the sport, but is currently riding a four-fight losing streak that dates back to 2020. Jingliang has been fighting with the UFC since 2014. He holds a 19-7 record overall in MMA and is coming off a victory over Muslim Salikhov last July. These two bouts will serve as the main event and co-main event of UFC 279. The pay-per-view portion of the event begins at 10:00pm ET and can be purchased through ESPN+.

New #1 at 61 kg Akhmed Idrisov (photo courtesy of Max Rose-Fyne/UWW) 57 KG Russian Nationals bronze medalist #3 Ramiz Gamzatov was impressive in winning the All-Russian Spartakiad title with a dominating 11-0 tech fall win over fellow Russian Nationals bronze medalist #4 Musa Mekhtikhanov. Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were Muslim Sadulaev and Petr Kopylov. Major shakeups took place because of the All-Russian Spartakiad, namely Petr Kopylov back into the top ten at #4 after defeating #6 Azamat Tuskaev in the quarterfinals after Tuskaev had beaten Russian Nationals runner-up #2 Nachyn Mongush in the qualification round. 61KG #2 Akhmed Idrisov avenged his loss to 2021 world champion #1 Abasgadzhi Magomedov from the Russian National finals in June with a 4-1 victory at the All-Russian Spartakiad to take gold and the number one spot in the rankings. Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were #5 Muslim Mekhtikhanov and Cherman Tavitov. Idrisov takes over the number one spot in the world and domestically in Russia for his victory over formerly top-ranked Magomedov. 65KG #5 Shamil Mamedov won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #3 Gadzhimurad Rashidov with #4 Aripgadzhi Abdulaev and #6 Alik Khadartsev taking bronze. Mamedov's path to the finals saw him beat #6 Alik Khadartsev and #8 Ramazan Ferzaliev, while #3 Gadzhimurad Rashidov's best win came in the semifinals against Russian Nationals bronze medalist #4 Aripgadzhi Abdulaev. Mamedov moves up four spots to number one in the rankings for his win over Rashidov and the reason for this is Mamedov's overall body of work within the past year (wins over Rashidov, Khadartsev, Ferzaliev, #9 (61) Islam Dudaev (ALB) #10 Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL), #13 Ziraddin Bayramov (AZE), and #19 Ibragim Abdurakhmanov (RUS) and Junior World, Yarygin, Umakhanov and Yasar Dogu titles) allow him to jump above Russian Nationals champion #1 Ibragim Ibragimov and #2 Gadzhimurad Omarov in the ranking, plus Rashidov beat Abdulaev who beat Mamedov at Russian Nationals in the quarters and Mamedov can now be ranked above Abdulaev because he beat Rashidov who beat Abdulaev. #7 Zagir Shakhiev moved up to 70 kilograms where he won the All-Russian Spartakiad and is ranked second at the weight behind two-time Russian Nationals champion #1 Israil Kasumov. 70KG #6 Kurban Shiraev won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #7 (65) Zagir Shakhiev. Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were #7 Alan Kudzoev and Inalbek Sheriev. Kudzoev makes the jump in the rankings to #5 after his quarterfinal win over #3 Anzor Zakuev. #7 (65) Zagir Shakhiev makes his 70KG ranking debut at #3 after finishing runner-up to #2 Kurban Shiraev and beating Kudzoev in the semis. Inalbek Sheriev is back in the rankings at #8 for beating #4 Ruslan Zhendaev (RUS) for bronze at the All-Russian Spartakiad. 74KG #2 Razambek Zhamalov won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #3 David Baev. Bronze medalists of the All-Russian Spartakiad were #5 Timur Bizhoev and Artem Umarov. No changes to the rankings. 79KG #3 Magomed Magomaev won the All-Russian Spartakiad with a 12-1 victory over #7 Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev in the finals. Bronze medalists of the All-Russian Spartakiad were #5 Akhmed Usmanov and Kakhaber Khubezhty. Khubezhty made a big comeback to the rankings at #3 with an upset win in the quarterfinals over Russian Nationals bronze medalist #2 Radik Valiev, before falling in the semis to Alikhmaev. Alikhmaev moves up five spots in the rankings to #2 for his win over #3 Kakhaber Khubezhty on his way to making the finals. Magomaev moves up two spots to #1 for winning over Alikhmaev. #1 Malik Shavaev moved up to 86 KG where he finished runner-up to 2021 World/Olympic bronze medalist #1 Artur Naifonov. 86KG #1 Artur Naifonov won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #1 (79) Malik Shavaev. Bronze medalists were #3 Dauren Kurugliev and #10 Slavik Naniev. Shavaev makes his debut in the 86 KG rankings at #2 for beating Kurugliev in the quarterfinals with Kurugliev falling two spots to #4. #10 Slavik Naniev moves up one spot to #9 for beating #8 Arsenali Musalaliev in the qualification round. Musalaliev drops two spots to #10 for his loss to Naniev. 92KG #5 Guram Chertkoev won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #3 Vladislav Valiev with #7 Alan Bagaev and Magomedmurad Baibekov taking bronze. Baibekov takes the number six spot for beating #6 Tamerlan Tapsiev in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to #3 Vladislav Valiev. 97KG #4 Alikhan Zhabrailov won the All-Russian Spartakiad over Gadzhimagomed Tazhudinov with Igor Ovsyannikov and #8 Sergey Kozyrev taking bronze. Gadzhimagomed Tazhudinov debuts in the rankings at #3 for beating 2019 Russian Nationals runner-up Igor Ovysannikov in the semifinals after Ovsyannikov beat Russian Nationals champion #2 Aslanbek Sotiev in his quarterfinal match. Ovsyannikov slots in at the #4 spot for his win over Sotiev, while Sotiev drops three spots to #5. 125KG #5 Erik Dzhioev moves up four spots in the rankings to #1 after winning the All-Russian Spartakiad over 2020 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Vitali Goloev. Goloev makes his return to the rankings at #2 after his win over Khasan Khubaev in the semifinals, when Khubaev had been coming off wins over two-time Russian Nationals champion #9 Alan Khugaev in the qualification round and 2022 Russian Nationals champion #1 Alen Khubulov in the quarterfinals. Khubaev takes the #3 slot for beating Khugaev and Khubulov. Bronze medalists were #8 Anzor Khizriev and #6 Khasan Khubaev. Khizriev moves up one spot to #7 for beating #4 Baldan Tszzhipov in the bronze medal match. Along with his victory over #2 Vitali Goloev in the finals, Dzhioev beat past Russian Nationals medalists #7 Anzor Khizriev and Tsyzhipov to take his spot as Russia's top heavyweight. Pound for Pound A significant amount of changes to the rankings as 61, 65, and 125 KG all crown new number ones. #4 Abasgadzhi Magomedov (61), #7 Gadzhimurad Rashidov (65) both fell in their finals matches to Akhmed Idrisov and #13 Shamil Mamedov. So because of the shift in these weights, it goes back to who's been more consistent with their efforts and their strong resumes so from this 74 KG national champion #8 Razambek Zhamalov and 3x World/Olympic medalist #16 Artur Naifonov move up to #4 and #5 in the rankings. After establishing the new top five, it's time to break down the shift in the rest of the top ten. #13 Shamil Mamedov moves up seven spots in the rankings to #6 by taking the number one spot at 65 KG for beating Rashidov after Rashidov beat #16 Aripgadzhi Abdulaev which was Mamedov's loss at Russian Nationals that knocked him back in the rankings. Mamedov goes above 65 KG Russian Nationals #7 Ibragim Ibragimov and Russian Nationals runner-up Gadzhimurad Omarov, who he has superior resumes to (Junior World, Umakhanov, Yarygin, Yasar Dogu titles) plus wins over Rashidov, Tulga Tumur Ochir, Islam Dudaev, Ramazan Ferzaliev, and Ibragim Abdurakhmanov. Akhmed Idrisov is back in the rankings at #12 for beating #4 Abasgadzhi Magomedov in the finals of the 61 KG All-Russian Spartakiad. Magomedov drops nine spots in the rankings to #13 his loss in the finals to Idrisov plus his top five pound-for-pound spot predicated on dominating the 61 KG weight class and consecutive wins, titles and an unbeaten streak which is nullified when losses pop up because he doesn't have that anchor that an athlete at a deeper weight like 74, 79, 65, or 57 KG would. #19 Malik Shavaev moves up five spots to #14 for beating #18 Dauren Kurugliev at 86 KG and for his win over #15 Magomed Magomaev in the finals of the 79 KG Russian Nationals. Magomed Magomaev is in the rankings at #15 for winning the All-Russian Spartakiad over #20 Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev. Alikhmaev is back in the rankings at twenty because of his semifinal win over #21 Kakhaber Khubezhty, after Khubezhty had upset 2021 79 KG world bronze medalist #22 Radik Valiev in the quarterfinals. Erik Dzhioev is back into the rankings at #24 for taking the number one spot at heavyweight after winning the All-Russian Spartakiad.

Four-time world and Olympic champion Helen Maroulis (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) With the U17 World Championships in July and U20's in August, it means that we are on the precipice of the Senior World Championships, which take place September 10-18th from Belgrade, Serbia. Final X determined the Americans who will compete at world's and, for the most part, the rest of the world has made it official who will participate, as well (A country can change their entry up until 24 hours before their style starts weigh-ins). So who should our Americans look out for in the quest for gold? Below we have credentials for all of the current entries, along with seeds for the 2022 tournament, medalists from 2021, and information about the US entrant. 57kg Women's Freestyle Entries Zhala Aliyeva (Azerbaijan) 2022 European U23 Champion, 2021 Junior World Bronze Medalist Giullia Penalber (Brazil) 2x Pan-American Champion, 2021 World 7th Place, 2022 Zouhaier Sghaier Champion, 2022 Matteo Pellicone Bronze Medalist For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

Saul Ervin at the 2021 NCAA Championships (photo courtesy of SIUE athletics) Welcome to a new, regular feature for InterMat! Every day, for the next few months, we'll look into the recent history of a DI wrestling program with our "Ten Years of…" feature. Even if you're a die-hard supporter of a particular school, there will be good information you may have forgotten. For others, it's a quick way to learn about a program you may not be familiar with. We're going in alphabetical order for this one, so next up is...SIU Edwardsville! NCAA Qualifiers (17) 2021 #23 Saul Ervin (141 lbs), Justin Ruffin (157 lbs) 2020 #30 Tyshawn Williams (149 lbs), #19 Justin Ruffin (157 lbs) 2019 #25 Justin Ruffin (157 lbs), #29 Colton McKiernan (285 lbs) 2018 John Muldoon (133 lbs), Tyshawn Williams (149 lbs), Nate Higgins (165 lbs) 2017 #14 Freddie Rodriguez (125 lbs), Jake Residori (174 lbs), Jake Tindle (197 lbs) 2016 Freddie Rodriguez (125 lbs), John Fahy (149 lbs) 2015 Connor McMahon (165 lbs), Jake Tindle (197 lbs) 2014 David Devine (285 lbs) NCAA Champions None NCAA All-Americans 2017: Jake Residori (174 - 8th) NCAA Round of 12 Finishers Freddie Rodriguez (2017 - 125) Conference Champions SoCon 2018: John Muldoon (133), Tyshawn Williams (149), Nate Higgins (165) 2017: Freddie Rodriguez (125), Jake Residori (174), Jake Tindle (197) 2016: Freddie Rodriguez (125), John Fahy (149) 2015: Connor McMahon (165), Jake Tindle (197) 2014: David Devine (285) Dual Record 2021-22: 1-14 2021: 3-7 2019-20: 2-14 2018-19: 2-13 2017-18: 6-14 2016-17: 4-13 2015-16: 5-11 2014-15: 4-18 2013-14: 7-18 2012-13: 5-19 Conference Tournament Placement MAC 2021-22: 10th 2021: 10th 2019-20: 15th 2018-19: 7th SoCon 2017-18: 4th 2016-17: 3rd 2015-16: 4th 2014-15: 5th 2013-14: 6th 2012-13: 5th NCAA Tournament Team Placement 2021-22: No Qualifiers 2021: No Team Score 2019-20: No Tournament 2018-19: 56th-tie (0.5 points) 2017-18: No Team Score 2016-17: 29th (12 points) 2015-16: 60th-tie (2 points) 2014-15: 58th-tie (1 point) 2013-14: No Team Score 2012-13: DI Transition Head Coaching History Jeremy Spates (2013 - present) David Ray (2008 - 2013) Best Lineup (Comprised of wrestlers from 2013-22) 125 - Freddie Rodriguez: 2x NCAA Qualifier (#14 seed), 2017 NCAA Round of 12 Finisher, 2x SoCon Champion 133 - John Muldoon: 2018 NCAA Qualifier, 2018 SoCon Champion 141 - Saul Ervin: 2021 NCAA Qualifier 149 - Tyshawn Williams: 2x NCAA Qualifier, 2018 SoCon Champion 157 - Justin Ruffin: 3x NCAA Qualifier 165 - Nate Higgins: 2018 NCAA Qualifier, 2018 SoCon Champion 174 - Jake Residori: 2017 NCAA All-American (8th), 2017 SoCon Champion 184 - Sergio Villalobos: 2x MAC Placer 197 - Jake Tindle: 2x NCAA Qualifier 2x SoCon Champion 285 - David Devine: 2014 NCAA Qualifier, 2014 SoCon Champion Recruiting Big Boarder's Per Year 2022: #189 Daniel Guanajuato (AZ), #234 Bradley Gillum (IL) 2021: #173 Caine Tyus (IL), #211 Caleb Tyus (IL) 2018: #36 Justin Ruffin (GA) For past teams: Air Force American Appalachian State Arizona State Army West Point Binghamton Bloomsburg Brown Bucknell Buffalo Cal Poly Campbell Central Michigan Chattanooga Clarion Cleveland State Columbia Cornell CSU Bakersfield Davidson Drexel Duke Edinboro Franklin & Marshall Gardner-Webb George Mason Harvard Hofstra Illinois Indiana Iowa Iowa State Kent State Lehigh Lock Haven Maryland Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Missouri Navy NC State Nebraska North Carolina North Dakota State Northern Colorado Northern Illinois Northern Iowa Northwestern Ohio Ohio State Oklahoma Oklahoma State Oregon State Penn Penn State Pittsburgh Princeton Purdue Rider Rutgers Sacred Heart

First-team Senior World Team member Dymond Guilford (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) With the U17 World Championships in July and U20's in August, it means that we are on the precipice of the Senior World Championships, which take place September 10-18th from Belgrade, Serbia. Final X determined the Americans who will compete at world's and, for the most part, the rest of the world has made it official who will participate, as well (A country can change their entry up until 24 hours before their style starts weigh-ins). So who should our Americans look out for in the quest for gold? Below we have credentials for all of the current entries, along with seeds for the 2022 tournament, medalists from 2021, and information about the US entrant. 76kg Women's Freestyle Entries Martina Kuenz (Austria) 2x European Medalist (2,3), 2022 Yasar Dogu Silver Medalist, 2022 Matteo Pellicone Bronze Medalist Justina DiStasio (Canada) 2018 World Champion, 2x World Medalist (1,3), 4x Pan-American Champion, 2022 GP of Spain Silver Medalist For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

3x World Team member Mallory Velte (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) With the U17 World Championships in July and U20's in August, it means that we are on the precipice of the Senior World Championships, which take place September 10-18th from Belgrade, Serbia. Final X determined the Americans who will compete at world's and, for the most part, the rest of the world has made it official who will participate, as well (A country can change their entry up until 24 hours before their style starts weigh-ins). So who should our Americans look out for in the quest for gold? Below we have credentials for all of the current entries, along with seeds for the 2022 tournament, medalists from 2021, and information about the US entrant. 65kg Women's Freestyle Entries Elis Manolova (Azerbaijan) 2019 European Champion, 2019 World Bronze Medalist, 2018 U23 World Silver Medalist, 2020 Olympic 10th Place Mimi Hristova (Bulgaria) 2x World 5th Place, 2020 European Champion, 2022 GP of Spain Champion, 2022 Ion Corneanu & Ladislau Simon Silver Medalist For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

2021 U20 Greco-Roman World bronze medalist Braxton Amos (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) With the U17 World Championships in July and U20's in August, it means that we are on the precipice of the Senior World Championships, which take place September 10-18th from Belgrade, Serbia. Final X determined the Americans who will compete at world's and, for the most part, the rest of the world has made it official who will participate, as well (A country can change their entry up until 24 hours before their style starts weigh-ins). So who should our Americans look out for in the quest for gold? Below we have credentials for all of the current entries, along with seeds for the 2022 tournament, medalists from 2021, and information about the US entrant. 97kg Greco-Roman Entries Artur Aleksanyan (Armenia) 3x Olympic Medalist (1,2,3), 5x World Medalist (1 x3, 2 x2), 5x European Champion Daniel Gastl (Austria) 2022 European Bronze Medalist, 2022 GP of Germany Champion For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

Pittsburgh's two-time ACC champion Micky Phillippi (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) Micky Phillippi has had a slightly different journey through his college wrestling experience than most. As he enters his final season for the Panthers, we discussed his time spanning seven seasons, two schools, four NCAA tournament qualifications, two degrees, three bloodround losses and one recent marriage. Phillippi was a highly sought-after recruit coming out of high school. He was a three-time PA State Champion and put together a career record of 170-12 with wins in prestigious tournaments across the country. He signed with the Virginia Cavaliers and made the move to Charlottesville to join the Hoos. "When I visited UVA and met Coach Garland, it just felt right…with Steve and Jordan (Leen) and Keith (Gavin) as the staff, it just felt like a family and that they really cared about you." Phillippi had a solid redshirt season for the Cavaliers, finishing with a 25-8 record that included a win over All-American Sa'Derian Perry and close losses to multiple-time All-Americans Kaid Brock and Zane Richards. Philippi felt good about his growth on the mat and as a student, but didn't feel that Charlottesville was the right place for him. "The biggest thing was that I was homesick. I come from a big family and it's really important to me--and I wanted to be closer to them." The timing of his decision to leave UVA came with a feeling of serendipity; Keith Gavin was named Head Coach at Pittsburgh in the spring of 2017 and tabbed Jordan Leen as his Associate Head Coach. This made Phillippi's decision to return home to Pittsburgh much easier and allowed him to continue to work with two coaches with whom he had developed very strong relationships. "Coming back to Pittsburgh was like an immediate weight off my shoulders. I get to be close to my family and see my nieces and nephews whenever I want and that is very important to me." At the time of his transfer, he was forced to sit out a year due to the intra-conference transfer and would wrestle a second season unattached. He had another strong season in 2018 going 17-3 with his only losses being to All-Americans Scott DelVecchio and Vito Arujau who competed for Spartan RTC in his greyshirt year. In his first season in the Panther lineup, Phillippi made his presence known to the country at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas where he beat All-Americans Ethan Lizak and Luke Pletcher--who is now an Assistant Coach at Pittsburgh. He fell to Nick Suriano, who would go on to be a National Champion that season, in the finals. "That was the first moment where I could really say that I could beat anyone and that I was totally confident in my technical skills," said Phillippi of his CKLV breakthrough. If his performance at the CKLV wasn't enough to get him in the national spotlight, his 3-1 win over three-time NCAA finalist Daton Fix in the Panther's dual against Oklahoma State did the trick. He added a dual win over All-American Louie Hayes and beat multiple-time All-Americans Tariq Wilson and Korbin Myers to win his first ACC Championship. He entered his first NCAA tournament as the 4-seed and beat Gary Joint (Fresno St) and All-American Austin Gomez (then at Iowa State) for a quarterfinal rematch with long-time rival Luke Pletcher. "Simply, I let the moment get too big", said Phillippi, "I've wrestled Luke so many times and we always had good matches, but I made the quarterfinal match way bigger than I should have and that played a big part in the loss." Phillippi dropped to the bloodround where he matched up with Roman Bravo-Young. "It was a close match and I didn't pull it out--I usually win close matches, but I didn't get that one. Looking at it now with him being a two-time national champ it doesn't look like such a bad loss!" Phillippi entered the 2019-2020 season with a hunger coming off of his bloodround loss. "I was ready to go that year, I felt good physically and mentally and I had a great season". Phillippi put together a nearly flawless regular season, going 23-1 with his lone loss to Sammy Alvarez at the Southern Scuffle. He would go on to beat Louie Hayes and Jaime Hernandez to win his second-straight ACC title and earned the fourth seed for the second straight year going into the NCAA tournament. "Once we started seeing other sports shut down, you could kind of sense that it was coming, but I didn't want to believe it," said Phillippi of the 2020 NCAA Tournament cancellation due to the COVID shutdown. "We didn't have a lot of information and no one really knew what was happening, so I just kept training…I trained through the summer and into the fall and stayed in great shape and ready. I was hoping we were going to find a way to run it back in the fall and get everyone together for the tournament." Pittsburgh's two-time ACC champion Micky Phillippi (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com) The reality was that the tournament would never happen, and it left Phillippi even more determined going into the 2020-2021 season. In the minimized season, Phillippi was undefeated going into the ACC Championships. He knocked off Louie Hayes in the semifinals, but fell in a close match to Korbin Myers in the ACC finals; both Hayes and Myers would go on to earn All-American honors this season. Philippi entered the NCAA tournament as the fifth seed. He earned a major decision over Ty Smith (Utah Valley) before knocking off ACC-foe Jarrett Trombley (NC State) 6-1 to face Austin DeSanto (Iowa) in the quarterfinals. "I felt great going into the quarters, I'd been there before and felt confident. Once I got in the match I didn't have the right focus and it didn't go well." Phillippi dropped to DeSanto by major, making his second year in a row losing in the quarterfinals and dropping straight into the bloodround. He faced seventh-seeded Lucas Byrd (Illinois) in the blood round and dropped an absolute heartbreaker in Sudden Victory. "There wasn't a good reason; I didn't lock down mentally and it cost me," Phillippi said bluntly about his second loss in the bloodround. Entering the 2021-2022 season, his sixth year of eligibility, Phillippi felt good about the potential for the year, both personally and for the team. This year would be a challenge; however. Phillippi dropped five matches in the regular season; more than his previous three seasons as a starter combined. "I took some losses that I shouldn't have last year, but I was progressing as a wrestler, so I didn't see it as a negative…I was working closely with Jordan and Keith to be ready for the tournament, so the dual matches weren't a big deal." He entered the ACC tournament with a 13-5 record and avenged one of those losses on his way to another ACC finals matchup with Korbin Myers. Phillippi and Myers had another tight match, as had become the custom over the past three years, with Myers pulling out a 4-2 decision to win his second-straight ACC Championship. This loss dropped Phillippi to 2-2 in ACC finals; he is a four-time finalist and two-time ACC Champion. Despite the loss, Phillippi was confident entering the tournament in Detroit. He opened with a 4-0 win over a scrappy Codi Russell (App State) to set up a rematch with Austin DeSanto. "I was 100% sure I would beat DeSanto…and I didn't". In a much tighter match than their previous quarterfinal matchup, DeSanto would earn a decision victory. After a scoreless first, Phillippi had a strong ride to gather over a minute in riding time before a DeSanto escape. "It was going to plan, I had riding time, and I thought I could finish out the second and get an escape in the third to get a 2-0 or 1-0 win. But I tried to hang on in the second instead of finishing out the period and those last 20 seconds cost me." DeSanto scored a takedown at the end of the second to take a 3-0 lead. In the third, Phillippi scored an escape but DeSanto added a second takedown to finish the 5-2 win and drop Phillippi to the consolation bracket. "Those matches are so big and the littlest things make the difference. I lost my focus at the end of the second and it changed the match." He would win back-to-back matches in the consolation bracket over Joey Olivieri (Rutgers) and Richie Koehler (Rider) to make his third straight bloodround appearance. For the third straight season, it would end abruptly for Phillippi, losing by fall to Chris Cannon (Northwestern). "Obviously it's not the legacy I want to have", said Phillippi on his bloodround losses. "I feel like I can be a National Champion and I have one more chance to prove that." As he reflected on those matches you could see a strange mix of frustration and contentment. "It's a tough subject. It's such a high-pressure round--win or lose--it's hard to describe the feeling". Phillippi has leaned on his relationship with Coach Gavin and Coach Leen to grow from the experience. "Coach Gavin summed it up really well for me after this last loss. I'm confident in my skills and my technical ability. I can't make the moment bigger than it is. 'Just wrestle. It's not a big deal' is the advice Keith gave me and I need to remember that this year. At the end of the day, I'm ok with it mentally and God has a plan for me. I'm going to win." Phillippi credits Coach Gavin and Coach Leen for the role they have played in his personal and spiritual growth throughout their time together. "They are both such great leaders and they show it in different ways through their personalities. I'm happy for Jordan with his new job, but I'm going to miss having him in my corner for this season", Phillippi said about Jordan Leen being named Head Coach at Brown, "I have no doubt he'll do well. Phillippi and his longtime teammate Nino Bonaccorsi both elected to come back for their final season of eligibility this year. They will be the core leaders of a strong team with a mix of credentialed veterans and high-upside young guys. "Our coaches have built a great culture. I believe that if you build a good culture, success will follow and that is what we are seeing now." He points to the culture as the reason that Pittsburgh has been so successful on the recruiting trail. "We've got some incredible young guys coming into the lineup, Brock McMillen does the right things and lives the right life and he is going to be successful because of that… People have heard the name Luca Augustine after his performance this spring, but he's going to make an impact this year". Phillippi spoke highly of the recruits that Coach Gavin has brought in the past two seasons. "We are in a great place as a team and we are going to have a great season. I think we'll be fighting for an ACC title." Pittsburgh's two-time ACC champion Micky Phillippi (photo courtesy of Sam Janicki; SJanickiPhoto.com)

Sam Jones (left) and Spencer Woods (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) USA Wrestling has announced two changes to its lineup for the 2022 Senior World Wrestling Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia, which begins on Saturday, September 10. Sammy Jones (Colorado Springs, Colorado/New York AC) will compete at 63 kg, while Spencer Woods (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) will wrestle at 82 kg. Jones replaces Jesse Thielke (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP), while Woods replaces Ben Provisor (Des Moines, Iowa/New York AC). Both Jones and Woods placed second in Final X in June and are ranked No. 2 on the Greco-Roman National Team. Jones will be competing in his second Senior World Championships, after placing 17th at the 2021 World Championships in Oslo, Norway. Jones was a bronze medalist at the 2014 University World Championships. He won the 2022 Pan American Championships gold medal and added a bronze medal at the 2016 Pan American Championships. Jones is originally from Folsom, Louisiana, and attended Northern Michigan University, where he was a member of the Northern Michigan University – National Training Site team. Jones' weight class will be held in Belgrade on Sunday, September 11 and Monday, September 12. Woods is competing at this first Senior World Championships. He placed 19th at the 2021 U23 World Championships. Woods is originally from Shungnak, Alaska. He attended the University of Maryland, then attended Northern Michigan University, where he was a member of the Northern Michigan University – National Training Site team. He joined the U.S. Army and is currently a member of its World Class Athlete Program. Woods' weight class will be held in Belgrade on Sunday, September 11 and Monday, September 12. U.S. Greco-Roman World Team lineup 55 kg – Max Nowry (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) 60 kg – Ildar Hafizov (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) 63 kg – Sammy Jones (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) 67 kg – Alejandro Sancho (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) 72 kg – Benji Peak (Marquette, Mich./Sunkist Kids) 77 kg – Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) 82 kg – Spencer Woods (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) 87 kg – Alan Vera (Jersey City, N.J./NYC RTC/New York AC) 97 kg – Braxton Amos (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Wisconsin RTC/Sunkist Kids) 130 kg – Cohlton Schultz (Parker, Colo./Sunkist Kids)

5x World/Olympic Team Member Ben Provisor (photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo; WrestlersAreWarriors.com) With the U17 World Championships in July and U20's in August, it means that we are on the precipice of the Senior World Championships, which take place September 10-18th from Belgrade, Serbia. Final X determined the Americans who will compete at world's and, for the most part, the rest of the world has made it official who will participate, as well (A country can change their entry up until 24 hours before their style starts weigh-ins). So who should our Americans look out for in the quest for gold? Below we have credentials for all of the current entries, along with seeds for the 2022 tournament, medalists from 2021, and information about the US entrant. 82kg Greco-Roman Entries Karapet Chalyan (Armenia) 2020 Olympic 5th Place, 2x European Bronze Medalist, 2019 World 5th Place, 2x Junior World Medalist (1,3) Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijan) 2021 World Champion, 2020 Olympic Bronze Medalist, 2x World Medalist (1,2), 2x European Champion For the full article, Subscribe to InterMat's Rokfin Page

2021 World Champion Amir Zare (photo courtesy of Kadir Caliskan; UWW) 57 KG #1 Ravi Kumar (IND) won the Commonwealth Games over Ebikweminomo Welson (NGR) with Darthe Capellan (CAN) and Ali Asad (PAK) taking bronze. Jore Volk (USA) won the Junior World championships over Merey Bazarbayev (KAZ) with Takhti Cup champion Ahmad Javan (IRI) and Abhishkek Chaka (IND) taking bronze. #11 Gulomyon Abdullaev (UZB) won the Islamic Solidarity Games over #10 Almaz Smanbekov (KGZ) with #9 Rakhat Kalzhan (KAZ) and #16 Aliabbas Rzazade (AZE) taking bronze. Abdullaev moves up seven spots to #4 for avenging his losses from the Asian championships to #9 Kalzhan and Smanbekov. Russian Nationals bronze medalist #5 Ramiz Gamzatov (RUS) was impressive in winning the All-Russian Spartakiad title with a dominating 11-0 tech fall win over fellow Russian Nationals bronze medalist #6 Musa Mekhtikhanov (RUS). Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were Muslim Sadulaev (RUS) and Petr Kopylov (RUS). Major shakeups took place because of the All-Russian Spartakiad, namely the debut of Kopylov into the top ten at #9 after defeating #8 Azamat Tuskaev (RUS) in the quarterfinals after Tuskaev had beaten Russian Nationals runner-up #4 Nachyn Mongush (RUS) in the qualification round. In the aftermath of the All-Russian Spartakiad and the Islamic Solidarity Games plus the confirmation of #11 (61) Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) cutting down to 57 KG to represent Albania at the world championships, the following changes to the rankings took place. #11 Gulomyon Abdullaev (UZB) moves up seven spots in the rankings to #4 for winning the Islamic Solidarity Games title over Smanbekov and Kalzhan avenging his losses from his 5th place finish at the Asian championship along with his win from last year in the 61 KG Ziolkowski finals over #2 Ravi Kumar (IND). Abakarov takes the #5 spot in the rankings for his win over Kumar in the finals of the 61 KG Dan Kolov tournament, but can't be higher than #4 Abdullaev because of Abdullaev's greater quantity of ranked wins (#2 Ravi Kumar, #8 Rakhat Kalzhan, #13 Almaz Smanbekov, #15 Aryan Tyutrin). The aftermath of the All-Russian Spartakiad had Kopylov debut in the top ten at #9, Tuskaev drop three spots to #11 for his loss to Kopylov and Mongush fall eight spots to #12 for his loss to Tuskaev. 61 KG #3 Akhmed Idrisov (RUS) avenged his loss to 2021 world champion #1 Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS) from the Russian National finals in June with a 4-1 victory at the All-Russian Spartakiad to take gold and the number one spot in the rankings. Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were #12 Muslim Mekhtikhanov (RUS) and Cherman Tavitov (RUS). Yuto Nisiuchi (JPN) won the Junior World championships over Armin Habibzadehsaroukolaei (IRI) with Khamzat Arsamerzouev (FRA) and Kumar Mohit (IND) taking bronze. 2021 Asian champion Jahongirmirza Turobov (UZB) is back in the rankings at #16 for winning the Islamic Solidarity Games over #20 Islam Bazarganov (AZE). Bronze medalists at the Islamic Solidarity Games were #17 Recep Topal (TUR) and Majid Dastan (IRI). Turobov's return to the ranking was facilitated not only by his win over #20 Ibazarganov in the finals, but also by his win in the qualification round over Matteo Pellicone champion Topal. Reza Atri (IRI), #19 (65) Eduard Grigoriev (POL), and #11 (65) Islam Dudaev (ALB) have been added to the top ten at #6, #8, and #9 as they have been confirmed as the respective world championship representatives for Iran, Poland, and Albania. Atri is coming off a Takhti cup title and a victory over 2021 world bronze medalist #7 Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM), Grigoriev was a European bronze medalist and beat #5 (57) Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) while at the European championships, and Islam Dudaev (ALB) is a Yarygin and European bronze medalist with a strong win over #10 (65) Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL) at the Yarygin. 65 KG #7 Shamil Mamedov (RUS) won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #5 Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS) with #6 Aripgadzhi Abdulaev (RUS) and #8 Alik Khadartsev (RUS) taking bronze. Mamedov's path to the finals saw him beat Khadartsev and #10 Ramazan Ferzaliev (RUS), while Rashidov's best win came in the semifinals against Russian Nationals bronze medalist Abdulaev. Mamedov moves up four spots to #3 for his win over Rashidov and the reason for this is Mamedov's overall body of work within the past year (wins over Rashidov, Khadartsev, Ferzaliev, #9 (61) Islam Dudaev, #10 Tulga Tumur Ochir, #13 Ziraddin Bayramov, and #19 Ibragim Abdurakhmanov and Junior World, Yarygin, Umakhanov and Yasar Dogu titles) allow him to jump above Russian Nationals champion #3 Ibragim Ibragimov (RUS) and #4 Gadzhimurad Omarov (RUS) in the ranking plus, Rashidov beat Abdulaev, who beat Mamedov at Russian Nationals in the quarters and Mamedov can now be ranked above Abdulaev because he beat Rashidov who beat Abdulaev. #2 Haji Aliyev (AZE) won the Islamic Solidarity Games title over #5 (57) Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) by pin. Bronze medalists at the Islamic Solidarity Games were Morteza Ghiasi Cheka (IRI) and Adlan Askarov (KAZ). Umidjon Jalolov (UZB) won the Junior World championships over Ziraddin Bayramov (AZE) with #13 Sujeet Sujeet (IND) and Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (JPN) finishing with bronze. Jalolov is back in the rankings at #12 for beating Bayramov after Bayramov upset Sujeet in the semifinals. Bayramov slots in at the #13 slot for his win over Sujeet, while Sujeet falls one spot to #14. #18 Bajrang Punia (IND) won the Commonwealth Games title over Lachlan McNeil (CAN) with George Ramm (ENG) and Inayat Ullah (PAK) taking bronze. 2021 70 KG U23 world runner-up #9 (70) Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM) is back in the 65 KG rankings at #11 as he's confirmed as Armenia's world championships representative. Tevanyan won the Takhti Cup back in July and has career wins over #1 Ismail Musukaev (HUN), Aliyev, 2021 70 KG world champion Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL), and #15 Yianni Diakomihalis (USA). Dudaev, a bronze medalist at this year's Yarygin and European championships, has been removed from the rankings and put in at #9 at 61 KG as he's the confirmed world championships representative at that weight for Albania. 70KG #6 Kurban Shiraev (RUS) won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #9 (65) Zagir Shakhiev (RUS). Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were #19 Alan Kudzoev (RUS) and Inalbek Sheriev (RUS). Kudzoev (RUS) makes the biggest jump in the rankings to #6 off his performance at the All-Russian Spartakiad with his quarterfinal win over #4 Anzor Zakuev (RUS). Shakhiev (RUS) makes his 70KG ranking debut at #5 after finishing runner-up to Shiraev (RUS) and beating Kudzoev (RUS) in the semis. Inalbek Sheriev (RUS) is back in the rankings at #8 for beating #5 Ruslan Zhendaev (RUS) for bronze at the All-Russian Spartakiad. 2021 world runner-up #11 Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ) won the Islamic Solidarity Games over Hossein Abouzaripashkolaei (IRI) with Asgar Mammadaliev (AZE) and Bacar N'Dum (GBS) taking bronze. Kanan Heybatov (AZE) won the Junior World championships over Mitchell Mesenbrink (USA) with Mulaym Yadav (IND) and Hossein Mohammad Aghaei (IRI) taking bronze. 74KG #5 Razambek Zhamalov (RUS) won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #6 David Baev (RUS). Bronze medalists of the All-Russian Spartakiad were #9 Timur Bizhoev (RUS) and Artem Umarov (RUS). Naveen Naveen (IND) won the Commonwealth Games over Muhammad Tahir (PAK) with John Ogbonna (NGR) and Jasmit Phulka (CAN) taking bronze. Dzhabrail Gadzhiev (AZE) won the Junior World championships by pin over Ryunosoke Kamiya (JPN). Bronze medalists at the Junior World championships were Jafar Chuliboyev (UZB) and Sagar Jaglan (IND). Gadzhiev is back in the rankings at #20 for winning Junior World's and for his win over Islamic Solidarity Games champion #14 Turan Bayramov (AZE) this year at Azerbaijan nationals. #20 Erfan Elahi (IRI) is out because he lost in the Junior world quarterfinals to 2021 80 KG Cadet world champion Sagar Jaglan. #15 Turan Bayramov (AZE) won the Islamic Solidarity Games over Mohammed Firouzpourbandpei (IRI). Bronze medalists at the Islamic Solidarity Games were #17 Fazli Eryilmaz (TUR) and Ikhtiyor Navruzov (UZB). Bayramov moves up one spot to #14 for winning the Islamic Solidarity Games while Mohammed Firouzpourbandpei debuts in the rankings at #15 for beating 2021 world bronze medalist Eryilmaz and 2019 70 KG world runner-up #18 Nurkhoza Kaipanov (KAZ) on his way to a runner-up finish. 79KG #12 Magomed Magomaev (RUS) won the All-Russian Spartakiad with a 12-1 victory over #17 Gadzhimurad Alikhmaev (RUS) in the finals. Bronze medalists of the All-Russian Spartakiad were #18 Akhmed Usmanov (RUS) and Kakhaber Khubezhty (RUS). Khubezhty made a big comeback to the rankings at #9 with an upset win in the quarterfinals over Russian Nationals bronze medalist #5 Radik Valiev (RUS), before falling in the semis to Alikhmaev. Alikhmaev moves up nine spots in the rankings to #8 for his win over Khubezhty on his way to making the finals of the All-Russian Spartakiad. Magomaev moves up six spots to #6 for winning Spartakiad over Alikhmaev. #7 Ali Savadkouhi (IRI) won the Islamic Solidarity Games over Muhammet Akdeniz (TUR) with Bekzod Abdurakhmanov (UZB) and Gadzhimurad Omarov (AZE) taking bronze. Akdeniz debuts in the international rankings at #20 for beating 2021 74 KG Olympic bronze medalist Abdurakhmanov in the semifinals. Sobhan Yari (IRI) won the Junior World championships over Mushegh Mkrtchyan (ARM) with Mukhammad Abdullaev (KGZ) and Otari Adeishvili (GEO) taking bronze. 86KG Alireza Karimimachiani (IRI) won the Islamic Solidarity Games over 2021 world bronze medalist #19 Abubakar Abakarov (AZE). Bronze medalists at the Islamic Solidarity Games were Nurtilek Karypbaev (KGZ) and #20 Osman Gocen (TUR). Karimimachiani followed his Islamic Solidarity Games title with a runner-up finish at the Iranian world team trials to reigning world champion #1 Hassan Yazdani Charati (IRI). Karimimachiani returns to the rankings at #4 off the strength of his three past world medals and victories over Sharif Sharifov (AZE), Dato Marsagishvili (GEO), and #4 (97) Batyrbek Tsakulov (SVK). In a battle of reigning Russian National champions, #3 Artur Naifonov (RUS) took a narrow 2-0 win over two-time 79 KG Russian National champion #4 (79) Malik Shavaev (RUS) to win the All-Russian Spartakiad. Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were #5 Dauren Kurugliev (RUS) and Slavik Naniev (RUS). Shavaev makes his debut in the 86 KG rankings at #6 for beating Kurugliev (RUS) in the quarterfinals with Kurugliev falling two spots to #7. Naniev returns to the rankings at #18 for beating #15 Arsenali Musalaliev (RUS) in the qualification round on his way to bronze. Rakhim Magamadov (FRA) won the Junior World championships over Bennett Berge (USA). Bronze medalists at the Junior World championships were Ismail Kucuksolak (TUR) and Aref Ranjbari (IRI). Deepak Punia (IND) won the Commonwealth Games over Muhammad Inam (PAK) with Alexander Moore (CAN) and Jayden Lawrence (AUS) taking bronze. 92KG Ahmad Bazrigaleh (IRI) won the Islamic Solidarity Games over #13 Erhan Yaylaci (TUR). Bronze medalists at the Islamic Solidarity Games were Bobur Islomov (UZB) and 2021 world bronze medalist #10 Osman Nurmagomedov (AZE). Bazrigaleh took a 6-6 criteria win over Nurmagomedov in the semifinals. #16 Guram Chertkoev (RUS) won the All-Russian Spartakiad over #5 Vladislav Valiev (RUS) with #19 Alan Bagaev (RUS) and Magomedmurad Baibekov (RUS) taking bronze. Amirhossein Firouzpourbandpei (IRI) won the 92 KG Junior World title over Andro Margishvili (GEO) with Adlan Viskhanov (FRA) and Sergey Sargsyan (ARM) taking bronze. #1 Kamran Ghasempour (IRI) secured his 2022 world team spot by beating Junior world champion Firouzpourbandpei in the finals of Iranian world team trials. The top ten was shaken up with the addition of Chertkoev moving up eleven spots to #5 after beating Valiev in the finals of the All-Russian Spartakiad and with 2021 92 KG Junior world runner-up Mahdi Hajilouian (IRI) who was added at #9 because he beat #10 Ahmad Bazrigaleh (IRI) in the finals of the Takhti Cup back in July. 97KG #10 Alikhan Zhabrailov (RUS) won the All-Russian Spartakiad over Gadzhimagomed Tazhudinov (RUS) with Igor Ovsyannikov (RUS) and #16 Sergey Kozyrev (RUS) taking bronze. Tazhudinov debuts in the rankings at #10 for beating 2019 Russian Nationals runner-up Ovysannikov in the semifinals after Ovsyannikov beat Russian Nationals champion #8 Aslanbek Sotiev (RUS) in his quarterfinal match. Ovsyannikov slots in at the #11 spot for his win over Sotiev while Sotiev drops four spots to #12. Ben Kueter (USA) won the Junior World championships over Rifak Gidak (TUR). Taking bronze at the Junior World championships were Amirali Azarpira (IRI) and Niraj Niraj (IND). Nishan Randhawa (CAN) won the Commonwealth Games over 2021 Junior World bronze medalist Nicolaas Steyne De Lange (RSA) with Deepak Deepak (IND) and Thomas Burns (AUS) taking bronze. 2021 world bronze medalist #9 Mojtaba Goleij (IRI) won the Islamic Solidarity Games over Mustafa Sessiz (TUR) with Magomed Ibragimov (UZB) and Mamed Ibragimov (KAZ) taking bronze. 125KG Amirreza Masoumi Valadi (IRI) followed up a runner-up finish at Iranian world team trials to reigning world champion #1 Amir Zare (IRI) with a dominant showing at the Junior World championships that earned him gold. In the finals, Masoumi Valadi tech falled Mahendra Gaikwad (IND) 13-2 and tech falled top heavyweight college recruit Nick Feldman (USA) 11-1 in the semifinals. Bronze medalists at the Junior World championships were Merab Suleimanishvili (GEO) and Adil Misirci (TUR). Masoumi Valadi debuts in the international rankings at #13 for his Junior world title plus his victory over Asian champion Yadollah Mohebbi (IRI) at Iranian world team trials. Asian champion Mohebbi (IRI) is back in the rankings at #14 because of his superior resume (victories over 2016 Olympic runner-up Khomeil Ghasemi, two-time world bronze medalist Nick Gwiazdowski, 2018 world runner-up Zhiwei Deng, 2013 world runner-up Alan Zasieiev, and 2018 Asian champion David Modzmanashvili) compared to the rest of the bottom half of the rankings from August who are primarily there off of beating someone who has a win over Yusup Batirmurzaev or Zhiwei Deng (i.e. #11 Robert Baran beating #12 Anthony Cassioppi at the Ziolkowski after Cassioppi had beaten #16 Kamil Kosciolek when Kosciolek had just beaten #17 Derek White who beat 2018 world runner-up #18 Zhiwei Deng at the Ziolkowski after Deng had beaten #19 Yusup Batirmurzaev who'd fallen ten spots from #9 to #19 for his losses to #13 Alisher Yergali and Deng). Seyed Hashemi Jouybari (IRI) won the Islamic Solidarity Games over Salim Ercan (TUR) with Khasanboy Rakhimov (UZB) taking bronze. Amarveer Dhesi (CAN) won the Commonwealth Games over Zaman Anwar (PAK) with Mandhir Kooner (ENG) and Mohit (IND) taking bronze. #9 Erik Dzhioev (RUS) moves up five spots in the rankings to #4 after winning the All-Russian Spartakiad over 2020 Russian Nationals bronze medalist Vitali Goloev (RUS). Goloev makes his return to the rankings at #5 after his win over #6 Khasan Khubaev (RUS) in the semifinals, when Khubaev had been coming off wins over two-time Russian Nationals champion Alan Khugaev (RUS) in the qualification round and 2022 Russian Nationals champion #4 Alen Khubulov (RUS) in the quarterfinals. Bronze medalists at the All-Russian Spartakiad were #15 Anzor Khizriev (RUS) and Khubaev. Khizriev (RUS) moves up five spots to #10 for his win over #7 Baldan Tsyzhipov (RUS) in the bronze medal match. Along with his victory over Goloev in the finals, Dzhioev beat past Russian Nationals medalists Khizriev (RUS) and Tsyzhipov (RUS) to take his spot as Russia's top heavyweight. Pound for Pound 2021 65 KG Olympic bronze medalist #7 Gadzhimurad Rashidov (RUS) and 2021 61 KG world champion #8 Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS) both took major falls in the rankings after losses in the finals of the All-Russian Spartakiad. Rashidov lost to Yarygin champion Shamil Mamedov while Magomedov lost to Russian Nationals runner-up Akhmed Idrisov. Rashidov drops eight spots to #15 while Magomedov drops ten spots to #18. Mamedov and Idrisov both return to the rankings for their wins over past world champions with Mamedov slotting in at #14 and Idrisov taking #17. While it may seem harsh to drop two top-ten standouts so low down the rankings there's sound reasoning behind it. Rashidov's loss to Mamedov is his second domestic loss of this year after his stunner to Russian Nationals runner-up Gadzhimurad Omarov in the semifinals of Russian Nationals in June and following up his loss to the excellent Shamil Mamedov, there have to be repercussions for losing big matches. Rashidov has been excellent from 2017-2021 and has wins over 2021 65 KG Olympic champion Takuto Otoguro (JPN), three-time world champion #16 Haji Aliyev (AZE), and 2019 65 KG world bronze medalist #13 Ismail Musukaev (HUN) but when the rest of the pound-for-pound is competing more frequently and winning more against high-level competition they carry more weight. The same argument applies for #8 Abasgadzhi Magomedov who fell ten spots down to #18 after losing to Akhmed Idrisov in the finals of the 61 KG All-Russian Spartakiad. Magomedov's high placement in the pound-for-pound was predicated on his two-year-long unbeaten run and 2021 61 KG world title. Magomedov's lack of pound-for-pound opponents at 61 KG hurt him when he lost because, while he does have dominance against the 61 KG field, he doesn't have the essential wins to anchor him to a top ten spot when he does take losses.

2x Senior World Team member Yianni Diakomihalis (photo courtesy of Kadir Caliskan/UWW) Shortly after Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis and Kyle Dake won their Final X matchups in New York in June, the Big Red program hosted a reception to celebrate the achievements of all their former and current wrestlers who made world teams. Coach Mike Grey proudly relayed that Diakomihalis and Dake would compete in the senior world championships, then added that Diakomihalis, Vito Arujau and Jacob Cardenas also made the U23 world team. Diakomihalis raised an eyebrow at the first mention of being on both teams, but he held onto that thought for a couple days until he got Grey one-on-one. What started as an inadvertent slip turned into a legitimate idea and later a concrete plan for Diakomihalis to wrestle at Senior Worlds in September and U23s in October, which is what he plans to do. “He lists off the U23 team and he says my name again, and I was like, ‘Huh,'” Diakomihalis said. “And then I was like, well, whatever. I let it go, then we got back to Ithaca and I talked to him a couple days later. I'm like, ‘Hey, did you say I'm wrestling U23s?' And he was like, ‘Yeah, why not?' And I was like, ‘OK, I guess so.'” Grey stands by the fact that he wasn't committing Diakomihalis to anything when he made that announcement, but was only maximizing his marketing pitch to an audience that deserved to know the full scope of Diakomihalis' achievement. At the same time, Grey and his pupil come from a shared belief that any world tournament experience is good experience. Diakomihalis has the highest of goals in freestyle and countless reasons to believe he can get to the top of the international mountain sooner than later. In order to do that, Diakomihalis can benefit from more mat time against the best in the world, which is a big perk to doubling up and competing in U23s. “The more you can feel Haji Ajiyev, the more you can feel Musukaev again, the more he can feel all the heavy hitters, the better off he's going to be,” Grey said. “So, I think it's a plus for him to be able to wrestle in both these tournaments.” A three-time NCAA champ, Diakomihalis won a pair of Cadet World titles prior to arriving at Cornell and competed last fall in his first Senior world tournament, where he went 1-1 in Oslo, Norway. Diakomihalis also won the Poland Open in June 2021 and the Henri Deglane Grand Prix in France that January. He has been as busy overseas as any wrestler in America, which will continue through the fall before spilling into his quest for a fourth NCAA title. Double duty puts a little extra pressure on the training process, but it doesn't mean Diakomihalis is working twice as hard. Diakomihalis at the Yasar Dogu with Mike Grey (right) and Jeff Buxton (photo courtesy of Kadir Caliskan/UWW) As much as he has focused on fine-tuning his game, Diakomihalis has also worked to refine his processes. He refuses to borrow the cliché about working smarter versus harder and instead knows that there are times when both are required. “I feel like now we've gotten really dialed in with the way I'm training, the timing, what I'm eating, how I'm doing my strength and conditioning, how I'm wrestling,” he said. “We got really dialed in on stuff in the last year. “Is it more of a grind or less of a grind? I'm probably not working a lot harder, but it feels more focused than it does more intense because it is so much more focused. I feel like I'm in a really good spot.” Part of Diakomihalis' process to refine his wrestling also applies to his training. Known for his freakish ability to wiggle out of virtually any situation, he can roll, scramble and contort his body in ways that few can. It's what makes him the incredible wrestler he is, but to fall in love with those skills can also prohibit growth while also exposing Diakomihalis to unnecessary injury risk. The idea now is, yes, to use those scrambling skills because they are a special weapon when Diakomihalis needs them. But, in both his training and competition, he's trying to keep it simpler when he can. To reach another level in his wrestling, Diakomihalis has been stressing more of the fundamentals and less of the flash. “I think a lot of it for me, it's just really small things, my positioning, how I hand-fight,” he said. “A lot of it is on the front end. Once we're in the position, historically, I've done well. I'm a good scrambler. I'm good on the leg. I'm a good finisher, but it's like, my setups aren't great. My head-hands defense has never been great. “Those kinds of things really matter at the highest level. Yeah, maybe on a lower-end guy, I can just dive in there and grab his leg and figure it out, but the best guys in the world, I'm never going to be able to fly in there and do that. So, it's that front-end stuff, my positioning, how I hand-fight, what I'm doing with my hands, what I'm doing with my feet. That kind of stuff has been a big difference maker for me.” All of that, if Diakomihalis executes, should add up to better attack positions and improved baseline defense. Diakomihalis came out of his most recent competition at the Zouhaier Sghaier Ranking Series event in Tunisia feeling like he didn't execute those concepts well enough. He lost by an 8-2 final to India's Sujeet Sujeet in the 65-kilogram final and missed a chance to make one final statement before he shipped off to Serbia for worlds. Diakomihalis has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is capable of beating anybody in the world at any given time. But he also knows that, at 23 years old, *can* is starting to mean less and less. Diakomihalis' job now is to *do* and string together his best tournament yet. In the days leading up to the front end of his world championships doubleheader, Diakomihalis is comfortable and confident, but his corner understands what's at stake. “I know this is his second world team in a row, which is great and he needs to continue to do that, but he's got to win medals,” Grey said. “I mean, that's it. You're not an up-and-comer when you win medals, right? There's no way around it. You've got to win flippin' medals. And if you do that, then you're no longer an up-and-comer. You're the guy. “I really believe that this is going to be his year to get out there and get the monkey off the USA's back and medal at that weight class. I just think he's in a great spot right now. His training is going very well. He's in a good mental space and is enjoying himself.”