Truzzcat

57kg: Spencer is pretty clearly the best guy at the weight. 6 weeks ago I thought his toughest match would likely be RBY in the semis with Musa Mekhtikhanov, and Chonsong Han also being tough outs. RBY strikes me as the toughest stylistic matchup with his ability to create from space and his speed, they did hit at a ranking series and Spencer got up earlier and RBY socred late however those scores seemed more of a result of Spencer completely shutting it down. I really like RBY's trajectory but I do not see him beating Spencer. Musa Mekhtikhanov is very skilled but he does not have anything specific that makes me feel as though he can score enough or do enough to beat spencer and lastly Chongsong han who we have 4 matches to look at at the Asian championships but in those matches he looked very dynamic. He presents a similar style to Zhou that has historically given Spencer issues and he will come in unseeded. North Korea only sends guys they have supreme confidence in so in my mind Han has to be a threat to medal. Now I mentioned 2 months ago because Arsen Harutyunyan was previously expected to go 61kg, which is where he generally wrestles during none Olympic years but he has decided to make the cut to 57kg. Harutyunan is very very talented he is a 3x senior world bronze and 2x u23 world champ as well as winning senior euros last year and teching RBY. To me however he has always looked his best at 61kg. He will give Spencer all he can handle for the first 3 minutes, but if the match is close going into the second I expect the wheels to really fall off, he does not have particularly great cardio at 61kg and it seems to get significantly worse after the cut to 57kg. Predictions: (not accounting for full brackets) Gold: Spencer Silver: Harutyunan Bronze: RBY Bronze: Han 61kg: This weight is super deep, however it really lacks that final boss type guy at the top. Some people may look at Uguev as that guy but he has yet to win a medal at 61kg pacing 5th twice. Uguev and Suda are the two biggest on paper favorites going into this followed by a huge tier of guys who if they were to upset either would not be shocking Abakarov, Tairybek Uulu, Yessengeldi, Jax, Ahmad Javan, Udit. Now in my opinion I think Jax is going to win this weight, However I think his draw will be important. Uguev I believe is a great matchup for Jax. I do not think Uguevs high c is super effective against Jax he seems to almost always score off of guys own high c's and his head hands has improved immesely so if Uguev gets to it, it will likely because Jax was ready for it. The guys that worry me the most for Jax are Abakarov, Suda and Uulu. Abakarov has a great ability to counter score coupled with great strength and explosivity which are all qualities I think you need to beat Jax. Uulu shares these traits, and Suda seems like a mini Ono with less power but more length. Now I think Jax can beat all of these guys but in a bracket setting where he could potentially wrestle all 3 I think thats where things get very difficult. I am going to predict he either does not hit all 3 or beats them all probably because I'm biased and he's my favorite guy to watch but I truly believe he can get it done. Predictions: Gold: Jax silver: Suda bronze: Uguev bronze: Uulu 65kg: I have been pretty pessimistic about Real's chances at this weight. I think for his first full year training free he has been incredible, but I worry about him being able to get to his positions against some of these guys, and I still worry about the second period for him. Amouzad and Kiyooka are the returning Olympic finalists and have both looked the part this year not taking any losses. They are far and away the favorites to hit again in the finals. The next tier of guys are Sebasitan Rivera, Sujeet, Ibragimov, Tevanyan. I think Real can beat most of those guys, but with how the seed are he is going to have to more than likely wrestle one of Amouzad or Kiyooka first and then get drawn back in where he would more than likely need to beat at least two of these guys which I just do not see at this moment. If I were to pick 2 guys to unseat Kiyooka or Amouzad It would be Seabass or Sujeet. Seabass was very close to knocking off Kiyooka last year and I think has the arsenal and style to also potentially give Amouzad fits. Sujeet is very young but has most Indians do has a crazy motor and good offense if he can keep it close with Amouzad late I think he could take him out, I do not think he can beat Kiyooka. Sujeet could hit Amouzad in the quarters and Seabass could hit Kiyooka in the semis. Predictions: Gold: Kiyooka Silver: Amouzad Bronze: Seabass Bronze: Sujeet 70kg: This weight is very deep. Similarly to 65kg there are a ton of guys that can medal here and there are one or two top guys but they do seem beatable although Kaipanov could change the view of that very easily here. Kaipanov and Amir Yazdani are the two gold favorites to me followed by a huge tier 2 of Kazyrk (russian nats champ), Akmataliev, Rassadin, Aoyagi, Adreasyan, Dudaev, Gomez, Heybatov, Kemertelidze, Ochir, Duke. Needless to say PJ is going to have to battle out there. I think you can condense this list based off of the past years results though, Ochir has not looked great and neither has Dudaev. Adreasyan is very strong and does not break position but PJ will be in a match with him and if he can get a lead I feel confident he could hold on. Rassadin,Aoyagi,Akmataliev,Gomez are the ones I worry about for PJ. All of them are dynamic and will probably be able to hold up in the hand fight with him. Overall I think we are a year or two away from PJ medaling but this will be invaluable experience for him. Predictions: Gold: Kaipanov silver: Akmataliev Bronze: Aoyagi Bronze: Gomez 74kg: God this weight is awesome. Your gold favorites are Valiev, and Sidakov but to me this weight has 5 potential champs and 2 sleepers. Those 5 are Valiev,Sidakov,Carr,Salkazonov,Takahashi. The sleepers are Emami and Khaniev. Khaniev may be a bit off of peoples radar but he was the 70kg u23 champ last year and is super slick and creative. He struggled with Takahashis athleticism in the ranking series final and I think he would also struggle with Carr but I could see him potentially knocking off one of the other guys. Sidakov lost to Valiev at Euros in a crazy final sequence and then was thought to be out for the year but he was able to recover much quicker than expected. In his wrestle off I thought he looked good but certainly beatable. Valiev of course infamously lost after the match on a fleeing the hold call at the olympics which I have never seen before to the eventual champ Zhamolov. He has not lost since. So to me Valiev is probably a slight on paper favorite. That said the Japanese Burroughs amazes me every time he wrestles and David carr made him go life and death. If you wrestle this weight 10 times you probably either get Sidakov winning it 10 times or four different champs, and that is why I am so excited for it. Predictions: Gold: Takahashi Silver: Valiev Bronze: Sidakov Bronze: Carr 79kg: This weight is far more wide open than I originally thought. When levi lost to Kougi I was not very optimistic that he would medal but once I looked deeper into the entries I realized Kougi may just be one of the top 4 guys at the weight and I think that is a result Levi could potentially reverse. This weight has two very good guys at the top with Usmanov and Nohkodi and Usmanov is an absolute monster at 79kg historically but he looked pretty human at Euros. Nohkodi of course beat JB last year and is great as well but he missed nearly the entire year recovering from and Injury so I think it is possible that he is not quite at his best. After those two guys the medal contenders to me are Evloev, Kougi, Gamkrelidze, Levi, Mykhailov. To me these are all winnable matches for Levi. Evloev is super tricky, he is incredible in a crackdown and floats his hips super well but he has taken some bad losses and that is certainly a match levi can win, and Mykhailov lost to Ruiz a month ago so thats another guy I feel good about Levi going up against. Gamkrelidze is never a guy that impresses me a ton and perhaps I am underrating him but thats another match I feel ok about for Levi and we have seen the Kougi matchup and that seems winnable. Predictions: Gold: Nohkodi Silver: Usmanov Bronze: Levi Bronze: Gamkrelidze 86kg: This weight from a pure highlight reel standpoint is going to be asburd. Seems as though Ramazanov is out which is definitely a big deal although he would not have been my pick to win. Excluding Ramazonov my favorites for gold are Ghasempour, Kadiev, Zahid, Kadi. Throwing Kadi in may be a stretch but I would have included Ramazonov and Kadi had him dead in the water until his lungs stopped working so I am going to throw him in. The 4 guys I mentioned all have very contrasting styles. Ghas is a brick shit house thats going to push and pull and look for his high C. Kadiev has his own offense but really thrives when you are in on his legs and if you do not finish quickly he is probably going to score on you, he has an insane feel and crazy hips/rubber knee stuff. Zahid is going to use your pressure against you and can also blow through you from space, and Kadi is as explosive as they come, well at least for 4 minutes. Other medal contenders are Kentchadze (world gold at 79 last year), Dhizoev, Dauletbekov. (I do not think Ghas is going to be able to make the weight effectively that is factored into my predictions) Predictions: Gold: Zahid Silver: Kadiev Bronze: Ghas Bronze: Kadi 92kg: I could be foolish but to me this weight is a 2 horse race I think its Trent and Firouzpour. Of course 4 guys medal so the guys that could sneak in for Bronze to me would be Nurmagomedov,Kurugliev,Punia,Akturk. I really want to pick Trent the dude works so damn hard but I think that Firouzpour may be the most underrated guy in the world right now. Predictions: Gold: Firouzpour Silver: Trent Bronze: Kurugliev Bronze: Nurmagomedov 97kg: The battle we've wanted since 2023 Taz vs Sadulaev. As someone who once rooted for Sadulaevs downfall I am now really hoping he can get it done, it would be a great story. I will say I think Azarpira could have his say on if this matchup actually happens, but it is definitely and outside shot. Rounding out the medal threats are Snyder, Yoshida, and Magomedov. I view this weight as the big guys tier 1, Azarpira tier 2 and then Yoshida and Snyder tier 3. Predictions: Gold: Sadulaev Silver: Taz Bronze: Azarpira Bronze: Snyder 125kg: A lot of people seem to be writing Wyatt into the finals, I am definitely not that confident but I do think there is a world that his style gives Zare fits. If Wyatt makes the finals I think it could be a 50/50 matchup but I think navigating the bracket will be difficult for him. Zare is obviously the guy to beat. Then you have Wyatt, Munkthur, Meshvilidishvili, Sharipov. I like Wyatt to beat all of those guys, but they are all good enough that if he takes a risk and it results in a chain of points they could shut it down and it will be difficult for him. Munkthur is the biggest worry for me. Munkthur and mesh are same side so assuming Wyatt is on that side (lets hope) one of the two will not win bronze. Predictions: Gold: Zare Silver: Wyatt Bronze: Meshvilidishvili Bronze: Sharipov

Because I want the dynasty to be pushed I am pulling for OSU however I would be very happy with ohio state/v-tech/Nebraska

He was not a player at 97kg he was 0-3 last year outside of the African games, and to me he just looked like a 97kg that did not diet. I assume they both struggled finding a good opponent for Wyatt and simultaneously his coaches probably did not want anything that would derail his confidence.

there are MMA guys that fight 3-4 times a year if not more and will take short notice fights or have guys pull out that essentially invalidates a 8 week camp, not to mention most of them are cutting 25-40lbs during camp. I think these guys can definitely show up a few extra times per year to slightly inflated weight classes that have night before weigh ins.

It would be cool if the PWL had belts and we could get cross over champ v champ matches. I do not think the PWL has champions though. Making the belts international I think will hold a lot more weight though.

they may do it for no monetary incentive which I would imagine is the biggest hiccup.

it sounds like getting college athletes is a bit of a hangup right now. I wonder if the guys committed but not enrolled can compete though like Jax,Bo etc..

These commentators dont even know who Zare is, I love chael but he needs someone more knowledgeable of the current landscape to buffer him.

dorian olivarez is rolling right now at cji 2 for anyone that wants to pull both streams up

he has been pretty illiterate for about 10 years that was actually not terrible by his standards.

wonder if cardenas was aware of the criteria rules for RAF

Bo said 6 words and sounded like a douche wild

I meant from a muscularity standpoint I don't even think he is a particularly large 79kg.

Kyle looked really good, Honestly thought dean looked good too he is just really really small.

we are so cooked at worlds