Yugdab

I Love it, that he is active. Practice is the hardest part of wrestling, certainly not the competition. And it is not like these guys are not practicing and training year around. Todays environment of load management is bonkers to me. Just my opinion. It is a strange world were a coach says with a straight face i am sitting so and so this weekend because we have a big meet in two weeks. That same wrestler is practicing, lifting and running daily

Christian Carroll Vs Dreshaun Ross would be fun and Interesting. Carroll always puts on a good show for a HWT

Looking forward to Sunday. Football will be taking a back seat. Hopefully we get a lot of the starters at the Princeton Open.

There resting. According to Carl there whole team is competing all summer long and they need rest. Although I am sure he did everything in his power to get into the Mercyhurst Invite.

I definitely feel the D2 champ and D3 champ should be back in the fold.

After awhile it is nice to see other guys in the Mix.4 years competing is enough. The 5 year rule should only apply if you have an injury and can't compete in Nationals. If you have an injury or an Olympic year and don't compete at the nationals then sure you get a 5th year but that's it. 5 all Americans or 5 titles or 5 years at nationals is silly.

You know this Business with the Sr world championships in Freestyle days before the Collegiate season starting is a bit tough for me the deal with. U20s i watched every match except for maybe 2. So that will make it tough takes me a couple of weeks. Spoilers while watching a NCAA event are almost assured. US Open in April, US world Team trials in May and Final X in June. Then Then U20s in August U23s in September and Sr in early to Mid October fits much better for me. Throw in Asian and Eruros during the Summer and were good to go. And IF we could get the NCAA to put the National Duals back to November and We get Cliff Kean in December and Conferences start in January works a lot better. I wonder if there is someone a can talk to?

I think Mes gets more than a dec I do believe shane Van Ness has a very good shot at winning Vega, 149 is going to be a different beast. alot more strength could give vega some issues Barr may also get more than a dec but this is a great dual

thanks man

is there a way to watch a replay of this PWL card

I see Bella Mir is taking on Hope Chase. Now I can get by with the cross over matches were a bunch of MMA guys who happen to train some wrestling wrestle each other but in what world does it make sense the Mir is wrestling Hope Chase with zero wrestling experience Blades has gotten this treatment and I see Abu Dhabi has some of the very best USA wrestlers taking on guys who haven't wrestled in years.

I don't have a lot of faith the elite of the top guys will jump at the chance

Pitt has a nice non _Conf schedule

I hear Penn St and Cael are working hard to put together a big dual between the Nittany Lions and Mercyhurst.

If they are both at Journeyman, I would think there is no reason not too. They are not in the same conference, they are not on each others schedule this upcoming year and they are like competition. Better than Penn St wrestling LIU and throwing guys around for 1 min 20 secs before its a tech or fall. That isn't gonna benefit anyone.

Maybe they will just put all matches on Youtube they have done this with some past events

well that sucks!

This got cut off Rank Wrestler Prediction 1 Abolfazl Mohammad Nezhad 🇮🇷 🥇 Gold 2 Yusif Dursunov 🇦🇿 🥈 Silver 3 Dreshaun Ross 🇺🇸 🥉 Bronze 4 Soslan Gabuev 🇷🇺 4th 5 Henrik Haykyan 🇦🇲 5th 6 Aleksandre Abramishvili 🇬🇪 5th/6th 7 Ronak 🇮🇳 7th 8 Narantulga Darmaabazar 🇲🇳 7th/8th 9 Hosei Fujita 🇯🇵 9th 10 Daniel Szilagyi 🇭🇺 9th/10th 11 Brian Techerean 🇷🇴 10th/11th 12 Riza Izakhar 🇰🇿 11th/12th 13 Baejoon Jang 🇰🇷 13th 14 Yaraslau Kokhan 🇧🇾 13th/14th 15 Ruslan Prokopov 🇺🇦 15th 16 Youssef Aboudawaba 🇪🇬 15th/16th 17 Chenghan Yang 🇨🇳 16th/17th 18 Jagroop Dhinsa 🇨🇦 17th/18th 19 Dian Manev 🇧🇬 18th/19th 20 Baejoon Jang / remaining lower-tier entrant —

125 125 KG — My Placement Prediction 1. Abolfazl MOHAMMAD NEZHAD — Iran Prediction: Gold Mohammad Nezhad is my favorite. His résumé is unusually strong for this field. He won the 2025 U23 World Championship, going through Dmitrii Duscov, Khachatur Khachatryan, Khabib Davudgadzhiev and Khetag Karsanov. He also won the 2026 U20 Asian Championships, beating Narantulga Darmaabazar 10-0, Riza Izakhar 12-2 and Ronak 3-0. The most important thing for me is that he has already beaten several people in this field convincingly. He isn’t just a talented U20; he’s already beating U23-level heavyweights. His combination of size, positional control and international experience makes him the safest pick. Why #1: He has the best combination of championship résumé and recent results. ⸻ 2. Yusif DURSUNOV — Azerbaijan Prediction: Silver Dursunov is extremely close to Mohammad Nezhad. He was third at the 2025 U20 World Championships, losing only to Mohammad Nezhad in the semifinal. And he has been outstanding in 2026. He took second at the U23 European Championships, beating Brian Techerean 10-0 and Khachatur Khachatryan 9-3 before losing to Khabib Davudgadzhiev in the final. Then he went 2nd at the 2026 U20 Europeans, beating Daniel Szilagyi 10-0 and Henrik Haykyan 6-1 before losing a very close 4-3 decision to Soslan Gabuev. Why #2: He has already beaten Haykyan and Szilagyi this year and owns a U20 Worlds medal. The only reason he’s behind Mohammad Nezhad is the direct matchup. ⸻ 3. Dreshaun ROSS — USA Prediction: Bronze This is where I think the field gets really interesting. Ross doesn’t have the same international résumé as the top two, but I would not rank him based solely on international experience. His American résumé is exceptional. He won the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals freestyle championship, beating Coby Merrill 3-2 in the final. He’s also had major wins over Coby Merrill domestically. In April 2026, Merrill did beat Ross 8-6 at the U20 level, but Ross has multiple freestyle wins over Merrill historically, including a Fargo championship. The question is how Ross translates his tremendous American success to a European/Asian-heavy U20 Worlds field. At 215 pounds in high school, he also isn’t yet a fully developed super-heavyweight, which is the biggest concern. Why #3: Probably the highest upside in the field outside the top two, but he has more international uncertainty. ⸻ 4. Soslan GABUEV — Russia Prediction: 4th Gabuev is a major threat to win the tournament and could easily move into my top three. His biggest current result is winning the 2026 U20 European Championship, where he beat Aleksandre Abramishvili 7-2 in the semifinal and then Dursunov 4-3 in the final. He also won the 2026 Russian Junior U21 Championship, which is an important domestic credential at heavyweight. The reason I have him fourth rather than second is that Dursunov has the better overall recent international résumé, while Mohammad Nezhad has already beaten him at the biggest levels. Why #4: Current European champion and extremely dangerous. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he wins Worlds. ⸻ 5. Henrik HAYKYAN — Armenia Prediction: 5th Haykyan has quietly become one of the more proven heavyweights here. He was third at the 2026 U20 Europeans, beating Rusen Guler 4-2 and Daniel Szilagyi 8-0 in the medal rounds. His only loss in that tournament was to Dursunov, 6-1. He also finished third at the 2025 U20 Europeans and has World-level experience. His problem is that he’s had repeated losses to the very top guys. He lost to Dursunov at both the 2024 and 2026 U20 Europeans, and lost to Inal Gagloev at the 2025 U20 Worlds. Why #5: Extremely solid medal contender, but I don’t quite see him breaking through the top four. ⸻ 6. Aleksandre ABRAMISHVILI — Georgia Prediction: 5th/6th Abramishvili is another wrestler I could see making the semifinals. He was third at the 2026 U20 Europeans, beating Ahmet Sekmen 14-4 and Medi Bislmi 10-0 before losing to Gabuev. He also finished fifth at the 2026 U23 Europeans and has extensive experience against the best Europeans in this field. The major concern is his inconsistency. His 2026 U23 record was 4-4, and he has losses to both Dursunov and Haykyan in his recent history. Why #6: Very capable of a medal, but I trust the five above him slightly more. ⸻ 7. Ronak — India Prediction: 7th Ronak is a dangerous wrestler who could outperform this ranking. He is currently listed by UWW as a top-30 senior-ranked 125 kg wrestler, and his 2026 résumé includes wins over experienced international opponents. The problem is his recent head-to-head with Mohammad Nezhad. He lost the 2026 Asian final 3-0. Still, getting to the Asian final at 125 kg is significant. I wouldn’t want him in my bracket. Why #7: Proven senior-level ability, but the very top of this field has given him problems. ⸻ 8. Narantulga DARMAABAZAR — Mongolia Prediction: 7th/8th Darmaabazar is another guy I think is better than a typical 8-seed. He beat Chenghan Yang 10-0 at the 2026 Asian Championships and then beat Riza Izakhar 10-7 for bronze. His only Asian loss was a 10-0 technical fall to Mohammad Nezhad. He also beat Baejoon Jang 10-0 at the 2025 U20 Worlds. Why #8: He has some very good wins and is physically capable of hanging with the better heavyweights. ⸻ 9. Hosei FUJITA — Japan Prediction: 9th Fujita was on the 2025 U20 World team and is a technically interesting Japanese heavyweight. He lost to eventual fifth-place finisher Levan Lagvilava at Worlds, 12-1. He also has international experience against many of these same European heavyweights. The issue is that I don’t see enough evidence yet that he’s ready to consistently beat the medal-level guys. Why #9: Solid international wrestler, but this particular field is brutal at the top. ⸻ 10. Daniel SZILAGYI — Hungary Prediction: 9th/10th Szilagyi has been around this level for a while and was part of the 2025 European and World Championship fields. But 2026 has been rougher. He was destroyed by Dursunov 10-0 at the 2026 U20 Europeans, then lost to Haykyan 8-0 in the bronze match. Why #10: Experienced, but his recent results suggest he’s a step below the medal favorites. ⸻ 11. Brian TECHEREAN — Romania Prediction: 10th/11th Techerean has a significant international résumé and is one of the more experienced wrestlers in this field. But the biggest problem is his recent head-to-head against Dursunov: he was teched 10-0 at the U23 Europeans. He also lost to Abramishvili 10-0 at the 2026 U20 Europeans. Why #11: Tough and experienced, but the recent evidence puts him outside the medal group. ⸻ 12. Riza IZAKHAR — Kazakhstan Prediction: 11th/12th Izakhar has enough ability to cause an upset, but his 2026 Asian Championship results are concerning. He lost to Mohammad Nezhad 12-2 in the semifinal and Darmaabazar 10-7 in the bronze match. That gives us direct evidence against two wrestlers in this tournament, and neither result was favorable. Why #12: Dangerous but probably needs a favorable draw to make the quarterfinals. ⸻ 13. Baejoon JANG — South Korea Prediction: 13th Jang was 9th at the 2025 U20 Worlds, beating Chanjot Kang before losing to Yedige Kassimbek and then Darmaabazar. He also placed fifth at the 2025 Asian U20 Championships. He’s a legitimate international heavyweight, but I don’t see enough evidence that he’s moved into the top tier this year. ⸻ 14. Yaraslau KOKHAN — Belarus Prediction: 13th/14th Kokhan is still only 19 and has a good developmental résumé. He was eighth at the 2025 U20 Europeans, although he lost both of his matches there — first to Inal Gagloev and then to Ivan Myroshnychenko. He was also an U17 World Championship quarterfinalist in 2024 at 110 kg. Why #14: Young and talented, but he’s not yet demonstrated the consistency needed against this year’s top guys. ⸻ 15. Ruslan PROKOPOV — Ukraine Prediction: 15th Prokopov is one of the less proven names in this field at the major U20 level. Ukraine has a strong heavyweight pipeline, so I wouldn’t dismiss him, but compared with Myroshnychenko and the European medalists, his résumé doesn’t stand out. Why #15: Potential upset threat, but not enough evidence for me to put him higher. ⸻ 16. Youssef ABOUDAWABA — Egypt Prediction: 15th/16th Aboudawaba is an interesting African heavyweight. At the 2025 African Championships, he won two matches by technical superiority before losing 6-0 to Oussama Assad. He also won the U20 portion of the African Championships. He was an African U17 finalist at 110 kg in 2024. Why #16: Good continental résumé, but this is a significant jump in competition. ⸻ 17. Chenghan YANG — China Prediction: 16th/17th Yang has some international experience but the clearest recent result we have is a 10-0 loss to Darmaabazar at the 2026 Asian Championships. That puts him behind several Asian wrestlers in this field based on direct evidence. Why #17: Capable, but a long shot for the medal rounds. ⸻ 18. Jagroop DHINSA — Canada Prediction: 17th/18th Dhinsa is an interesting Canadian heavyweight, but he hasn’t accumulated the same international résumé as the top European/Asian entries. Canada has produced strong upper-weight juniors, and he could absolutely win a couple matches, but I don’t currently have enough evidence to put him in the top half of the field. ⸻ 19. Dian MANEV — Bulgaria Prediction: 18th/19th Manev is an experienced European competitor, including the 2025 U20 World Championships. However, his 2026 results are concerning: he went 0-2 in U23 competition and was listed 11th at the U20 Europeans. Why #19: Experience helps, but current form is a major red flag. ⸻ 20. Dreshaun ROSS? — actually, I would NOT put him here I want to emphasize this because Ross is the biggest outlier in the entire bracket. He belongs much higher than the bottom half. His American résumé is simply too good to ignore. He was a 2025 Junior Nationals freestyle champion and has beaten elite American heavyweights. The biggest question isn’t whether Ross is talented enough. It’s whether his 215-pound American style and size translate immediately against seasoned 125 kg European/Asian senior-sized wrestlers. So I would actually revise my ranking to: Final 125 kg Ranking

Maybe i an not understanding but Dake would not have to go to all of the ranking series events if he wins Pan Ams, or 2nd. So essentially who ever wins Pan Ams qualifies the weight and we are done for the year at that weight if 1 or 2 We win almost every weight if we send our top guys to Pan Ams

I would have definitely watched the whole 57 kg bracket and not known Sibomana was an American wrestler from New York it’ll be very interesting to see how he does against some of the midtier guys to see if he can make a splash also kind of fun to watch him versus little who won the silver at the Pan Am’s

I really enjoy watching you u20s and senior world championships I generally watch the euros and Asian championships as well. I usually watch every match each Mat till the round completes and then go to the next Mat and I catch everyone and so I don’t generally know a lot of the guys or their history so it’s nice with no commentary to have a breakdown on each guy so I use AI. AI used a lot of flow wrestling and UWW and anything else that they can find some of it. You can kind of see maybe an error or two but it’s pretty useful to see some of the early round matchups where they may not be the biggest names but they’re kind of the tweezers. Here is 57 kg. A lot of info and some repetition 57 KG — COMPLETE ENTRANT-BY-ENTRANT BREAKDOWN 1. Sasha PETROSYAN Age: 20 Current level: Established U20 international 2026 U20 European result: Bronze Petrosyan is one of the more proven European wrestlers in this field. His biggest early international result came at the 2023 U17 World Championships, where he won bronze at 51 kg. Interestingly, he actually wrestled Yamato Ogawa at that tournament and lost 7-1 in the round of 16. He then came back through the repechage and won bronze. He has now moved up to 57 kg and made a significant jump in 2026. At the 2026 U20 Europeans, he: beat Pavlo Ilnytskyi 10-0 lost to Ebubekir Gur 14-10 beat Karoly Barath 7-1 in repechage beat Giorgi Tsuriashvili 5-1 for bronze So he left Europeans with a bronze medal, and that is important because he defeated another entrant in this World field on the way to it. Assessment Petrosyan is much better than a typical European bronze medalist in this field. He has already shown he can survive a bad loss and work his way back onto the podium. Big question: Can he close the gap with the very top guys? He lost to Gur at Europeans, but then beat Barath and Tsuriashvili. Threat level: HIGH ⸻ 2. Muhammad ISMAYILOV This is one of the most interesting wrestlers in the entire weight. Ismayilov is a 2024 U17 European champion, according to the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation. In 2026 he won the Azerbaijan U20 championship at 57 kg. Then he went to the 2026 U20 European Championships and won bronze. His European run: TF 10-0 over Danoush Jowkar TF 11-0 over Gheorghi Gaidarji lost 4-2 to eventual champion Magomed Ozdamirov TF 11-0 over Gaspard Cheynoux for bronze And there’s another important result: at the April 2026 U20 International Champions Tournament in Antalya, Ismayilov defeated Iranian Erfan Siriforounabad and then lost to Magomed Magomedov in the semifinal 7-4. Assessment This is a legitimate medal contender. He has proven himself domestically, won a U17 European title, reached the European U20 podium and has already wrestled Magomed Magomedov. The fact that he has now accumulated several high-level international matches at 57 is a big advantage. Threat level: VERY HIGH ⸻ 3. Matsvei SYTSEVICH Sytsevich is an interesting European because he has been around this level for several years but hasn’t yet broken through to the major podium. At the 2026 U20 Europeans, he: beat Marian Rusu 8-4 lost to Giorgi Tsuriashvili 6-3 At the 2025 U20 Europeans, he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Nika Zangaladze, then lost in repechage to Esad Bozali. He also had a strong 2025 international tournament, beating Riccardo Bonanno by technical superiority before losing to Zangaladze. Assessment He’s a solid European-level wrestler, but the resume doesn’t yet scream World medalist. The positive is experience. He’s seen a lot of the European 57 kg field. Threat level: MEDIUM-HIGH ⸻ 4. Nik Ignatov DOYCHINOV Doychinov is a serious Bulgarian prospect who has competed extensively internationally. One indication of his level: he finished 6th at the 2026 Dan Kolov–Nikola Petrov International, a senior-level tournament. At the 2026 U20 European Championships he lost to Giorgi Tsuriashvili 3-0. He also has U20 international experience at 61 kg, including a match against Norway’s Sahil Shirzai. Assessment He’s experienced and has senior-level exposure, but his recent U20 results don’t put him in the first tier at 57. Threat level: MEDIUM ⸻ 5. Chengtao WANG Wang is one of China’s better young freestyle prospects. He was 18th at the 2025 U20 World Championships at 57 kg, losing his opening match to Brazil’s Caio Duarte 5-5 on criteria. Earlier, he won bronze at the 2024 U23/U17 Asian Championships, wrestling at 60 kg. He beat Japan’s Hiroto Furuichi 10-0 and won his quarterfinal before losing in the semifinal. He also competed at the 2024 U20 Asian Championships at 57 kg. Assessment He has international experience but hasn’t yet demonstrated that he can consistently beat the elite of this field. Threat level: MEDIUM ⸻ 6. Dunia SIBOMANA This is probably the most unique story in the tournament. Sibomana was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and survived a horrific chimpanzee attack as a child. He later moved to the United States, underwent numerous reconstructive surgeries and eventually became a standout New York high-school wrestler. Domestically, he’s a three-time New York state champion and won the 2026 National High School Coaches Association title at 123 pounds. He’s now headed to North Carolina. But internationally, he’s no longer merely a high-school prospect. In May 2026 he won the African Championships at senior 57 kg, representing Congo. He defeated: Alaa Sheiba of Egypt 3-2 Mouadh Chibani of Algeria 12-2 Roland Tambi Nforsong of Cameroon 10-0 That is a senior continental championship, not a junior title. Assessment This is where Sibomana gets really interesting. He’s relatively inexperienced internationally compared with the European/Central Asian guys, but his American folkstyle background is excellent and he’s already demonstrated that he can win internationally against senior opposition. The question isn’t talent. It’s international freestyle experience. If his American wrestling translates immediately, he can be a dangerous bracket-breaker. Threat level: HIGH — dark horse ⸻ 7. Gaspard CHEYNOUX Cheynoux has quite a bit of international experience for France. He has competed in both youth and senior international events. At the 2025 Henri Deglane senior tournament, he actually drew Spencer Lee and lost 10-0. At the 2026 U20 Europeans, however, he made the bronze-medal match: lost to Magomed Ozdamirov defeated Mykola Bratov 6-2 lost to Muhammad Ismayilov 11-0 for bronze He also has a notable U17 Beach Wrestling World Championship silver medal. Assessment The European bronze-medal performance is the key. He can compete with this level, but Ismayilov showed a significant gap in the bronze match. Threat level: HIGH-MEDIUM ⸻ 8. Danoush JOWKAR Jowkar is one of Great Britain’s better young freestyle wrestlers. He’s already had experience at both the U23 and U20 European Championships. At the 2026 U23 Europeans he won his qualification match by technical superiority before reaching the quarterfinal stage. At the U20 Europeans he lost to Ismayilov 10-0. Assessment Good international experience, but his most recent result against Ismayilov shows how difficult this field is. He’s capable of winning matches, but he’s not one of the first names I’d identify as a title threat. Threat level: MEDIUM ⸻ 9. Giorgi MAISURADZE Important: this is the Georgian entrant listed in the World field. Some UWW results from the European tournament are associated with Giorgi Tsuriashvili, so I would not automatically transfer those results to Maisuradze. That distinction matters. Georgia is historically one of the deepest freestyle programs in the world, so any Georgian 57 kg entrant deserves respect, but I don’t see enough verified elite results for Maisuradze himself to put him in the top tier. Assessment Threat level: MEDIUM / UNKNOWN I’d actually want to investigate his domestic Georgian results further before giving him a stronger rating. ⸻ 10. Isaac WONG Hong Kong is not generally a medal-producing freestyle power at U20 Worlds, and Wong does not have the same international resume as the top Central Asian, Japanese, Iranian or European contenders. Assessment He’s an international qualifier who could absolutely win an individual match, but there isn’t enough elite-level evidence to put him near the favorites. Threat level: LOW-MEDIUM ⸻ 11. Karoly BARATH Barath is actually more dangerous than his final European placement might indicate. At the 2026 U20 Europeans, he: beat John Keterling 6-1 lost to Ebubekir Gur 7-4 lost to Sasha Petrosyan 7-1 in repechage He therefore finished 8th. He’s also a returning U20 World competitor from 2025. Assessment He has enough European experience to make someone work, but his recent losses to Gur and Petrosyan are significant. Threat level: MEDIUM ⸻ 12. RUPESH India is always difficult to evaluate from the outside at these age levels because the domestic competition can be extremely strong but isn’t always fully represented in easily searchable international databases. The key issue with Rupesh is lack of a major international result comparable to the top names in this field. India nevertheless has enormous depth at 57 kg, and the country’s domestic selection process is usually much tougher than the international record alone suggests. Assessment Threat level: MEDIUM / UNKNOWN This is one of the wrestlers I’d be careful about underrating. ⸻ 13. Arman ELAHI This is a very interesting future-oriented wrestler. Elahi is younger than most of the major 20-year-old contenders and has been competing at 55 kg. In May 2026 he won the U17 Asian Championship at 55 kg. His run: beat Kazakhstan’s Temirlan Murat 9-4 beat Uzbekistan’s Jakhangir Tulkunov 9-6 beat South Korea’s Jimin Park 10-0 beat Japan’s Kyosuke Ikeda 8-3 in the final Then came the 2026 U17 World Championships, where he lost to the same Jakhangir Tulkunov 5-1. UWW specifically noted that Elahi had beaten Tulkunov 9-6 at the Asian Championships earlier that year. Assessment This is a classic high-upside Iranian. He’s not as proven at this level as the older 57 kg contenders, but his Asian title shows that his ceiling is high. And he’s already had high-level international matches against some of the best younger wrestlers in Asia. Threat level: MEDIUM-HIGH / HIGH UPSIDE ⸻ 14. Yamato OGAWA One of the three biggest names in the entire tournament. Ogawa is the wrestler with perhaps the most interesting progression in the field. He beat Sasha Petrosyan 7-1 at the 2023 U17 World Championships at 51 kg. He then won the 2023 U17 World Championship at 51 kg, defeating India’s Rohit Rohit in the final. So: 2023 U17 World Champion — 51 kg And now he’s grown into 57 kg. The really big development is that Ogawa was selected as Japan’s 2026 Senior World Team representative at 57 kg. FloWrestling specifically identifies him as the senior representative in this U20 field. That is enormous. Japan doesn’t simply hand out senior World Team spots to a young wrestler because he won an age-group tournament. Assessment This tells me that Japan views Ogawa as a real senior-level 57 kg wrestler, not simply a junior prospect. His biggest advantage is that he’s already beaten Petrosyan internationally. His biggest question is whether he can handle the Central Asian/Russian physical style at 57. Threat level: ELITE One of the 3 favorites for gold. ⸻ 15. Nurassyl ASSAMBEK Assambek has an unusual international history. His documented UWW results include the 2022 U17 Asian Championships, where he won bronze at 45 kg, and the 2022 U17 Worlds. The problem is that his international record becomes much thinner afterward. Assessment He’s difficult to rank because his current level isn’t well represented by the available international results. Kazakhstan is a country I would never casually dismiss, particularly at the lighter weights. But based strictly on documented results: Threat level: LOW-MEDIUM / UNKNOWN ⸻ 16. Nurtilek ZAMIRBEKOV This is another wrestler I would take seriously. Zamirbekov has been wrestling at the international level for several years. In 2024 he won a silver medal at the Kyrgyzstan U17 Asian-level competition, and in April 2026 he won bronze at 57 kg at an international tournament in Turkey. More importantly, at the April 2026 U20 International Champions Tournament in Antalya, he reached the semifinal stage and beat Georgia’s Giorgi Tsuriashvili 10-0 in the quarterfinals. He then lost to Russia’s Tundzhai Verdiyev in the semifinal. Assessment This is one of the guys who could mess up somebody’s bracket. He has already shown he can beat a European medalist-level wrestler by technical superiority. Threat level: HIGH-MEDIUM ⸻ 17. Catalin CURECHERI Curecheri has been around the international youth circuit for several years. At the 2024 U17 World Championships, he finished 14th at 55 kg. He also has international youth tournament experience in Romania and elsewhere. One particularly interesting result came in 2024 when Curecheri defeated Switzerland’s Tinio Ritter by fall in just 48 seconds. Assessment He’s experienced, but his international resume doesn’t put him in the top tier. Threat level: MEDIUM ⸻ 18. Naran BARKHAS Barkhas has substantial youth international experience. At the 2023 U17 World Championships, he reached the quarterfinals at 55 kg, beating Turkey’s Haci Zade 5-2 before losing to Armenia’s Arshak Lulukyan 11-5. At the 2025 U20 Asian Championships he reached the quarterfinals at 57 kg before losing to Iran’s Arshia Haddadi. Assessment He’s a legitimate international wrestler, but he hasn’t yet produced a major medal. Threat level: MEDIUM ⸻ 19. Raiden HOBSON Hobson is one of the more interesting small-nation entrants. He won gold at the 2025 Pacific Mini Games, taking the men’s freestyle 50 kg title for Palau. That is an important accomplishment within the Oceania/Pacific region. But the jump from Pacific regional competition to a 27-man U20 World field containing Russian, Japanese, Iranian, Central Asian and American talent is enormous. Assessment Very accomplished regionally, but this will be a completely different level. Threat level: LOW-MEDIUM ⸻ 20. Pavlo ILNYTSKYI Ilnytskyi is still very young and has moved up rapidly through the weight classes. His UWW history includes: 2023 U15 Europeans — 44 kg 2023 U17 Europeans — 45 kg, where he reached the semifinal 2024 U17 Europeans — 51 kg 2025 U17 Worlds — 55 kg 2026 U20 Europeans — 57 kg At the 2023 U17 Europeans he reached the semifinal before losing to Jafarov Jafar, then lost to Ebubekir Gur for bronze. At the 2025 U17 Worlds he won a repechage match 12-1, but lost his next match. At the 2026 U20 Europeans, he was stopped by Petrosyan 10-0. Assessment He’s talented but not yet physically or internationally mature enough, in my opinion, to put him among the favorites. Threat level: LOW-MEDIUM ⸻ 21. Nathaniel LYTTLE This is one of the more underrated entrants. Lyttle won silver at the 2026 U20 Pan-American Championships at 57 kg. He reached the final before losing to America’s Grey Burnett 10-0. That is significant because Burnett is the wrestler Cortez had to beat to make the U.S. World team. So although Lyttle lost badly to Burnett, simply reaching the Pan-American final shows he’s one of Puerto Rico’s better young wrestlers. Assessment He’s probably not a gold threat, but he’s absolutely capable of upsetting somebody. Threat level: MEDIUM-HIGH ⸻ 22. Magomed MAGOMEDOV This is the guy I would circle in red. FloWrestling has him as its #1 pick for gold. And there’s a very good reason. Magomedov defeated Magomed Ozdamirov, the wrestler who won the 2025 U20 World Championship at 57 kg. FloWrestling specifically highlights that result. That’s a massive piece of information. Remember: 2025 U20 World Champion: Magomed Ozdamirov 2026 U20 European Champion: Magomed Ozdamirov Yet Magomedov has already beaten him. He also beat Muhammad Ismayilov 7-4 at the April 2026 Antalya U20 tournament. Assessment This is why I’m comfortable putting him at or near #1. He has: Russian wrestling pedigree victory over the defending U20 World champion victory over a 2026 U20 European bronze medalist international tournament success a style that is extremely difficult for smaller technical wrestlers to deal with Threat level: ELITE My current #1 title favorite. ⸻ 23. Patrik VETRAK Vetrak is one of the youngest wrestlers in the field. He’s still listed by UWW as a 17-year-old cadet, and his primary 2026 international competition was at 55 kg at the U17 European Championships. He also competed internationally as a much younger wrestler at 44 kg. Assessment He’s here for experience and development. He could absolutely become a very good senior wrestler eventually, but this is a brutal weight class for him to enter at the U20 Worlds. Threat level: LOW ⸻ 24. Ebubekir GUR One of the biggest threats in the field. Gur is a fascinating wrestler because he already has a major world medal from when he was extremely young. He won bronze at the 2023 U17 World Championships at 45 kg. Then he moved through the age groups and became a major 57 kg contender. At the 2026 U20 Europeans, he: beat Sasha Petrosyan 14-10 beat Karoly Barath 7-4 beat Giorgi Tsuriashvili 11-0 lost to Magomed Ozdamirov 9-4 in the final That’s silver at U20 Europeans. And that makes the Petrosyan result particularly important. Assessment He’s proven that he can beat elite European opposition and score a lot of points. He’s one of the most dangerous wrestlers in this field. Threat level: ELITE ⸻ 25. Abbas HUSEINOV Huseinov has been competing at the European youth level for several years. An important result came at the 2025 U17 European Championships, where he beat eventual finalist Makhach Abdullaev 2-1 in the quarterfinals before losing to him? Actually the documented bracket shows Huseinov defeating Abdullaev in the quarterfinals, while Abdullaev went on to the final through the bracket. Huseinov also defeated Turkey’s Osman Kaplan at that tournament. Assessment He has legitimate European youth pedigree, but his current U20 international resume doesn’t put him with the main favorites. Threat level: MEDIUM ⸻ 26. Isaiah CORTEZ This might be the most accomplished American wrestler in the field from an international standpoint, even though freestyle isn’t his original international specialty. Cortez is a three-time U20 World Team member. USA Wrestling notes that he made the U20 Greco-Roman World Team in 2024 and 2025, and then made the 2026 U20 freestyle team. He was also the 2024 U20 Nationals Greco-Roman champion at 55 kg and won silver at the 2024 U20 Greco-Roman World Championships. But this year he has made a serious freestyle transition. At the 2026 U.S. Open U20, he won 57 kg, beating Grey Burnett 4-1 in the final. Then at the 2026 U20 World Team Trials, he beat Burnett twice: 5-1 10-0 to make the World team. Assessment Here’s my take: Cortez is much more dangerous than the “DNP” prediction from FloWrestling might make you think. He’s an elite American Greco-Roman wrestler who is now developing into a freestyle wrestler. His hand fighting, upper-body control and physical strength could translate extremely well. The problem is simply international freestyle experience. He has not spent the last several years fighting through the Russian/Central Asian/Japanese freestyle pipeline like Ogawa, Magomedov or Rashidov. Threat level: HIGH Medal dark horse. ⸻ 27. Ulugbek RASHIDOV This is the other guy I’d circle in red. Rashidov has one of the strongest age-group resumes in the entire tournament. He was the 2024 U17 World Champion at 48 kg. His run: beat Daniel Negru 12-0 beat Temuri Tutarashvili 10-0 beat Chingis Saryglar 7-5 beat Iran’s Amirabbas Alizadeh 11-0 in the final He then moved up to 57 kg and won the 2026 U20 Asian Championship. His 2026 Asian run was: 10-0 6-1 13-2 4-1 in the final over Japan’s Rikuto Nagai UWW lists him at 7-0 for the 2026 season. And his history against elite Asian opponents is extensive. Assessment This is a real World title contender. The question is how he handles the jump from 48 → 57 and whether the older, stronger 57 kg wrestlers can neutralize his speed. But he’s already demonstrated the ability to dominate world-level age-group competition. Threat level: ELITE ⸻ MY 57 KG TIERS After going through the field, this is how I would currently separate them. TIER 1 — REAL GOLD MEDAL FAVORITES 1. Magomed Magomedov 2. Yamato Ogawa 3. Ulugbek Rashidov 4. Ebubekir Gur Those four are the group I’d put clearly above everyone else right now. FloWrestling’s prediction is: Gold — Magomed Magomedov Silver — Yamato Ogawa Bronze — Ulugbek Rashidov Bronze — Sasha Petrosyan I agree with the basic structure, but I’d move Gur into that top group because his European performance was outstanding. ⸻ TIER 2 — VERY REAL MEDAL THREATS Sasha Petrosyan Muhammad Ismayilov Nurtilek Zamirbekov Isaiah Cortez Dunia Sibomana These guys can absolutely knock one of the favorites out of the medal rounds. Ismayilov in particular is interesting because he’s already beaten a lot of people in this field, and Cortez is probably the biggest style-transition wild card. ⸻ TIER 3 — DANGEROUS BRACKET GUYS Gaspard Cheynoux Matsvei Sytsevich Danoush Jowkar Naran Barkhas Nathaniel Lyttle Catalin Curecheri Nik Doychinov Karoly Barath Abbas Huseinov Arman Elahi These are the guys where I wouldn’t be shocked if one of them beats a favorite in the first two rounds. ⸻ TIER 4 — LONG SHOTS / LIMITED INTERNATIONAL RESUME Chengtao Wang Pavlo Ilnytskyi Rupesh Nurassyl Assambek Giorgi Maisuradze Isaac Wong Raiden Hobson Patrik Vetrak This doesn’t mean they’re bad wrestlers. It means their documented international resumes don’t currently compare with the top half of this particular field. ⸻ THE BIGGEST THING I SEE AT 57 KG This weight is actually more dangerous than the 74 kg field we looked at yesterday in one particular way. At 74, there were several elite wrestlers, but you could identify a relatively clear top group. At 57, I see four different wrestling systems represented by legitimate title threats: Russian/Dagestani style: Magomedov Japanese technical/speed style: Ogawa Central Asian speed/position style: Rashidov European/Caucasus-influenced style: Gur Then you have Ismayilov, Petrosyan and Zamirbekov sitting right behind them. And then there’s Cortez, who is a completely different problem because of his Greco-Roman background. That makes the bracket extremely volatile. My current top 10, before seeing the draw: Magomed Magomedov Yamato Ogawa Ulugbek Rashidov Ebubekir Gur Muhammad Ismayilov Sasha Petrosyan Isaiah Cortez Nurtilek Zamirbekov Dunia Sibomana Gaspard Cheynoux And there is one huge head-to-head storyline already sitting here: Ogawa beat Petrosyan 7-1 at 51 kg in 2023. So if the draw gives us Ogawa vs. Petrosyan again, that is one of the first rematches I’d want to examine. Also, Magomedov beating the defending U20 World champion Ozdamirov is probably the single most important result on the entire 57 kg résumé sheet.

Just jumped into bed trying to be quiet so I don’t disturb the Mrs opened up the forum thought I would read a bit before shutting down for the night. This did not help me to be quite LOL

I know it seems I am in the Minority but I like him on Flo, as good as the other guys IMO. But to each his own

Really excited to see VT at the national Duals. There are a lot of teams at the National Duals that really added quite a few wrestlers to there lineups should be a lot of fun. I got off topic a bit there i know, i am just a bit excited for the upcoming season.