Team Iran's 2023 World Championships Outlook - Men's Freestyle

A complete breakdown with predictions for Iran's men's freestyle team at the 2023 World Championships.

Jul 21, 2023 by Jon Kozak

Team Iran's 2023 World Championships Outlook - Men's Freestyle

The 2023 Senior World Championships will be held in Belgrade, Serbia from September 16-24 and will feature the best wrestlers in the world. Iran will be one of the main contenders to win a team title sending a loaded team to Belgrade. Check out the below article for a full breakdown of their team along with predictions for every wrestler.

Sep 16-24, 2023, TBD

2023 Senior World Championships

57 kg: Milad Valizadeh

With world medalist Alireza Sarlek out due to injury, Iran has a massive hole in their lineup at 57 kg. Valizadeh has not shown to be a threat at winning a medal at the world championships. At the recent Ranking Series event in Budapest, Valizadeh and Javan failed to place after losing to Zane Richards in the quarterfinals, 17-6. 57 kg is deep and Valizadeh won’t be among the contenders in Belgrade.

2023 Worlds Prediction - DNP

Zane Richards' win over Valizadeh:

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61 kg: Reza Atri

Reza Atri will be the 61kg rep once again for Iran and will be looking to win gold after coming just short in 2022. Last year, Atri made the world finals but lost to Japan’s Rei Higuchi to take home silver. Atri has since followed up his performance at worlds by winning gold at the Ranking Series event in Zagreb where he defeated 2023 world bronze medalist Narankhuu Narmandakh (MGL) in the finals. Atri will once again be a threat to win a medal this year and if he wrestles his best will be right in the mix to win gold.

2023 Worlds Prediction - Bronze

65 kg: Rahman Amouzad

2022 world champion Rahman Amouzad will be among the favorites to win a world title this year in Serbia. Along with the world title last year where he defeated the likes of Yianni Diakomihalis, Haji Aliyev, and Ismail Musukaev, Amouzad added an Asian Championship title this year and defeated Tulga Tumur-Ochir in the process. Amouzad has quickly become one of Iran’s best and one of the top 20 wrestlers in the world regardless of weight. He’s a contender to win a world title this year but will be challenged by world and Olympic champion Takuto Otoguro who did not compete at last year’s world championships.

2023 Worlds Prediction - Silver

Amouzad's win over Yianni Diakomihalis in the 2022 World Finals:

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70 kg: Amir Yazdani

Amir Yazdani has shown up-and-down results over the past few years on the senior level. In the Spring of 2021, Yazdani reached the finals of the Asian Olympic Qualifier to qualify Iran for the Olympics at 65 kg. However, he then lost his Olympic wrestle-off to countryman Morteza Ghiasi and failed to make the Olympic team. Immediately after that, Yazdani went to the world championships in Oslo, Norway where he ultimately brought home a silver medal.

Heading into last year’s world championships, Yazdani was ranked #1 in the world based on his wins over James Green and Zurabi Iakobishvili. Yazdani drew Israel’s Josh Finesilver in the first round, and because of Iran’s (unofficial) policy of forfeiting to any athletes from Israel, Yazdani “missed weight” and forfeited out of the tournament. Most recently Yazdani placed 5th at the Ranking Series event in Budapest where he lost to Joey McKenna and Sanzhar Doszhanov (KAZ). Simply put, Yazdani could either win a world title or fail to win a match in Belgrade.

2023 Worlds Prediction - 5th place

Yazdani's loss to Joey McKenna from the Budapest Ranking Series Event:

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74 kg: Younes Emami

Younes Emami took home a bronze medal last year at the world championships where he defeated Turan Baramov (AZE) and Sagar Jaglan (IND) but lost to Kyle Dake in a tight, 2-2 bout. Emami hasn’t yet established himself as a challenger to the likes of Dake or Sidakov but with the right draw, Emami could bring home another medal from Serbia.

2023 Worlds Prediction - 5th place

79 kg: Mohammad Nokhodi

Mohammad Nokhodi won silver at both the 2021 and 2022 world championships where he lost only to Jordan Burroughs in the finals both years. At the recent Ranking Series tournament in Budapest, Nokhodi won gold by defeating Chance Marsteller (10-0), Avtandil Kentchadze (6-2), and Vladimeri Gamkrelidze (3-0). With Burroughs out of the picture this year, Nokhodi becomes the clear favorite to bring home a world title. However, if Russia is let into worlds (which seems likely at this point), Nokhodi will have to contend with Akhmed Usmanov. Like Nokhodi, Usmanov has put together impressive wins over the last year over Ali Savadkouhi and Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov.

2023 Worlds Prediction - Gold

Nokhodi's win over Chance Marsteller at the Budapest Ranking Series Event:

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86 kg: Hassan Yazdani

World and Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani “The Greatest” will represent Iran at the highest stage for the 9th straight year looking for his 9th medal and 5th title. In Serbia, Yazdani will look to get revenge over returning world champ David Taylor who defeated Yazdani in last year’s final, 7-1. Yazdani and Taylor have established themselves as the clear top 2 in the world at 86kg, however with last year’s win, Taylor now holds a 4-1 match lead over Yazdani in the rivalry. If Yazdani hopes to go down as Iran’s greatest of all time, he’ll need to solve the puzzle that Taylor presents.

2023 Worlds Prediction - Silver

David Taylor's win over Yazdani in the 2022 World Finals:

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92 kg: Kamran Ghasempour/Amirali Azarpira

Kamran Ghasempour is a two-time defending world champion at 92kg and is establishing himself as one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the world. Unfortunately for Iran, Ghasempour recently suffered a serious groin injury that may keep him out of worlds. If Ghasempour is unable to compete, Iran will send Azarpira as their rep to Belgrade. While the injury to Ghasempour is unfortunate, Iran is fortunate to have the second-best 92 kg wrestler in the world as their backup. Azarpira recently wrestled at the Budapest Ranking Series tournament defeating Zahid Valencia in the opening round, 6-3. Along with that win, Azarpira Azarpira is a 2-time U23 World Champion (2021 and 2022) and even holds a win over 2022 97kg world silver medalist Batyrbek Tsakulov - 10-0 at the 2022 World Cup.

2023 Worlds Prediction - Gold

Azarpira's win over Zahid Valencia at the Budapest Ranking Series Event:

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97 kg: Mojtaba Goleij

After a year off, Mojtaba Goleij will return to the world championships as Iran’s representative at 97 kg. Goleij took home a bronze medal from the 2021 World Championships where he lost only to Kyle Snyder in the semi-finals (3-2). Goleij led most of that bout before Snyder scored a takedown with only 5 seconds left in the match. Goleij will be unseeded at worlds and will be a dangerous landmine wherever he is drawn into the bracket.

2023 Worlds Prediction - Bronze

Kyle Snyder's win over Goleij from the 2021 World Championships:

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125 kg: Amir Zare

In just 2 years, Amir Zare has quickly established himself as one of the best heavyweights in the world. At the Tokyo Olympics, Zare won an Olympic bronze medal where he lost only to Geno Petriashvili (GEO) while defeating two-time world medalist Zhiwei Deng (CHN). Then a few months later at the world championships, Zare won gold by taking out both Petriashvili and Taha Akgul (TUR). However, Zare took a slight step back at last year’s world championships by dropping a match to Akgul and bringing home bronze. Zare has yet to wrestle Gable Steveson and if the two meet, it will be one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament.

2023 Worlds Prediction - Bronze

Zare's win over Geno Petriashvili in the 2021 World Finals:

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Can Team Iran Bring Home The Title?

If Iran's team matches the above predictions, they'll bring home 7 total medals from Belgrade - 2 golds, 2 silvers, and 3 bronzes. That could be enough to win a team title but they'll likely have to turn a few of those silvers and bronzes into golds if they want to take the title from Team USA. 61kg, 70kg, 86kg, 92kg, 97kg, and 125kg are all crucial swing weights that will play a huge role in deciding the team champ. If Iran outplaces Team USA in those weights, we should expect them to win team gold.

2023 Worlds Prediction for Team Iran - Silver