The 74 kg 2-time World and Olympic champion, #1 Zaurbek Sidakov, was back in action at the Commonwealth Cup in Vladikavkaz, Russia on Friday, July 28. Sidakov entered a 16-man bracket and reached the finals with 3 straight wins over Stanislav Svinoboev (11-0), Robert Dzukaev (9-0), and Akhmed Nurakhmaev (4-0). This set up a finals showdown against #11 Timur Bizhoev. 

In their finals bout, Sidakov took a 1-0 lead in the first period after Bizhoev failed to score while on the activity clock. Then, early in the second period, Sidakov went on the activity clock but failed to score giving Bizhoev the 1-1 lead on criteria. However, about a minute later, Bizhoev went back on the activity clock and once again failed to score. Sidakov held a 2-1 lead until Bizhoev scored a step-out point with only 1.6 seconds remaining in the match. After a failed challenge from Sidakov’s corner, Bizhoev ultimately came away with the victory, 3-2. This was the first loss Zaurbek Sidakov has suffered at 74kg, and to a fellow Russian, since he lost to Khetag Tsabolov at the 2020 Russian Nationals that October.

Watch Bizhoev's win over Sidakov below:

Who Is Timur Bizhoev?

Bizhoev recently took second at this year’s Russian Nationals where he lost only to Cherman Valiev in the finals, 2-1. On top of that performance, Bizhoev won bronze at the 2021 World Championships along with age-level bronze medals at U23 Worlds (2018) and Cadet Worlds (2013). One other notable result is that Timur Bizhoev took bronze at the 2022 Yarygin where his only loss came by fall against Jason Nolf.

Nolf's win over Bizhoev at the 2022 Yarygin:

Will Zaurbek Sidakov Wrestle At The 2023 World Championships?

Originally, Sidakov was scheduled to wrestle the 2023 Russian Nationals Champion, Cherman Valiev, at this event for a spot on the 2023 World Team. However, Valiev requested more time between his wrestle-off with Sidakov so their wrestle-off was pushed back to occur during a training camp in August. Bizhoev’s win over Sidakov now “muddies the waters” and we’ll have to wait and see if the Russian Wrestling Federation will still give Sidakov an opportunity to earn a spot on the world team.