World and Olympic champions Abdulrashid Sadulaev (97kg) and Zaurbek Sidakov (74kg) participated in a special wrestle-off on Saturday morning in Russia for a spot on the world team. Both wrestlers were victorious in their matches and will compete at the Senior World Championships on September 16-24 in Belgrade, Serbia. You can watch their matches in the video below as well as read a breakdown of Sidakov and Sadulaev's path to the world team.

Zaurbek Sidakov vs Cherman Valiev:

Abdulrashid Sadulaev vs Alikhan Zhabrailov:

Sidakov and Sadulaev will be the most credentialed wrestlers from Russia at the 2023 World Championships and were allowed a special wrestle-off after missing the Russian Nationals in June. Sidakov is a 2-time world champion and won the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Sadulaev is a 5-time world champion and 2-time Olympic Champion.

Will Sidakov & Dake Finally Meet At Worlds?

Sidakov defeated Cherman Valiev to make the world team, 3-2. Valiev won Russian Nationals this year where he defeated Timur Bizhoev in the finals, 2-1. Valiev also has a win over Jason Nolf from the 2022 Yarygin (6-0). It’s also worth noting that Timur Bizhoev just defeated Sidakov last month at the Commonwealth Cup, 3-2. Despite that loss to Bizhoev, the Russian wrestling federation still permitted Sidakov the special wrestle-off due to his past credentials. 

Now Sidakov will be in a loaded 74 kg bracket at the world championships. 4-time world champion Kyle Dake will be the #2 seed in the bracket but Sidakov will be unseeded. That means Dake and Sidakov could meet in the first round at worlds. The two have never met in competition with the Toyko Olympics being the only tournament the two have been in the same bracket. There, Sidakov took home gold by defeating Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR) in the finals. Kadimagomedov took out Dake and Frank Champizo earlier in the tournament to make the finals. It's also worth mentioning that Kadimagomedov will also be randomly drawn into the 2023 Worlds bracket. 74 kg will be one of the deepest, and most exciting weights at this year's Worlds. 

Sidakov's win over Jordan Burroughs at the 2019 World Championships:

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Sadulaev and Snyder's Rivalry Will Be Renewed In Serbia

Sadulaev took out Alikhan Zhabrailov by a 3-2 margin to make the world team at 97kg. Zhabrailov was the 2023 Russian Nationals champion and won a bronze medal at the 2019 world championships (at 92kg). This will now be Sadulaev’s 9th world/Olympic team and he hasn’t lost at a world/Olympics since taking silver to Kyle Snyder at 2017 Worlds.

Like Sidakov at 74 kg, Sadulaev doesn’t have any seeding points and will be randomly drawn into the bracket at 97 kg. Kyle Snyder is the #1 seed but could renew his rivalry with Sadulaev in the first round because of the random draw. Sadulaev and Snyder have met 4 times in competition with Sadulaev holding a 3-1 career record over Snyder. They last met in the finals of the 2021 World Championships where Sadulaev won a controlling victory over Snyder, 6-0. That came just two months after Sadulaev’s 6-3 win over Snyder in the Olympic finals. Sadulaev and Snyder are the favorites at 97 kg leading into the World Championships and we'll likely see them meet once again on the biggest stage.

Sadulaev's win over Snyder at the 2021 World Championships:

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Russia Allowed Back Into Worlds 

Sidakov, Sadulaev, and the rest of the Russian and Belarussian wrestlers missed the 2022 World Championships after being banned by United World Wrestling due to Russia's attack on Ukraine in February 2022. However, this past Spring, the International Olympic Committee recommended that athletes from Russia and Belarus be allowed back into international competitions to compete under the tagline of "Individual Neutral Athletes." UWW has followed those recommendations and permitted athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at the U17 and U20 World Championships this summer. The same will happen at Senior Worlds in September with those wrestlers competing as neutral athletes unable to represent or score team points for their respective countries.