The final Ranking Series tournament of the year is set to take place June 6-9 in Budapest, Hungary, and will feature some of the best wrestlers in the world. 2024 Olympian Mason Parris will wrestle on June 6th in a loaded 125 kg division. Almost half of the 125 kg Olympic field will compete in Budapest giving Parris the perfect test before the Games. Check out the below article for a full breakdown of the 125 kg bracket and get caught up on all the storylines to follow for Mason Parris. 

The 125 kg Bracket

Will Mason Parris Get His Revenge On Geno Petriashvili?

Mason Parris’ toughest opponent in Budapest will be three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist Geno Petriashvili. There’s also a great chance Parris and Petriashvili meet in the semis at the 2024 Olympics. Petriashvili and Parris are currently sitting in the 2 and 3 seeds respectively and essentially have those positions locked up. It’s worth noting that Parris could slide ahead of Petriashvili to the #2 seed but neither can pass Iran’s 2023 world champion Amir Zare at the #1 seed. Beyond that, no one can catch Petriashvili and Parris at the #2 and #3 seeds.

Mason Parris will likely have to defeat Petriashvili if he hopes to make the Olympic finals in two months and coincidentally the two met in the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships where Petriashvili came out on top with a razor-thin 8-6 decision. In that match, Parris held the lead with less than 50 seconds to go when Petriashvili scored the go-ahead takedown. Has Parris improved enough to take out Petriashvili? We should find out the answer to that question at this tournament. 

Watch Parris and Petriashvili's match below:

A Mini-Olympics For Parris - 8 Olympians In The Field 

Every weight at the Olympics is limited to only 16 wrestlers and there are seven 125 kg wrestlers and one 97 kg wrestler entered for the Budapest tournament. We already mentioned the potential Olympic semi-final against Petriashvili. Still, Parris could face several other Olympians in Budapest that he’ll have to defeat in a few months to earn an Olympic medal. Check out all of the Olympians in the Budapest field below:

• Giorgi Meshvildishvili, AZE
• Dzianis Khramiankou, AIN (BLR)
• Diaaeldin Abdelmottaleb, EGY
• Geno Petriashvili, GEO
• Givi Matcharashvili, GEO (at 97)
• Yusup Batirmurzaev, KAZ
• Jonovan Smith, PUR
• Mason Parris, USA

While Geno Petriashvili stands out from the above list, it’s worth breaking down the other top competitors from the above list - Giorgi Meshvilidshvili and Dzianis Khramianou. Khramiankou is a Belarussian who has two U23 world medals and two U20 world medals. On top of that, he’s now a two-time Olympian and wrestles an athletic style that could provide an interesting test for Mason Parris. 

Then there’s Meshvildishil who Parris beat in a close, 5-2 match earlier this year. Meshvildishvili also has a win over Hayden Zillmer from two years ago and has been wrestling fantastic over the past few years. Behind Petriashvili, Meshvildishvili could be Parris’ biggest challenge in Budapest. 

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Non-Olympians entered:

• Georgi Ivanov, BUL
• Milan Korcsog, HUN
• Khasanboy Rakhimov, UZB

One wrestler from the above list worth mentioning is Uzbekistan’s Khasanboy Rakhimov. He’s not the most credentialed wrestler but he does hold two wins over Gable Steveson - one from the 2018 U20 World Championships and the other at the 2019 Medved. Since then, Rakhimov won a bronze medal at the 2019 senior world championships but tested positive for a banned substance and had to serve a two-year suspension. He hasn’t been a top 10 heavyweight since his return but he’s still a dangerous competitor to watch in Budapest and could present some unique upper-body challenges to Parris if they wrestle. 

125 kg Olympic Seeds Will Be Set In Budapest

As mentioned above, this is the final Ranking Series event before the Olympic Games. That means this is the last opportunity for Olympians to earn seeding points. There won’t be huge movement in the seeds at 125 kg but both Mason Parris, Giorgi Meshvildishvili, and Dzianis Khramiankou could all improve their seeds. Parris could move from the #3 seed to the #2 seed, Meshvildishvili could move from #6 to #5 and Khramiankou could move from unseeded to #7. Check out the current Olympic seeds below with the number of rankings points each wrestler possesses entering the Budapest Ranking Series tournament:

Current Olympic Seeds & Rankings Points:

1. Amir Zare, IRI - 68,000
2. *Geno Petriashvili, GEO - 57,000
3. *Mason Parris, USA - 54,200
4. Taha Akgul, TUR - 44,000
5. Daniel Ligeti, HUN - 30,025
6. *Giorgi Meshvildishvili, AZE - 25,900
7. Abdulla Kurbanov, AIN (RUS) - 25,000
8. Zhiwei Deng, CHN - 24,500

*Competing in Budapest

Unseeded Olympians In The Field

• Dzianis Khramiankou, AIN (BLR) - 17,000
• Jonovan Smith, PUR - 16,400
• Diaaeldin Abdelmottaleb, EGY - 6,600
• Yusup Batirmurzaev, KAZ - 0

Potential points available at the Budapest Ranking Series Event:

1st place = 8,000

2nd place = 6,400

3rd place = 5,200

5th place = 4,000

Full Budapest Ranking Series Schedule

*All times listed below are Eastern Time

Thursday, June 6

4:30 am - 9:30 am - Qualification rounds and repechage in Men's Freestyle - 57-61-65-70-79-97-125 kg

11:00 am - 2:30 pm - Medal rounds in Men's Freestyle - 57-61-65-70-79-97-125 kg

Friday, June 7

4:30 am - 9:30 am - Qualification rounds and repechage in Men's Freestyle - 74-86-92 kg and Women's Freestyle - 50-53-57-59-72 kg

11:00 am - 2:30 pm - Medal rounds in Men's Freestyle - 74-86-92 kg and Women's Freestyle - 50-53-57-59-72 kg

Saturday, June 8

4:30 am - 9:30 am - Qualification rounds and repechage in Women's Freestyle - 55-62-65-68-76 kg and Greco-Roman - 60-63-130 kg

11:00 am - 2:30 pm - Medal rounds in Women's Freestyle - 55-62-65-68-76 kg and Greco-Roman - 60-63-130 kg

Sunday, June 9

4:30 am - 9:30 am - Qualification rounds and repechage in Greco-Roman - 55-67-72-77-82-87-97

11:00 am - 2:30 pm - Medal rounds in Greco-Roman - 55-67-72-77-82-87-97