Aaron Brooks will wrestle in the 86 kg weight class at the Paris Olympics. Brooks will start his tournament on Thursday, August 8 with the opening rounds starting at 5:00 am (ET). Check out the below article for a full breakdown of Aaron Brooks' draw in the 86 kg Olympic bracket. 

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86 kg Olympic Bracket

Round 1 - Azamat Dauletbekov, KAZ

Aaron Brooks drew top-seeded Azamat Dauletbekov as his first-round opponent. Dauletbekov is a two-time world bronze medalist winning medals in both 2022 and 2023. Along with those accolades, Dauletbekov has notable head-to-head wins over Myles Amine, Javrail Shapiev, Deepak Punia, and several other top-ranked guys at 86 kg. This is a tough test for Brooks off the scale and should be a great match.

Dauletbekov's win over Myles Amine:

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Quarterfinals - Ishiguro, JPN/Benferdjallah, ALG

Hayato Ishiguro is a big favorite in his opening match against Benferdjallah and will likely be Brooks’ quarterfinal opponent. Ishiguro might be unknown by many Americans but he has an incredible hitlist that includes wins over Zahid Valencia, Myles Amine, Max Dean, and Aaron Brooks. The win over Brooks came all the way back in the Junior World finals in 2018 in a wild 11-10 match. Ishiguro is dangerous and Brooks, and everyone else, should not overlook Ishiguro’s capabilities. 

Ishiguro's win over Brooks at 2018 Junior Worlds:

Semifinals - Ramazanov, BUL/Moore, CAN/Gamkrelidze, GEO/Shapiev, UZB

Of the above four potential semifinalists, Javrail Shapiev, Magomed Ramazanov, and Vladimeri Gamkrelidze are the most likely opponents for Brooks. For me, Ramazanov is the wrestler to watch out for here. Ramazanov is a Russian transfer and was top 3 on Russia’s ladder at 86 kg for years. On top of that, Ramazanov also recently teched Chance Marsteller and defeated the above-mentioned Azamat Dauletbekov at the 2024 Zagreb Open in January.

Javrail Shapiev placed 5th at worlds last year where he accumulated notable wins over Osman Gocen and Hayato Ishiguro. Gamkrelidze won world silver last year at 79 kg but isn’t nearly as accomplished at 86 kg. Shapiev vs Gamkrelidze should be a close match but whoever comes out of that match will be a slight underdog to Ramazanov.

Ramazanov's win over Marsteller:

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Finals Matchup For Aaron Brooks Looming With Hassan Yazdani

Though Aaron Brooks drew the top seed, he absolutely ended up on the “easier” side of the bracket. World and Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani, world and Olympic bronze medalist Myles Amine, and Dauren Kurugliev are all sitting on the other side of the bracket. Yazdani is the big favorite to reach the finals and Brooks’ potential finals match with Yazdani is one of the most anticipated bouts of the Olympics.

Hassan Yazdani's win over David Taylor at the 2021 World Championships: