The 2024 Senior World Championships are set to take place in Tirana, Albania with men’s freestyle wrestlers taking the mat October 30-31. The 70 kg weight class is one of the deepest brackets this year and is filled with medal threats. Check out the below article for a full preview with predictions for 70 kg.

The Contenders

• Amir Yazdani, IRI
• Inalbek Sheriev, AIN (RUS)
• Abdulmazhid Kudiev, TJK
• Ramazan Ramazanov, BUL
• James Green, USA

Unlike other weights at worlds, 70 kg doesn’t have a group of 2-3 wrestlers that are clearly separated from the rest. Instead, the above five wrestlers are all realistic gold medal contenders.

Iran’s Amir Yazdani is the returning world silver medalist at 70 kg and might have the best case to be considered the favorite for gold. He has career wins over James Green, Sebastian Rivera, Alibek Osmonov, Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, Ernazar Akmataliev, and Ramadan Ramazanov. Yazdani is only 24 and has might be entering the prime of his career. So, why isn’t Yazdani the clear favorite? Yazdani sometimes struggles to generate offense and has been known to drop matches to “lesser” opponents. For instance, at the 2023 Hungarian Ranking Series tournament, Yazdani lost matches to both Sanzhar Doszhanov and Joey McKenna. Yazdani will need to wrestle more consistently than he's shown in the past if he hopes to win gold in Albania.

Yazdani's win in the 2023 World Semis over Ramazan Ramazanov:

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Russia’s Inalbek Sheriev is getting his first chance to wrestle at senior world championships after winning Russian Nationals this year over U20 World silver medalist Kurban Shiraev. Along with his win at Russian Nationals, Sheriev won U23 Worlds last year with a 9-3 win over Yoshinosuke Aoyagi in the finals. At only 23 years old, Sheriev has emerged as Russia’s clear #1 in a very deep 70 kg field. That fact, combined with Sheriev’s age-level success, proves Sheriev is capable of finishing atop the podium at worlds.

Sheriev's win in the 2023 U23 World Finals over Yoshinosuke Aoyagi:

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Abdulmazhid Kudiev is a Russian now representing Tajikistan and has quietly put together an incredible hitlist over the past two years. Kudiev has three wins over world medalist Shamil Mamedov, a recent tech fall win over world medalist Tulga Tumur-Ochir, and a pin over James Green from March of this year at the Yasar Dogu. Kudiev is a dangerous competitor who can end matches quickly. After failing to make the Olympics at 65 kg, 70 kg might be a more optimal weight for him to secure a world medal. 

Kudiev's recent win over Tulga Tumur-Ochir:

Ramazan Ramazanov is the returning world bronze medalist at 70 kg and the older brother of 86 kg Olympic gold medalist Magomed Ramazanov. Ramazan will be looking to replicate his brother’s magic from Paris and win a gold of his own in Albania. Though Ramazanov lost to Yazdani at last year’s world championships, he defeated Yazdani at the 2023 Kolov and has several top-tier wins in his senior-level career. If Ramazanov is wrestling his best, he can defeat anyone in the world at 70 kg.

Ramazanov's win over Ernazar Akmataliev in the bronze medal match at 2023 Worlds:

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James Green is the final wrestler who should be considered a legitimate gold medal threat in Albania. Green is a two-time world medalist and is returning to competition after taking a short, 18-month retirement. Prior to his retirement, Green defeated Zain Retherford in March of 2022 just 5 months before Retherford won a world silver medal. It’s also worth mentioning that Green received a partial hip replacement during his hiatus and looked as good as ever in his return to 70 kg winning world team trials by defeating Alec Pantaleo (10-0 and 2-1), Jordan Oliver (6-3), Paniro Johnson (10-0), and Jackson Arrington (10-0). Green might be 31 but he looks as good as ever and this might finally be the year he wins his elusive world title.

James Green's tech fall win over Alec Pantaleo:

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Who Else Can Medal At 70 kg?

• Nurkozha Kaipanov, KAZ
• Ali Rahimzade, AZE
• Niurgun Skriabin, AIN (BLR)
• Arman Andreasyan, ARM
• Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, JPN
• Akaki Kemertelidze, GEO
• Alibek Osmonov, KGZ
• Vasyl Shuptar, UKR

The above 8 wrestlers display how deep 70 kg is at this year’s world championships. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if any of these wrestlers reached the podium in Albania. Because there are so many, I won’t provide a full breakdown of each wrestler but it is worth highlighting their accomplishments and best wins to show the parity at this weight.

• Nurkozha Kaipanov, KAZ - 2019 World Silver; victories over Younes Emami, Franklin Gomez, Ikhtiyor Navruzov
• Ali Rahimzade, AZE - 2018 U23 World Silver; victories over Ismail Musukaev, Vladimer Khinchegashvili, and Islam Dudaev
• Niurgun Skriabin, AIN (BLR) - 2020 Euro Silver; victories over Ismail Musuakev, Ali Rahimzade, and Beka Lomtadze 
• Arman Andreasyan, ARM - 2023 World Bronze; victories over Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, Ismail Musukaev, Akaki Kemertelidze, and Tyler Berger
• Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, JPN - 2023 U23 World Silver; victories over Evgenii Zherbaev, Alibek Osmonov, and Giorgi Elbakidze
• Akaki Kemertelidze, GEO - 2024 Euro Silver; victories over Ramazan Ramazanov, Mohammad Amouzad, Giorgi Elbakidze, and Doug Zapf
• Alibek Osmonov, KGZ - 2021 World Bronze; victories over Vasyl Shuptar, Tulga Tumur-Ochir, Ernazar Akmataliev, and Nurkozha Kaipanov 
• Vasyl Shuptar, UKR - 2015 World Bronze; victories over Bajrang Punia, Alexander Bogomoev, Ernazar Akmataliev, Niurgun Skriabin, and Joey McKenna 

As you can see from the above information, these wrestlers have some serious wins under their belt and are incredibly experienced. I’m not picking any of these wrestlers to win gold but their presence in the bracket will make it challenging for any of the favorites to navigate their way to the finals. There will be no easy paths to gold in the 70 kg bracket.

Who Wins Gold At 70 kg?

This bracket could be wrestled 5 times and we might get a different champion every time. With 7 past senior world medalists in the field, 70 kg might be the deepest weight at the World Championships from top to bottom. That means predicting a champion from this field is almost impossible. Despite that, I think Inalbek Sheriev is the most complete wrestler in the bracket and he’s my pick to win gold. Sheriev’s been tested more than anyone in the past year and because of that, I think he stands atop the podium in Albania.

Full 70 kg Medal Predictions

Gold: Inalbek Sheriev, AIN (RUS)

Silver: Abdulmazhid Kudiev, TJK

Bronze: James Green, USA


Bronze: Amir Yazdani, IRI