2019 World Championships: Day 8 Live Updates
2019 World Championships: Day 8 Live Updates
Match notes from day eight of the 2019 world championships in Kazakhstan, featuring two Olympic weights and two non-Olympic weights in men's freestyle.
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We have come to our final full day of competition here at the 2019 world championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
Wrestling today at the Barys Arena are four men's freestyle brackets. Competing at the Olympic weights are Pat Downey (86kg) and Kyle Snyder (97kg), as well as Tyler Graff (61kg) and Kyle Dake (79kg) at the non-Olympic weights. Additionally, the repechage will be completed for 70kg, 74kg, 92kg, and 125kg.
Our seven previous days worth of live updates and match notes for these world championships can be found below.
DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | DAY 7
Willie has been synthesizing the best moments and notable accomplishments at the end of each morning session.
DAY 1 | DAY 2 | DAY 3 | DAY 4 | DAY 5 | DAY 6 | DAY 7
The morning session will end with the quarterfinals. The evening session will be the semifinals from today and medal matches from yesterday. Be sure to read today's bracket analysis.
Mat B the place to be tomorrow, guys pic.twitter.com/jPj4Tnd8g0
— Willie Saylor (@WillieAtFLO) September 20, 2019
Starting off with the repechage from yesterday's weights.
Nations Qualifying For Olympics Today
74kg: Japan, Kazakhstan
86kg: India, Iran, San Marino, Switzerland
97kg: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, United States
125kg: Syria, Uzbekistan.
Preliminary Rounds
Mats A and D both have heavyweight matches to determine Olympic qualifying spots. Khasanboy Rakhimov (UZB) leads 2-0 at the break on D. Egzon Shala (KOS) leads 7-5 at the break on A. Badzha Khutaba (SYR) now up 9-7 on A. Rakhimov with two more takedowns in the second period and closes out the match 6-0 to qualify Uzbekistan for the Olympics. After the challenge on A, the score is 14-7 in favor of Khutaba. According to Bryan Hazard, the win there by Syria guaranteed their first wrestling Olympian in 24 years.
On D now is 2017 world champ and 2018 bronze Zurabi Iakobishvili of Georgia. On C is Russian 86kg rep Artur Naifonov. Iakobishvili up 5-0 in the second period, Naifonov up 4-0 at the break.
Up on A is Myles Amine, representing San Marino. He trails Ali Shabanau 1-0 about 90 seconds in. Another Amine shot blown dead. Shabanau traps Amine's ankle, but he fights out and stalemates with 3:30 left. Restart at 2:11, Shabanau on the clock. He gets the point and the takedown! Failed chest wrap for Belarus and he's up 3-1. Final minute. Another takedown to ice it! 5-1 over the three-time world medalist. He's got a tough road to hoe though, will likely have Pan Am Games champ Yurieski Torreblanca Queralta (CUB) next. Cuba won a tight one 2-1 over China.
Match 1 - Pat Downey vs Hovhannes Mkhitaryan (ARM)
First Period: Downey in red. Couple shots early and they're looking to hit Armenia for passive. Downey shoots but Mkhitaryan gets him out first, trailing 1-0. Chest wrap situation, ARM lands on his back, they go one blue. Officials conference now, they change it to 4. Challenge lost and it's 5-1 now. Handfighting in the center, over under and Downey dumps him for 4.D Diving at legs in front, arm spin attempt for Mkhitaryan, they go out of bounds, and grounded call. Funky Bunky ices it! 11-1 win in his worlds debut. Great start for PDIII
Couple important ones on A and B. Sharif Sharifov, in his first time up at 97, winning 9-0 over Korea at the break. He will get the winner of Aliaksandr Hushtyn (BLR) and Valerii Andriitsev (UKR). Hushtyn leading on criteria off a Caution+1 at the break. Couple young bucks on C, Shabanibengar (IRI) against Ciftci (IRI), winner gets Odikadze next. There are three cautions on B and it's 6-2 now in favor Hushtyn. Takedown Ukraine. Ches wrap attempt, Hushtyn leading 7-7 on criteria, 17 seconds left. Whizzer position, heads go down, Hushtyn's hits first and Andriitsev wins 8-7. Shabanibengar cruises, 9-1.
On C is Russia's Magomedrasul Idrisov at 61kg. Last year's bronze Tumenbileg (MGL) up 3-0 over Japan on B. He wins 3-2. Idrisov got an early takedown into a gut, up 5-1 late.
Match 2 -- Tyler Graff vs Jincheol Kim (KOR)
First Period: Graff in on the right leg, taking a while to finish, trying to lift it up, now in quad pod. Finally finishes. Pulling Kim into a front head but blown dead at 4:14. Korea doing a good job slowing Graff down so far. Much quicker on the righty single finish this time, 4-0 at the break.
Second Period: Righty single off the bat, 6-0 and looking for a lace. Same shot, to headwheel, 8-0. Finally gets his gut wrench and 10-0. Was looking for a turn on top the whole match but finally broke through at the end.
On C, second period, China up 3-0 over Ukraine, but Petro Bileichuk gets the takedown to pull within one. The winner of this match gets Graff next. Minghu Liu holds on to win 3-2. Liu was U23 bronze last year and Asian silver this year. Rasul Kaliev damn near killed Albania on that head pinch to close out the tech.
Over on D, Iakobishvili and Navruzov nearly come to blows at the end of the first period, Uzbekistan up 1-0. Winner here gets Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL) for bronze. Iakobishvili on the clock, right as he's about to give it up, they go Caution+1 against Navruzov and Georgia lead 1-1 on criteria. Iakobishvili drops to the mat, may have been poked or scratched. Low double by Georgia, Navruzov attempts chest wrap but no go. Georgia shoots him out, 4-1 now in the final minute. Looking for the head pinch late, stalemate, 15 to go. Iakobishvili wins 4-1 and makes his third straight medal match.
On B, late against Poland, Mao Okui gets a takedown into a gut to lead 6-2. After surprisingly knocking off 2017 world bronze Yuhi Fujinami to make the team, he now qualifies Japan for the Olympics.
Now wrestling, 2016 Olympic gold medalist Hassan Yazdanicharati of Iran against 2012 Olympic silver Jaime Espinal of Puerto Rico. His pace hasn't changed, snap to takedown, snap to takedown and it's 4-0 now. Finishes it off with a snap into a gut wrench, 10-0 after 2:13 of the match.
In a battle of Olympic medalists, Rio Olympic ? Hassan YAZDANI (IRI) downs London ? Jaime ESPINAL (PUR), 10-0. #WrestleNurSultan pic.twitter.com/PxoflnCprZ
— United World Wrestling (@wrestling) September 21, 2019
Myles Amine on deck on mat A against Yurieski Torreblanca Queralta of Cuba. On D again is Naifonov, the Ossetian. Downey is up after him. Naifonov wins 4-0. Deepak Punia comesback to beat KAZ on B.
Amaine leads 1-0 on the shot clock point. In on a shot now and fighting hard, stalemated at 3:32. Low single to start the second and this one he finishes. Takedown Cuba, 3-2 with a minute left now. Amine shot, blown dead. Scramble situation late and Amine holds on!
Match 3 - Pat Downey vs Zbigniew Baranowski (POL)
First Period: Downey in blue vs the Euro runner-up at 92kg. No points in the first minute. Poland on the clock at 4:37. Downey up 1-0, 2-0 now after the stepout. 2-0 at the break.
Second Period: Another stepout! 3-0 Downey. Baranowski shoots, has him up in the air. Finishes, 3-2 now. Stepout madness! Downey is winning 4-2 on grit baby. Seatbelt whizzer situation, Downey grabs the ankle. Blown dead at 51 seconds. Poland snaps, Downey revoers, another snap but but he drags out of it and finishes the go behind. Underhook late but Downey counters and wins! He's in the Round of 16.
How about this on D, a couple 2012 London finalists in Sharif Sharifov (AZE) and Valerii Andriitsev (UKR). Dudarov of Germany leading Boris Makoev late. The German knocks off 2 seed and 2017 silver Boris Makoev! He'll have Downey next.
Man, this is gonna be nuts. Amine has 2014 world sivler at 74kg Sosuki Takatani of Japan next. The winner of that gets the Dudarov/Downey winner, to qualify the weight for the Olympics.
Match 4 - Kyle Snyder vs Mausam Khatri (IND)
First Period: No points in the first minute, Khatri gets hit for passive. Oh lord, guts are a thing folks. Snyder crunches Khatri after the takedown, leading 4-0. Another takedown, 6-0 now. Short single, into a gut, 10-0 Snyder. Easy Money.
Great one on C. Shabani of Iran trailing Elizbar Odikadze of Georgia 5-4, two minutes in. Couple Olympic medalists on A, Ibragimov of Uzbekistan leading 6-0 over Saritov of Romania at the break. Shabani takes the lead 7-5. Ibragimov gives up 5 in the second but holds on to win 6-5. Odikadze ices it, 11-7 late.
Sadulaev up on A against Nicolai Ceban of Moldova. Yeah, that gut is still nasty. Took him over a minute to get a takedown, but two guts off it. Now three, but Ceban reverses and it's 8-2 with 4:14 left. That's how it stays at the break. Swim into misdirection and takedown Sadulaev. There was a roll through crotch lock attempt, but two for Russia. Pancake finishes off the tech.
Defending world champ Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez of Cuba up on D. No points 90 seconds in, Cuba on the clock. Akhmednabi Gvarzatilov (AZE) leading 1-0 at the break. 2016 world bronze and 2013 JR world champ still up 1-0 with two minutes to go. Azerbaijan goes on the clock at 1:41. But he gets a takedown right away and leads 3-0, Bonne looks tired. Shot, into upperbody and Gvarz puts him to his back, up 7-0 late. And the reigning gold medalist loses first round.
Idrisov leading 1-0 with under two minutes to go, Tumenbileg on the clock. Behnam Ehsanpoor of Iran up 1-0 on Recep Topal of Turkey and after a shot on the edge is up 2-0. Idrisov extends his lead to 4-0.
Match 5 - Tyler Graff vs Minghu Liu (CHN)
First Period: Graff in red. Winner gets 2016 world silver Beka Lomtadze in the quarters. Graff chases him, pulls him into short head, blown dead at 5:01. Graff up 1-0 after the shot clock. Stepout and he extends the lead to 2-0. Graff is chasing Liu all over the mat, China tries a headlock and slip. That looked like a bail.
Second Period: And again, immediate shot! 4-0 now and the rib cruncher is coming. No turn though, up 4-0 with 2:43 to go. Liu on the clock at 2:04, Graff's pace is nonstop. Halfway to a tech with 90 seconds left, restart after Liu tried to smack Graff. Looking go behind, Liu comes up and Graff shoots, 7-0. That'll do it, Graff's in the quarters.
Match 6 - Kyle Dake vs Oibek Nasirov (KGZ)
First Period: What the heck just happened, Dake got taken down immediately. Trying a gut Nasirov reversed to his back. Dake gets one gut but they go out before he gets his second. Short offense, into rear standing, into a single and Dake drives him to his back, 8-2 now. Turns him, 10-2. Out of bounds. Snap, go behind, drives him to the mat like he did vs Zahid last year at Final X. Despite giving up the first takedown, the world champ gets a first period tech.
Salkazanov (SVK) wins on A, Nabiev (RUS) wins 5-0 on B, and Rashid Kurbanov (UZB) comes back not once but twice from six point deficits to knock off 4 seed Bahman Teymouri, who looks hurt.
Amine vs Takatani on B. No points a minute in. Cross ankle and Takatani has no answer, Amine up 2-0 after hardly a scramble. Amine leads 2-0 at the break. Last year's bronze Friev just beat last year's silver Erdin, avenging a 7-4 loss from last year's finals. Takatani on the shot, trying to come out the back. Amine is fighting like hell to not give it up but finally does. Scramble and it looks like it's gonna be stalemated, now Amine looking for a go behind. Japan hips out, somehow no points either way. Another scramble, Amine working around and he gets two at the buzzer! Japan is challenging. This is as close as possible, and they confirm two! Amine wins an is in the quarters.
Match 7 - Pat Downey vs Ahmed Dudarov (GER)
First Period: Downey in Red on A. Dudarov just knocked off 2017 world silver Boris Makoev (SVK). Dudarov was Euro Games bronze this year, and was JR world silver down at 74kg in 2012. And we're off. Collar ties early, head to head. Downey taking ground. Dudarov loses his balance but Downey doesn't chase. Germany grounds himself to prevent pushout, gets hit for passive at 5:15. Downey had him in the zone but chased right into a firemans and trials 4-0. Whizzer situation right after that Downey's head hits out first, 5-0. But Downey responds with a takedown. Slip, nevermind. Downey in on the shot on the edge but they rule grounded, 4 minutes left. Single, lifted by Dudarov, on the edge, head hits and he's up 7-0. Downey tries a throw, lands on his back, down 9-0 at the break.
Second Period: Time to go for broke. Dudarov once again drops in on the firemans and Downey loses 13-0. He is on the same side as Yazdanicharati. Getting pulled back into repechage is highly unlikely.
Naifonov leads Shapiev 2-0 at the break, and holds on to win. Quarterfinals are about to begin.
Match 8 - Tyler Graff vs Beka Lomtadze (GEO)
First Period: Graff in blue against the three seed on Mat D. Keeping their space early, Graff shoots from space but fought off. Another low single from space, no luck. Graff trying to get his hands on him now. Lomtadze hit for passive at 4:58. Finally a shot by Lomtadze but Graff was ready for it, no serious threat to score. Lomtade on the clock and Graff is up 1-0 now. Another great sprawl by Graff. He's holding center and now in deep, first time he's come close to locking his hands, attacking the other leg from his first few shots. 1-0 at the break.
Second Period: Another shot right off the whistle, this time he doesn't score. Pulling him into short offense, Lomtadze in deep but they stop it before Graff's knee gets tweaked, 1:55 left. Graff hit for passive, even though he's been holding center and outshooting him like 3-1. Stepout though and Lomtadze leads on criteria. Short offense, Lomtadze pushing back in, 50 to go. Back in short offense, cleared out. Short time here. Graff shoots, Lomtadze counters with a crotch lock, and it's 3-1. That's how it ends.
Match 9 - Kyle Dake vs Gadzhi Nabiev (RUS)
First Period: Dake in the red on Mat B. No points 30 seconds in. Passive against Dake at 5:14. Passive against Nabiev. JR World champ in 2015 and U23 silver last year is Nabiev. Dake on the clock at 4:08. Classic Kyle Dake, no desire to give up points of any kind, ever. Forces a stepout at 29 on the shot clock and leads 1-0.
Second Period: Nabiev drops in on Kyles right leg and feels exactly how damn hard it is to score on Kyle Dake, stalemated. Slidby attempt fo Nabiev, then they put Dake on the clock again. Dake trails on criteria in the final 75 seconds. Nabiev on the edge an Dake walks him out. Go behind and he leads 4-1 with 35 seconds left. Head pinch attempt, moved Dake around, but the world champ gets in on the leg and finishes the takedown. Dake wins 5-1 and will have Rashid Kurbanov (UZB) in the semis.
Torn here. Rooting for Amine means an American (not by country) gets in to the Olympics. But rooting for Germany keeps Downey's slim repechage hopes alive. Immediate takedown for Amine. Took a little longer on the second one, but Amine finishes once again to make it 4-0. Yazdanicharati pins Russia and qualifies Iran for the Olympics. Colombia beating Deepak Punia on C. A shot by Dudarov, limp arms, on the edge, finishes and it's 4-2. Amine holds on to win! Carlos Izquierdo Mendez, who once took down Jordan Burroughs with an inside trip, lost a hearbreaker to Deepak, 7-6. Stefan Reichmuth of Switzerland upsets last year's bronze Friev 2-1 on A. Friev had beaten Fatih Erdin the prior round, so last year's world silver is out and fails to qualify.
Qualifying for the Olympics at 86kg:????????
— The Wrestling Nomad (@wrestlingnomad) September 21, 2019
Match 10 - Kyle Snyder vs Magomed Ibragimov (UZB)
First Period: Snyder in the red against the Rio bronze on Mat C. Snyder gives up a stepout 35 seconds in. Low single, UZB finishes and leads 3-0 with 3:54 left. Snyder responds with a takedown, 3-2 now. On B, Alisher Yergali techs Mongolia and qualifies Kazakhstan for Tokyo. The home crowd is going crazy. Big single into double to the back, Snyder leads 6-3 at the end of the period.
Second Period: Snyder looking spry and light on his feet, Ibragimov slowing down. Looking for the go behind, Ibragimov tried to switch but Snyder finishes and it's 8-3. Snyder once again makes him pay, times the go behind perfectly, 10-3. Pouring it on now, 12-3 with a minute left. Stepout finishes it off. Once again, it is Kyle Snyder and three former Soviet Bloc countries in the semis. Snyder will have 2011 world champ, 2012 Olympic gold, and 2016 Olympic bronze Sharif Sharifov (AZE) in the semis.
Qualifying for the Olympics at 97kg:????????
— The Wrestling Nomad (@wrestlingnomad) September 21, 2019
Russia in first, Kazakhstan in second, USA and Iran tied for third after the morning session.
Semifinals
Idrisov with the low single and he lead 2-0 over Ehsanpoor of Iran. Stepout for Ehsanpoor and it's 2-1. Lomtadze just rolled up six points on C. Ehsanpoor so quick to start the second but Idrisov kicks out. Lomtadze up 8-1 now, looking like Graff will get pulled back in. Iran having trouble figuring out how to get through Idrisov's first line of defense. Aware with a stepout and takedown to make it 8-4, but there's only a minute left. Ehsanpoor with the stepout, 18 to go. Ehsanpoor in on a shot late but Idrisov circles out and makes the finals. Aware pushing for a comeback but gets overzealous and rolls to his own back. Lomtadze vs Idrisov in the finals. Russian coach Tedeev carries Idrisov over his shoulder to the media area.
Match 11 - Kyle Dake vs Rashid Kurbanov (UZB)
First Period: Dake in red. Dake jab stepping quite a bit. Dake got poked in the eye, restart at 5:20. Passive against Kurbanov at 4:52. Dake snap, chasing down a go behind to his right, finally gets it. Then a gut wrench. Follows that up and it's 6-0 now, back on their feet at 3:59. That's how they'll go into the break. Over on C, Hasanov up 1-0 after the Caution+1 by Salkazanov
Second Period: No scoring after 90 seconds. Caution+1 against Dake. Kurbanov in on the shot, no score. 25 seconds left, fans are booing Dake, he's on his knees, outside the circle, calling for medical attention cause he is bleeding from his mouth. Kurbanov tries double unders, now sits Dake to his back. Kyle Dake wins 6-1 and is back in the finals. For the second straight year he will wrestle Jabrayil Hasanov (AZE) for gold.
On B, Olympic champ Hassan Yazdanicharati runs out Myles Amine. Shot and finish, 3-0 now for the Iranian. Another single finish and it's 5-0, into a gut. Amine became the first Olympic qualifier in San Marino history, but is losing 7-0 now. Make that 9-0 and back on their feet at 4:13. Yazdani is overwhelming, wins 11-0. Tight one on C, Deepak Punia (IND) up 2-0 and has a Caution+1 in his favor, takedown Punia so 4-0 now. Takedown Reichmuth, Punia responds with a score of his own and it's 6-2 now with 35 left, now up to 8-2 with 30 to go.
Match 12 - Kyle Snyder vs Sharif Sharifov (AZE)
First Period: Snyder in the red on Mat C. Sharifov is a 2011 world champ, 2012 Olympic gold and 2016 Olympic bronze. Great crowd here, we're told it will be sold out for the finals. Brutal handfight going on, passive offerend and confirmed against Sharifov. Sadulaev gets 2 over on B. Passive against Snyder at 4:35. Sharifov on the clock at 4:09. Lot of handfighting, not much in the way of shots that period. Sadulaev up 6-1 at the break on B.
Second Period: Sharifov shoots right off the whistle, splits the legs and drives through for two. Low ankle shot, Snyder broke his grip, Sharifov pancakes him, up 4-1 now. Snyder forces him out, 4-2. Shraifov shot, over to the edge, stepout. Officials conference. Meanwhile, 8-1 Sadulaev over KAZ. Final 90 seconds here. Low ankle, on Shraifov's left leg, heavy hips and blown dead at 1:02. Snyder looking to go headwheel, stuck under again. Final 30 seconds here, sprint has begun. Sadulaev wins 8-1. Snyder loses 5-2, no rubber match. All Dagestan final between Sadulaev and Sharifov.
Medal match time.
70kg Bronze:
Zurabi Iakobishvili (GEO) vs Magomedmurad Gadzhiev (POL). A rematch of the 2017 world finals which was won 3-1 by Iakobishvili. Iakobishvili going on the clock. Gadzhiev gets a takedown on the edge after the clock expires, 3-0. Georgia shot, cleared out by Poland. Helluva double by Iakobishvili to pull within one to end the period. Gadzhiev holding center, but gets hit for passive. Iakobishvili in on Gadzhiev's right leg, hanging on, knee driving in. Gadzhiev reaching for an ankle, stalemated at 0:42. Gadzhiev gets revenge and wins 3-2.
70kg Bronze:
Nicolae Cojocaru (GBR) vs Yones Emami (IRI). The horns are going for Iran already. Emami with the quick takedown into a gut, 4-0. Emami takes him to his back, pinfall.
70kg Gold:
David Baev (RUS) vs Nurkozha Kaipanov (KAZ). Baev was 2017 JR world champ and Kaipanov was this year's Asian champ. Arm drag attempt for Baev. Kaipanov goes dump to stepover and they give 2, now a counter exposure for Baev and he leads on criteria, getting some time on top. First gut wrench, blown dead at 4:24. Takedown Baev and he's looking for a ball and chain, into a trap arm, 10-2 now. Back to the second. Baev catches a KAZ Sshot. Snatch single, switches it off to a double and Baev gets a tech in the world finals.
74kg Bronze:
Daniyar Kaisanov (KAZ) vs Zelimkhan Khadjiev (FRA). I wonder if Khadjiev remembers being up by 8 with 40 seconds to go and getting headlocked by Yadav in the 2015 bronze match? Kaisanov on the clock 90 seconds in. Passive against Khadjiev at 3:22. Khadjiev shoots on the left leg, sitting to shelf, white cube thrown by the chair to stop it. Khadjiev on the clock at 2:01. Forces a stepout and leads 2-0. Passby and Khadjiev leads 4-0. Kaisanov shoots low, comes out the back quick, trails 4-2. Kaisanov gets to quad pod, in the zone, they go 1 stepout, when Kaisanov ripped him back to the mat. A couple water bottles get thrown on the mat and the fans are booing vociferously. Officials conference. They re-rule 2 and the crowd went nuts. Woah, France won the challenge, so stays up 4-3. Bottle thrown on the mat after Kaisanov can't score.
Match 13 - Jordan Burroughs vs Mao Okui (JPN)
First Period: Burroughs shooting for his eighth career medal, and trying to lock up a spot in next year's Olympic Trials finals. Burroughs fired out of a cannon on that double, and he's got a trap arm, 4-0 now with 5:10 left. Oh my lord, he did it again. These doubles are unstoppable. Low single, Okui hops out of it, chasing him again, Okui gets out. Okui dives in to get a stalemate and does.
Second Period: This is out of hand, another perfect double from JB. He finishes with a lace an a tech. No celebration, but we celebrate for him. An American legend wins his eighth medal.
74kg Gold:
Frank Chamizo (ITA) vs Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS). This should be good. Sidakov is 2-0 all-time against Chamizo, having beaten him at the Alans in 2017 and last year's semis in Budapest. Chamizo on the clock. Sidakov is always doing something: tying up a wrist or throwing an underhook. Chamizo tried pulling him in for a slideby but no go. Sidakov hit for passive at 3:29. 1-0 at the break. Chamizo with the single to start the second, took about 15 seconds to finish, but he got the takedown. Sidakov pops the underhook, clears to the leg and gets a quick finish, up 3-2 with 1:43 to go. He ices it with a leg attack late. Sidakov wins back-to-back titles and is now a combined 5-0 against Chamizo and Burroughs.
92kg Bronze:
Four seed Irakli Mtsituri (GEO) up 1-0 at the break. Kazakhstan is on the clock in the second. Georgia getting medical attention, up 2-1 with 38 seconds remaining. Mtsituri claims bronze.
92kg Bronze:
Georgii Rubaev (MDA) vs Alikhan Zhabrailov (RUS). Russia with the first takedown, and that leads holds to the break. Zhabrailov forces a stepout, up 3-0 with 2:03 to go. Rubaev takedown with 1:15 left. Zhabrailov holds on to win 3-2.
Match 14 - J'den Cox (USA) vs Alireza Karimi (IRI)
First Period: A rematch of last year's semis won by Cox 5-2. That was the last time J'den was taken down. These are your top two seeds and ranked 1 and 2 in the world. Iranian vuvuzelas going but the reigning world champ with an easy takedown. Cox is 3-0 lifetime against Karimi. Cox with the sweep single and is up 4-0 at the break.
Second Period: Sorry folks, internet has been touch and go, but the score remains the same. Cox gets a shutout and wins 4-0. He is a two-time world champ. One of the most impressive wrestlers we've ever seen, a defensive maestro. He's now medaled in his first four tries at the world championships.
125kg Bronze:
Badzha Khutaba (SYR) vs Oleksandr Khotiannivskyi (UKR). Quick stepout, and an even faster takedown, 3-0 a minute in. That score holds at the break. Stepout and Syria is challenging. They win the challenge, 3-1. Khotsi responds with a double, up 5-1 now. Khotsi wins.
125kg Bronze:
Khasanboy Rakhimov (UZB) vs Zhiwei Deng (CHN). Khasanboy pinned Gable Steveson last year at JR worlds. Deng was the silver medalist in Budapest. Eight seconds in and Rakhimov is holding his head. So Deng has one move, and it's a chest wrap. They give 4 Rakhimov, China challenging. UZB wins, 5-0 now. Deng with the takedown, and three guts, UZB challenges. So they say one China on the stepout, 5-1 now. After a Caution+1, Rakhimov wins 6-1.
125kg Gold:
Geno Petriashvili (GEO) vs Taha Akgul (GEO). The rivalry continues. Geno is the only guy to win MFS titles in both 2017 and 2018. Passive against Petriashvili. Akgul strikes first, up 2-0 with 4:26 left. Akgul controlling center and the handfight. In the second, Geno shot and Akgul sprawl, looking for a go behind and that's a 4-0 lead. It was 7-0 Akgul at Euros, can he get to that here? Final two minutes. Geno with the takedown, is Turkey fading like he did in Paris? Geno shooting, far ankle scramble, but Geno rolls him through, and then Akgul crotch locks. Score is showing 6-4 with 39 seconds left. Swing single for Geno, 15 to go. Akgul trying to whizzer, but Geno gets to the hip and closes it out. Wow, Geno wins 3 in a row. He came back once again.