Iran held wrestle-offs over the weekend to determine half of their team that will compete at the 2022 World Championships this September in Belgrade, Serbia. Along with incredible wrestling,  the passionate Iranian fans were on full display. Check out a summary of it all below.

61kg, Reza Atri vs Dariush Gholizadeh

57kg Tokyo Olympian Reza Atri has successfully moved up to 61kg and has won the right to represent Iran at the 2022 world championships. Atri defeated 2022 Asian Championship silver medalist Dariush Gholizadeh in their wrestle-off, 5-1, to seal his fate. Atri should be considered a major contender to medal at this year’s worlds, especially after defeating 2021 world bronze medalist Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM) last month at the Takhti Cup.

86kg, Hassan Yazdani vs Alireza Karimi

Defending world champion Hassan Yazdani made his 8th consecutive world/Olympic team in dominating fashion over 3-time world medalist Alireza Karimi. Yazdani won by technical superiority, 10-0 in classic “Yazdani fashion” - violent hand fighting, forward pressure, and powerful under hooks. Following Yazdani's win, a mob of Iranian fans stormed the mat to celebrate with their champion. Security was apparently lacking at the arena, and the pack of fans reached the mat without any resistance, celebrating with Yazdani for a significant amount of time. 

Yazdani is currently the #1 seed at the 2022 world championships with David Taylor at the #2 seed. The two are heavy favorites to meet in the finals for a rematch of last year’s gold medal matches at the Olympics and world championships. 

Yazdani's win over Karimi:

Fans celebrating with Yazdani following his win:

92kg, Kamran Ghasempour vs Amir Firouzpour

Defending world champion Kamran Ghasempour made the world team by defeating Amir Firouzpour in a low-scoring, 4-0 bout. Firouzpour was a formidable opponent as last year’s junior world champion and won bronze at the U23 world championships. Ghasempour is currently the #1 seed at the world championships and should be considered the favorite after beating J’den Cox in the semi-finals at last year’s world championships, 3-3. Of note, Cox is currently set to be the #3 seed and should be on the opposite side of the bracket from Ghasempour worlds. 

Ghasempour's win over Firouzpour:

97kg, Mohammad Mohammadian vs Mojtaba Goleij

Iran has two legitimate world champion contenders at 97kg in Mohammad Mohammadian and Mojtaba Goleij. Because of that, the two wrestled in a best-of-three series with Mohammadian winning two straight matches - 4-1 and 4-2. American fans should remember Mohammadian by his performance in January 2020 at the Matteo Pellicone where he pinned Kyle Snyder and teched Bo Nickal. While that performance was impressive, Mohammadian failed to place at the Tokyo Olympics, losing in the first round to Elizbar Odikadze (GEO). The potential rematch between Snyder and Mohammadian is by far the most interesting matchup at 97kg considering their past match-up and seeds. Snyder has the #1 seed locked up but Mohammadian has few seeding points and might be randomly drawn into the bracket at the world championships meaning Mohammadian and Snyder could meet in the very first round. 

Ghasempour vs Goleij, match 1:

Ghasempour vs Goleij, match 2:

125kg, Amir Zare vs Amirreza Masoumi

Defending world champion and Olympic bronze medalist, Amir Zare made his third consecutive world/Olympic team by defeating 2021 U17 world champion Amirreza Masoumi. Zare used his patented under hook and forward pressure to wear down his young opponent and cruise to an 11-3 victory. Zare is currently ranked #1 in the world and holds the #3 seed for this year’s world championships. Should the seeds hold, Zare will have to defeat world and Olympic champion Taha Akgul in the semi-finals to reach the finals. 3-time world champion Geno Petriashvili is the favorite to reach the finals from the top side of the bracket. Zare lost to Petriashvili at the Olympics, 6-3, but avenged it in the 2021 world finals - 9-2. 

Zare's win over Masoumi:

Even in defeat, Masoumi was impressive and, at only 18 years old, should be considered a favorite at 125kg should he wrestle at U20 worlds. Prior to the match with Zare, Masoumi defeated Yadollah Mohebbi, 8-2. Of note, Mohebbi is currently ranked #14 in our international rankings.

Masoumi's win over Mohebbi:

The Rest Of The Team

Iran has already awarded world team spots to Rahman Amouzad (65kg), Amir Yazdani (70kg), and Younes Emami (74kg). They now only have two weights remaining to decide - 57kg and 79kg. At 57kg, Iran will send 2021 world silver medalist Alireza Sarlak and Ahmad Javan to the upcoming ranking series event in Tunisia (July - ) to help decide the spot. Though Sarlak is the more accomplished, Javan defeated Sarlak at the Takhti cup in June (3-2) to put himself in the position to make the team. 

At 79kg, Iran has two dangerous contenders - Ali Savadkoui and Mohamad Nokhodi. Like at 57kg, both will compete in Tunisia to help determine the world team spot. Nokhodi won silver at last year’s world championships where he lost to Jordan Burroughs, 5-1. Savadkoui won the Asian Championships this year and notably lost a close, 2-1 match to Burroughs at the Yasar Dogu in February. 

To get a more detailed picture of Iran’s world team trials process click here.

With Russia banned from this year's world championships, USA and Iran are the clear favorites to win the team title. In fact, in our current world championship rankings, they are tied atop the leader board with 178 points apiece.