Date of competition: Saturday, September 12th

USA Wrestler: Tony Ramos: This will be Ramos' second consecutive World Team this year. The former Hawkeye NCAA Champion dropped his opening bout at the 2014 Worlds and was not pulled into the repechage because Bekhbayar Erdenebat (MGL) failed to to make the finals. Ramos dropped the opening round bout, 6-4. In the crucial sequence of the bout, Ramos turned Erdenebat with a power half for a two-point exposure, but gave up four as he lost control and was flipped over the top.

Ramos won a gold medal at the Grand Prix of Paris in January. He also dropped a 5-5 criteria bout to Rahimi during the World Cup. His kryptonite has been Bonne Rodriguez. Ramos held an early lead at the World Cup before Bonne Rodriguez cradled and pinned Ramos. At Beat the Streets in Times Square he dominated Ramos and scored a 14-1 technical fall.

Ramos is currently Ranked 17th by UWW and has expectations from many within the United States to make the medal stand. Tony is definitely in the tier of contenders, but it is so difficult to break through at 57kg because of the incredible depth at the weight. Tony’s draw will be very important competing in such a deep field.



2014 World Placements:
1. Kyong-Il Yang North Korea
2. Vladimir Khinchegashvili Georgia
3. Hassan Rahimi Iran
3. Vladislav Andreev Belarus
5. Yuki Takahashi Japan
5. Bekhbayar Erdenebat Mongolia
7. Akhmenabi Gvarztilov Azerbaijan
8. Mehmed Feraim Bulgaria
9. Viktor Lebedev Russia
10. Mude Qi China

Notables that were not pulled into the repechage:
- Lebedev was pinned by Rahimi and eliminated when Rahimi fell to Yang in the semi-finals.
- Tony Ramos was defeated in the first round by Erdenebat, 6-4. Erdenebat fell to Khinchegashvili in the semi-finals, 6-3, and eliminated Ramos from his first World Championship.

2013 World Placements (55kg):
1. Hassan Rahimi Iran
2. Amit Kumar India
3. Nariman Israpilov Russia
3. Sezer Akguel Turkey
5. Rasul Kaliev Kazakhstan
5. Angel Escobedo USA
7. Zoheir El Quarragqe France
8. Altinbek Alimbaev Kygyzstan
9. Bekhbayar Erdenebat Mongolia
10. Giorgi Edisherashvili Georgia

Notables that were not pulled into the repechage:
-Yang (19th) lost to Israpilov, 12-8, in the first round before Rahimi knocked Yang out by defeating Israpilov in the semi-finals.
- Edisherashvili lost to Israpilov, 17-15, in the quarterfinals and was eliminated by Rahimi’s win over Israpilov in the semi-final.



Title Contenders:
Yang, North Korea (UWW No.1) - 2012 Olympic Bronze, 2009 and 2014 World Champion. He has battled with Jong to keep the 57kg spot, but it was solidified with Jong’s 5th place performance at the 2015 Asian Championships

Bonne Rodriguez, Cuba (UWW No.3) - 2014 World Bronze (61kg), 2015 Pan American Games Champion. He has been extremely impressive since dropping to 57kg

Khinchegashvili, Georgia (UWW No.8) - 2012 Olympic Silver, 2014 World Silver, 2x Junior World Champion. He slid in the rankings after being DQ’d at the 2015 Euro Games in the semi-final

Lebedev, Russia (UWW No.2) - 2010 and 2011 World Champion, 2015 European Games Champion

Rahimi, Iran(UWW No.4) - 2013 World Champion, 2014 World Bronze

Medal Contenders:
Erdenebat, Mongolia (UWW 5th) - 2014 World 5th, 2015 Asian Championship Gold

Andreev, Belarus (UWW 16th) - 2014 World Bronze, Medved Prizes 1st. He was the other half of the semi-final brawl at the Euro Games with Khinchegashvili.



Contender Commentary:
There is not a shortage of championship contenders at 57kg. Of the former World Champions, three headline the field and Khinchegashvili has twice been disappointed on the biggest stage. Yang was stung by several different Russian opponents, as well as Rahimi, in his title drought between 2009 and 2014. All the big players have traded wins, except for Rodriguez. Rodriguez competed at 60kg before the weight changes and medaled at 61kg last year. The random draw will be very important.


Who does Brock like to win?
I am taking Bonne Rodriguez to win the title here at 57kg. He has wrestled surprisingly well for someone his age dropping a weight class. If paired opposite of Khinchegashvili, I believe the list of world final disappointments for the Georgian will continue. Rodriguez is almost impossible to take down when you attack his right leg, and his par terre offense is second to none.