Zahid Valencia, who fell short of qualifying for Final X 2023 through the U.S. Open Wrestling Championships in April, where he was the runner-up at 86kg, decided shortly after to jump weight classes for the WTT Challenge in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

He topped Kollin Moore, 12-1, to earn the chance to wrestle at Final X.

Moore was the runner-up to Michael Macchiavello at the 2023 U.S. Open, and that’s now who Valencia will meet at Final X 2023 presented by Tezos.

Valencia, the top-ranked wrestler at 92kg on the latest FloWrestling Domestic Men’s Freestyle Rankings, is looking to make the Senior World Team for the first time, though he previously has won an age-group World medal.

The moment Valencia moved weight classes from 86kg to 92kg, he immediately became the favorite in that weight class, taking over the top spot in the rankings.

Subscribe to FloWrestling and the FloSports app to watch Final X Wrestling 

Yianni Diakomihalis vs Nick Lee - Final X Preview & Prediction

2023 Final X Wrestling Matchups

Valencia fell to David Taylor at Final X 2022.

This year’s edition of Final X will take place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on June 10. The event will feature the top two wrestlers at every weight class in a best-of-three series, with the winners making the 2023 United States World Team. 

The world team will travel to Belgrade, Serbia, to compete at the 2023 Senior World Championships from Sept. 16-24. 

Check below for the current matchups for Final X and a brief explanation of how each wrestler qualified for the 2023 event.

Here’s what to know about Zahid Valencia:

Zahid Valencia Has Past Success With Team USA

Valencia was named the USA Wrestling Athlete of the Week on Dec. 13, 2022. 

He was just back from UWW World Cup, where he won all three of his matches at 86kg to help the United States win the team title in men’s freestyle. 

He also claimed a silver medal at the 2017 U20 World Championships.

Of Course, Zahid Valencia Was A Collegiate Standout

Valencia claimed a pair of NCAA titles at 174 pounds (2018, 2019), to go along with three Pac-12 championships (2017-2019), while wrestling for Arizona State.

His success with the Sun Devils came after a standout high school career at California’s St. John Bosco, where he won three state titles.

Zahid Valencia had a small hurdle in 2020

Valencia was suspended for nine months in 2020, which meant stepping away from the ASU program while ranked No. 1 at 184 and looking for a third consecutive national title. The 2020 NCAA Championships ended up being canceled due to COVID-19.

His first match back from the suspension was a meeting with Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs. Burroughs won.

Zahid Valencia Wrestling Ranking 

In the most recent Domestic Men’s Freestyle rankings on FloWrestling, Valencia ranked first in the 92kg weight class. 

Here are the top 5: 

1. Zahid Valencia 
2. Michael Macchiavello 
3. Kollin Moore
4. Nate Jackson
5. Eric Schultz

Here are the complete rankings.

How Wrestlers Qualify For Final X Wrestling 2023

A wrestler can qualify for Final X in one of three ways.

First, all 2022 senior world medalists automatically qualified for Final X. There were seven wrestlers in men’s freestyle, six in women’s freestyle and zero in Greco-Roman who met this criterion.

Next, all champions from the 2023 US Open (held April 26-30) automatically qualified for Final X.

Finally, for the weights that didn’t have a returning world medalist, the World Team Trials Challenge Tournament (May 20-21) champion will earn a spot in Final X. 

Men’s Freestyle Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 57 kg: *Thomas Gilman vs Zane Richards
• 61 kg: Vito Arujau vs Nahshon Garrett
• 65 kg: *Yianni Diakomihalis vs Nick Lee
• 70 kg: *Zain Retherford vs Tyler Berger
• 74 kg: *Kyle Dake vs Jason Nolf
• 79 kg: *Jordan Burroughs vs Chance Marsteller
• 86 kg: *David Taylor vs Aaron Brooks
• 92 kg: Michael Macchiavello vs Zahid Valencia
• 97kg: *Kyle Snyder vs J’den Cox
• 125 kg: Gable Steveson vs Mason Parris

*Denotes 2022 World Medalist

Women’s Freestyle Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 50 kg: *Sarah Hildebrandt vs Audrey Jimenez
• 53 kg: *Dominique Parrish vs Katie Gomez
• 55 kg: Alisha Howk vs Jacarra Winchester
• 57 kg: *Helen Maroulis vs Xochitl Mota-Pettis 
• 59 kg: Michaela Beck vs Jennifer Page
• 62 kg: *Kayla Miracle vs Adaugo Nwachukwu
• 65 kg: Mallory Velte vs Macey Kilty
• 68 kg: Forrest Molinari vs Emma Bruntil
• 72 kg: *Amit Elor vs Joye Levendusky
• 76 kg: Kennedy Blades vs. Adeline Gray

*Denotes 2022 World Medalist

Men’s Greco-Roman Matchups At Final X Wrestling 2023

• 55 kg: Brady Koontz vs Dalton Duffield
• 60 kg: Dalton Roberts vs Ildar Hafizov
• 63 kg: Hayden Tuma vs Xavier Johnson
• 67 kg: Robert Perez III vs Alejandro Sancho
• 72 kg: Justus Scott vs Patrick Smith
• 77 kg: Kamal Bey vs Aliaksandr Kikiniou
• 82 kg: Spencer Woods vs Ryan Epps
• 87 kg: Alan Vera vs Zachary Braunagel
• 97 kg: Josef Rau vs Christian Dulaney
• 130 kg: Cohlton Schultz vs Adam Coon

How To Watch Final X Wrestling 2023 

Final X will stream live on FloWrestling and the FloSports app. 

FloWresting also will serve as home of match archives and provide the latest news from Final X.