The 2023 Senior World Championships are set to go down in Belgrade, Serbia, September 16-24. The men’s freestyle portion of the tournament will take place from September 16-19. Check out the below article for a complete breakdown with predictions for the 97 kg weight class at the 2023 World Championships.

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97 kg World Championship Rankings 

Check out the top 10 wrestlers ranked at 97 kg who will compete at the 2023 World Championships. These rankings are based on head-to-head results between these competitors.

View all of our 2023 World Championship Rankings here.

Abdulrashid Sadulaev Is Back & The Favorite In Serbia

Abdulrashid Sadulaev will return to the World Championships after missing last year due to Russia’s ban from international competition. This year, Sadulaev will attempt to further cement his legacy as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time by winning his 6th world title to go along with his 2 Olympic gold medals. It’s been 6 years since Sadulaev lost his last match and the “Russian Tank” will be a huge favorite to win the 97 kg weight class in Serbia.

While most are familiar with Sadulaev’s dominance, it’s worth quickly recapping his career to truly appreciate his greatness. Sadulaev first won a world championship in 2014 down at 86 kg where he stayed through the 2016 Olympics. From 2014 to 2016 Sadulaev was undefeated on his way to two world titles and an Olympic gold medal. Then, in 2017, Sadulaev chose to move up to 97 kg and challenge Kyle Snyder at the World Championships in Paris. With the team title on the line, the two Olympic champions met in one of the most historic world finals in the history of the sport. In that match, Snyder prevailed over Sadulaev with a late score to win 6-5 in what was Sadulaev’s first loss in 4 years and the first match in an incredible rivalry.

Since that loss to Snyder, Sadulaev has been as close to perfect as possible. He got revenge on Snyder in the 2018 World Finals with a first-period pin. Sadulaev then won again in 2019 by defeating Sharif Sharifov in the finals after Sharifov defeated Snyder in the semi-finals. Then, in 2021, Sadulaev defeated Snyder in the Olympic finals (6-3) and again in the world finals (6-0) to establish himself as the best pound-for-pound wrestler in the world and the top wrestler of his generation. 

Sadulaev's win over Snyder in the Tokyo Olympic Finals:

Sadulaev has only wrestled three matches this year and was able to defeat Shamil Musaev (6-1), Sergey Kozyrev (5-2), and Alikhan Zhabrailov (3-2) to make the world team for Russia. In those matches, Sadulaev appeared to still be rounding into form after a long layoff from competition. However, we’ve seen him take an extended period of time off in the past and still perform at his peak at the World Championships. Sadulaev has proven time and again to perform his best when it matters most. That means we should expect to be at his best in Serbia and the man to beat for gold.

Sadulaev's win over Snyder in the 2021 World Finals:

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Can Kyle Snyder Defeat Sadulaev?

While Abdulrashid Sadulaev is on a tier all by himself at the top of 97 kg, Kyle Snyder has proven himself as the lone contender to unseat Sadulaev. Snyder is the only wrestler in the field to boast a win over Sadulaev and Snyder hasn’t lost to anyone other than Sadulaev since January of  2020.

Beyond that, Snyder has defeated almost every other major contender in the world at 97 kg. In the past two years, Snyder has wins over #3 Givi Matcharashvili, #4 Magomedkhan Magomedov, Mohammad Mohammadian, #6 Mojtaba Goleij, Batyrbek Tsakulov, J’den Cox, and many other top-ranked wrestlers at 97 kg. Last year, when Sadulaev wasn’t in the field at the world championships, Snyder was unchallenged on his way to a world title. 

Snyder's win in the 2022 World Finals:

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At this point, Snyder’s only obstacle is Sadulaev, and defeating the Russian Tank has to be his main goal. It’s been almost two years since they’ve met in competition and their potential meeting in Serbia is one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the tournament. Snyder’s greatest challenge in his two matches with Sadulaev in 2021 was getting to the legs and finishing his attacks. In the Olympic final, Snyder got to Sadulaev’s legs three times but was only able to finish once. Sadulaev was able to counter the other two attacks for a chest wrap for two points each time. Then in the World final, Snyder never got his hands locked around Sadulaev’s legs. Snyder will need to solve the defensive puzzle Sadulaev presents if he hopes to have a chance of winning his 4th world title this year in Serbia. 

Incredible Depth At 97 kg

There is a solid third tier of wrestlers at 97 kg who will be interesting to watch and could present a challenge to either Snyder or Sadulaev. This group consists of Givi Matcharashvili (GEO), Magomedkhan Magomedov (AZE), Akhmed Tazhudinov (BRN), Vladislav Baitsaev (HUN), and Mojtaba Goleij (IRI). Matcharashvili and Magomedov both won world bronze medals at last year’s world championships and have lost close bouts against Snyder in the past year. On top of the world bronze, Matcharashvili also won a European title this past April where he defeated Magomedov in the finals, 4-3.

Matcharashvili's win over Magomedov in the 2023 European Championship finals:

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Despite the loss to Matcharashvili, Magomedov has proven to be a consistent top 5 wrestler in the world over the past 2 years. He’s a Russian transfer who won a junior world title back in 2018. He also boasts wins over Vladislav Baitsaev, Mohammad Mohammadian, and Elizbar Odikadze. At only 25 years old, Magomedov is in the prime of his career and will be a dangerous wrestler in this field.

Magomedkhan Magomedov's win over Vladislav Baitsaev in the 2023 European Championship Semifinals:

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Akhmed Tazhudinov is a transfer from Russia who has been on an incredible run over the past year. Tazhudinov has won 4 of the 5 international tournaments he’s competed since last November. During this run, Tazhudinov’s best wins came against the aforementioned Matcharashvili and Mojtaba Goleij. Tazhudinov hasn’t yet wrestled Snyder or Sadulaev but his results against the rest of the field make him an interesting wrestler to watch in Belgrade. 

The only wrestler to defeat Tazhudinov over the past year is Hungary’s Vladislav Baitsaev (listed in the bracket as Vlagyiszlav Bajcajev). Baitsaev is another Russian transfer who was the second-best 97 kg wrestler in Russia for years behind Sadulaev. Baitsaev placed 5th at last year’s world championships and his career wins over Tazhudinov, Elizbar Odikadze, Aliaksandr Hushtyn, Reineris Salas, and Batyrbek Tsakulov prove he’ll once again be a medal threat this year. It's worth noting that Baitsaev has fallen out of the rankings due to losses this year against Alisher Yergali, Erik Thiele, and Zbigniew Baranowski. Despite those losses, his career accolades still make him a wrestler to watch in Serbia. 

The final wrestler to keep an eye on in Serbia is Mojtaba Goleij who won a world bronze medal back in 2021. That year, Goleij was less than 10 seconds away from defeating Kyle Snyder in the world semis but gave up a takedown to lose, 3-2. Along with the close loss to Snyder, Goleij has defeated both Batisaev and Magomedov in the past and wrestles a style that has proven to give the best wrestlers in the world fits. Goleij will be randomly drawn into the bracket at worlds and could be a dangerous early-round draw for anyone at 97 kg. 

Goleij's loss to Kyle Snyder at the 2021 World Championships:

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97 kg 2023 World Championship Predictions

97 kg will be one of the most interesting weights to watch in Serbia this year. Obviously, Sadulaev is the favorite but we haven’t seen him at a World Championships in almost 2 years. Has the field caught up to him? Has Snyder figured out his defense? Has Sadulaev lost a step? We’ll find out the answer to all of these questions soon enough but until we see Sadulaev lose, I can’t think of a reason to pick against him. He’s proven to be the top pound-for-pound wrestler in the world and I believe he’ll prove it once again in Belgrade.

97 kg Medal Predictions:

Gold - Abdulrashid Sadulaev, AIN-RUS

Silver - Kyle Snyder, USA

Bronze - Akhmed Tazhudinov, BRN

Bronze - Magomedkhan Magomedov, AZE