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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125 kg World Championship Rankings 

Check out the top 10 wrestlers ranked at 125 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.

The Favorites

Taha Akgul (TUR), Geno Petriashvili (GEO), and Amir Zare (IRI) are the big three at 125 kg and should all be considered the favorites to win gold in Serbia. All three are past world champions and have traded wins and losses with one another over the last two years.

Taha Akgul is the defending champion winning gold last year with victories over Amir Zare in the semi-finals and Mongolia’s Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur in the finals. His win over Zare was especially significant considering the young Iranian defeated Akgul at the 2021 World Championships, 4-0. Beyond his performance last year at Worlds, Akgul is coming off his 10th European gold medal in April where he defeated Geno Petriashvili in the finals, 9-4. Akgul is a 3-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist and has been one of the best heavyweights in the world since 2012. He also hasn’t lost to Petriashvili since the 2019 World Championships and 3 wins over his long-time rival since then. At 32 years old, Akgul is still the man to beat at 125 kg.

Akgul's win over Zare in the semifinals of the 2022 World Championships:

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Iran’s Amir Zare is only 22 years old and looks to have the potential to match, and exceed, many of Akgul’s career accolades. Zare won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 when he lost only to Geno Petriashvili, 6-3. Then, 2 months later at the World Championships, Zare dominated his way to his first senior world title with consecutive wins over Dzianis Khramiankou (6-0), Nick Gwiazdowski (10-0), Taha Akgul (4-0), and Geno Petriashvili (9-2). Zare overwhelms many of his opponents with his pressure and classic Iranian underhook. Though he took a slight step back last year with his loss to Akgul and world bronze, Zare has proven he’s capable of coming out on top on the big stage and will be motivated to get the heavyweight crown back this year.

Zare's win over Petriashvili in the 2021 World Finals:

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Geno Petriashvili is a 3-time world champion and has medaled at 9 of the last 10 World Championships/Olympics since 2013 (he did not compete at 2014 Worlds). With all of that success, Petriashvili hasn’t won gold since the 2019 World Championships and might be approaching the end of his career. In the last 2 years, Petriashvili has taken losses to Amir Zare, Taha Akgul (3 times), Gable Steveson, and Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur. However, Petriashvil has also defeated Zare and Munkhtur in that time frame proving he’s still one of the top 125 kg wrestlers in the world. If Petriashvili is able to wrestle his best in Serbia, he’s more than capable of walking away with his 4th career world title.

Petriashvili's win over Akgul in the 2019 World Finals:

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The Contenders

The level of contenders at 125 kg is high and is headlined by Mason Parris, Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur (MGL), and Giorgi Meshvildishvili (AZE). Parris is replacing Olympic Champion Gable Steveson who earned the world team spot by defeating Parris at Final X but recently announced that he would not compete at Worlds. Parris is a formidable replacement for Gable and has the potential to challenge the best in the world at 125 kg. Parris is a 2019 junior world champion where he defeated the aforementioned Amir Zare by pin in the finals. Beyond that, Parris recently won a ranking series event in July where he defeated two-time world medalist Zhiwei Deng and Olympic medalist Abraham Conyedo. Parris looks to have the athleticism to challenge the big 3 at this weight and his potential matchups with Zare, Akgul, and Petriashvili should be considered some of the most highly anticipated bouts in the tournament. 

Parris’ win over Amir Zare in the 2019 Junior World Finals:

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Mongolia’s Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur pulled off one of the biggest upsets of last year’s Worlds when he defeated Geno Petriashvili in the semifinals, 4-2. Beyond that win, Munkhtur also won a bronze medal in 2021 and placed 5th at the Tokyo Olympics. Munkhtur is a big, strong heavyweight who holds a solid position and is incredibly challenging to score on. This style makes him a challenging matchup for most at 125 kg and means he’ll have close matches throughout the tournament. It’s unlikely Munkhtur wins gold considering he doesn’t have the offense to take out someone like Akgul or Zare but we shouldn’t be surprised to see him in a medal match once again in Serbia.

Munkhtur’s win over Petriashvili:

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Azerbaijan’s Giorgi Meshvildishvili, a transfer from Georgia, has emerged as a contender this year after winning the Kolov in March, placing bronze at the European Championships, and silver at the Ziolkowski Memorial. In those tournaments, Meshivildishvili recorded wins over Hayden Zillmer, Genadij Cudinovic, Abraham Conyedo, Georgi Ivanov, and Mostafa Taghani. It’s also worth noting that his only losses during this time were to Taha Akgul (3-1) and Nick Gwiazdowski (9-2). Like Munkhtur, Meshvildishvili isn’t a gold medal threat but has the ability to wrestle his way to a medal match.

Meshvildishvili's win over Hayden Zillmer at the Zagreb Open in February:

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Sleepers & Dark Horses

There are 3 other athletes in this field who have shown the potential to make some noise in the 125 kg bracket - Abdulla Kurbanov (AIN-RUS), Zhiwei Deng (CHN), and Yusup Batirmurzaev (KAZ). Of this group, Deng is the most credentialed as a two-time world medalist (silver in 2018 and bronze in 2019). Deng lost a close, 3-0 match to Zare at last year’s world championships, placed 5th at the Tokyo Olympics, and won back-to-back bronze medals this year at Ranking Series tournaments. 

Deng's win over Abraham Conyedo from this past July:

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Abdulla Kurbanov is Russia’s representative at 125 kg and will attempt to be Russia’s first world medalist at heavyweight since Bilal Makhov won bronze in 2015. Kurbanov has never competed at a World Championship but recent gold at Russian Nationals, and win over Yusup Batirmurzaev, prove he’ll be a tough out for anyone in the 125 kg division.

Yusup Batirmurzaev is the final competitor at 125 kg to keep an eye on in Serbia. Batirmurzaev is coming off a runner-up finish at the 2023 Asian Championships and has wins in the past year over Nick Gwiazdowski, Gennadij Cudinovic, and Sardorbek Kholmatov. Batirmurzaev won a U23 World Bronze medal in 2019 and was a Tokyo Olympian in 2021. His experience, and size, will give many heavyweights in this field trouble and he has the potential to wrestle his way to a medal match.

Batirmurzaev's win over Nick Gwiazdowski from this past February:

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125 kg 2023 Senior World Championship Predictions

The 125 kg weight class is one of the most challenging to predict in all of men’s freestyle at the 2023 World Championships. It wouldn’t be surprising if any of the 3 favorites in Akgul, Zare, or Petriashvili come away with gold. Then there’s the unknown of Mason Parris competing at his first senior world championship with the past win over Amir Zare. It’s also worth noting that Parris will be unseeded and could draw any of the big 3 as early as the first round. Picking a champion in this weight class feels a bit like pulling a name out of a hat.

Even with the unpredictability of 125 kg, I’m going with Amir Zare as my pick to come out on top this year. Zare has already proven he can get it done at the highest level with his 2021 world title and being only 22 years old, I believe he’s still making improvements to his game. Regardless of who wins gold, this will be an incredible weight to watch from start to finish in Belgrade!

125 kg Medal Predictions:

Gold - Amir Zare, IRI

Silver - Geno Petriashvili, GEO

Bronze - Taha Akgul, TUR

Bronze - Mason Parris, USA