The 2025 Senior World Championships will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, from September 13 to 21. The 74 kg weight class in men’s freestyle will be in the second group of weight classes wrestled at worlds this year on September 14 and 15. Team USA’s David Carr is making his world championship debut in a deep field that includes world and Olympic champion Zaurbek Sidakov and a host of other top contenders. Check out the article below for a full breakdown, along with our medal predictions, for 74 kg at this year’s World Championships.

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74 kg 2025 World Championship Rankings

The above rankings are based on results from head-to-head matchups. United World Wrestling seeds off of Rankings Points accumulated over the past year at the Olympics, Continental Championships, and Ranking Series Tournaments. Check out the full 2025 World Championship Rankings Here.

74 kg 2025 World Championship Seeds

1. Chermen Valiev, ALB
2. Tajmuraz Salkazanov, SVK
3. Younes Emami, IRI
4. Orozobek Toktomambetov, KGZ
5. Murad Kuramagomedov, HUN
6. Giorgi Elbakidze, GEO
7. Magomedrasul Asluev, BRN
8. Feng Lu, CHN

The Favorites

• Chermen Valiev, ALB - 2024 Olympic Bronze, 2021 U23 World Gold, 2019 U23 World Silver
• Zaurbek Sidakov, RUS - 2020 Olympic Gold, 2018, 2019, and 2023 World Gold

With 2024 Olympic champion Razambek Zhamalov out with an injury, 74 kg has a clear top 2 in Chermen Valiev and Zaurbek Sidakov. The two are currently ranked #1 and #2 in the world, respectively, and it’d be a big surprise to see anyone other than Sidakov or Valiev atop the podium in Croatia. Valiev earned his #1 ranking after winning a bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics, where he lost only to Zhamalov but defeated Turan Bayramov, Viktor Rassadin, and Feng Lu. He then followed up that performance with a gold medal at the 2025 European Championships, where he defeated Zaurbek Sidakov in the finals. Valiev has some of the best defense in the world and has amazing leg attacks to both sides of the body. Valiev is more than capable of defeating Sidakov again and winning gold in Zagreb.

Valiev's win over Sidakov in the 2025 Euro Finals:

Despite the loss to Valiev, Sidakov will still be considered the favorite by many. Sidakov has never lost at a World Championships or the Olympics and has an amazing 20-0 record in those events. Sidakov did suffer a knee injury in his loss to Valiev, but he looked back to peak form in his world team wrestle off against Imam Ganishov. Sidakov might be slightly past his prime, but he’s still the ultimate competitor and will be the man to beat in this bracket. 

Sidakov's win over Kyle Dake in the 2023 World Finals:

Gold Contenders

• Kota Takahashi, JPN - 2024 U23 World Gold, 2022 U23 World Bronze, 2024 World 5th
• David Carr, USA - 2019 U20 World Gold
• Tajmuraz Salkazanov, SVK - 2021 & 2022 World Silver, 2019 World Bronze, 2018 U23 World Gold

Japan’s Kota Takahashi has emerged as a serious contender at 74 kg over the past year. Takahashi won a U23 world title last year at 74 kg and then placed 5th at senior worlds at 79 kg just a few days later. Takahashi has lightning-quick leg attacks and is also extremely powerful at 74kg. At U23 Worlds, he defeated Mitchell Mesenbrink in a high-scoring, 11-8 match. He also defeated David Carr in July at the Budapest Ranking Series tournament, 9-7. Beyond those wins over Americans, Takahashi also has notable victories over Magomed Khaniev, Murad Kuramagomedov, Tajmuraz Salkazanov, Daulet Yergesh, Ali Abbas Rezaei, Orozobek Toktomambetov, Viktor Rassadin, and Hossein Abouzari. Simply put, Takahashi has been tested by several of the world’s top wrestlers, and he continues to win. He’s ready to win a medal at senior worlds this year, and no one should be surprised if he reaches the finals.

Takahashi's win over David Carr:

David Carr will be wrestling in his first senior world championships in Zagreb, but he isn’t completely inexperienced on the international stage. Carr won a U20 world title back in 2019 and also wrestled at the U23 World Championships in 2022. Beyond that, Carr won a silver medal at the Zagreb Open in February and earned Bronze at the Budapest Ranking Series Tournament in July. Carr’s performances at those two tournaments showed he’s a serious contender at 74 kg this year, and that he’s making significant progress in his freestyle game. In February, Carr lost to three-time world medalist Tajmuraz Salkazanov (4-0) but then avenged that loss in Budapest by defeating Salkazanov (4-4). Carr might be an underdog against Sidakov and Valiev, but with the right draw, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Carr in the finals. 

David Carr's win over Tajmuraz Salkazanov:

Tajmuraz Salkazanov is the final wrestler who should be considered a gold threat in Croatia. He’s a three-time world medalist with an incredible hitlist that includes wins over Razambek Zhamalov, Frank Chamizo, David Baev, Younes Emami, David Carr, and a host of other wrestlers. Salkazanov has outstanding defense that can frustrate any wrestler in this field. Salkazanov is set to be the #2 seed in this bracket and has a great chance to reach the finals if Sidakov is drawn in on the top side. 

Salkazanov's win over Zhamalov from the 2021 European Championships:

Medal Contenders

• Younes Emami, IRI - 2019 & 2022 World Bronze, 2017 U23 World Bronze, 2017 U20 World Bronze
• Magomed Khaniev, AZE - 2024 U23 World Gold
• Ramazan Ramazanov, BUL - 2023 World Bronze (70 kg)
• Orozobek Toktomambetov, KGZ - 2024 U23 World Silver
• Murad Kuramagomedov, HUN - 2019 U23 World 5th, 2025 & 2024 Euro 5th

The above group of FIVE wrestlers really shows off the depth of talent at 74 kg. Wrestlers like Emami and Ramazanov have already reached the podium at Worlds. Khaniev, Toktomambetov, and Kuramagomedov all have recent results that prove they’re knocking on the door. Because this group is so large, we won’t break down every single wrestler, but it’s worth taking a look at this group’s wins and losses over the past year.

Younes Emami

• Wins - Amir Yazdani, Jaideep, Tugsjargal Erdenebat, Otari Bagaur, Orozobek Toktomambetov, Frank Chamizo, Nurkozha Kaipanov
• Losses - Amir Yazdani, Chermen Valiev, Kyle Dake, Zaurbek Sidakov

Magomed Khaniev

• Wins - Magomedrasul Asluev, Sujeet, Magomed Emi Eltemirov, 
• Losses - Kota Takahashi

Ramazan Ramazanov

• Wins - Mevlut Ozdemir, Jafar Chuliboyev, Vivek
• Losses - Chermen Valiev, Aghanazar Novruzov, Murad Kuramagomedov, Tajmuraz Salkazanov, Orozobek Toktomambetov, Nurkozha Kaipanov, Quincy Monday

Orozobek Toktomambetov

• Wins - Quincy Monday, Szymon Wojtkowski, Fazliddin Nasritdinov, Narek Harutyunyan, Ismail Khaniev, Dzhabrail Gadzhiev
• Losses - Younes Emami, Chermen Valiev, Nurkozha Kaipanov, David Carr, Amir Yazdani, Kota Takahashi

Murad Kuramagomedov, HUN - 2019 U23 World 5th, 2025 & 2024 Euro 5th

• Wins - Kamil Rybick, Ali Abbas Rezaei, Magoma Dibirgadzhiev, Giorgi Elbakidze, Ramazan Ramazanov, Fazli Eryilmaz, Narek Harutyunyan, 
• Losses - Mohammad Nokhodi, David Carr, Tajmuraz Salkazanov, Zaurbek Sidakov, Kota Takahashi

Sleepers & Landmines

• Mohammad Mottaghinia, ESP - 2017 U20 World Bronze
• Fazli Eryilmaz, TUR - 2021 World Bronze
• Feng Lu, CHN - 2024 U23 World Silver

The above 3 wrestlers will enter the world championships off of most “casual” fans' radar, but are legitimate threats to take out some of the contenders in the field. Spain’s Mottaghinia is a transfer from Iran, has wrestled several competitive matches against some of the top wrestlers in the world. Mottaghinia lost a close 4-1 match to world medalist Vladimeri Gamkrelidze and, coincidentally, also lost 4-1 against Salkazanov. With the ability to keep any match close, Mottaghinia could surprise some people in Croatia. 

Türkiye’s Fazli Eryilmaz is a past world medalist but hasn’t had the results recently to make him a legitimate contender. However, Eryilmaz does hold past wins over Younes Emami, Georgios Kougioumtsidis, and Azamat Nurikau. If he’s wrestling his best, Eryilmaz is absolutely a medal threat.

China’s Feng Lu is the final “sleeper” to watch out for in this bracket. He won a silver medal at U23 Worlds last year at 79 kg and recently teched Ladarion Lockett in an exhibition match in Dallas. After those results, Lu has wrestled competitively in losses against Frank Chamizo (10-8) and Bekzod Abdurakhmanov. Lu is still only 21 years old but has already had the experience of competing at the 2023 World Championships and 2024 Olympics. He’ll look to use that experience to make some noise at Worlds this year. 

74 kg 2025 World Championship Predictions

As mentioned above, it will be a huge shock if anyone other than Zaurbek Sidakov or Chermen Valiev wins gold at 74 kg. David Carr has incredible potential, but I still think he needs to improve before he takes out wrestlers like Valiev or Sidakov. With that in mind, I’m picking Zaurbek Sidakov to get back on top of the podium this year. Despite his loss to Valiev at Euros, I still believe Sidakov is the best wrestler in the world at 74 kg, and I think he’ll prove it in Croatia.

Full 74 kg Medal Predictions:

Gold - Zaurbek Sidakov, RUS

Silver - Chermen Valiev, ALB

Bronze - David Carr, USA

Bronze - Kota Takahashi, JPN