The 2025 Senior World Championships will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, from September 13 to 21. The 79 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 Levi Haines is making his world championship debut in a bracket that includes world champion Akhmed Usmanov, 4-time world medalist Mohammad Nokhodi, and a deep field of contenders. Check out the article below for a full breakdown, along with our medal predictions, for 79 kg at this year’s World Championships.

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79 kg 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.

79 kg 2025 World Championship Seeds

1. Akhsarbek Gulaev, SVK
2. Suldkhuu Olonbayar, MGL
3. Vladimeri Gamkrelidze, GEO
4. Magomet Evloev, TJK
5. Mohammad Nokhodi, IRI
6. Daulet Yergesh, KAZ
7. Khidir Saipudinov, BRN
8. Zelimkhan Khadjiev, FRA

The Favorite

• Akhmed Usmanov, RUS - 2023 World Gold, 2016 U20 World Silver

Usmanov won the 79 kg World title in 2023 and is the favorite to come away with gold again this year. During his 2023 title run, Usmanov outscored his opponents by a combined 26-5 while defeating Mohammad Nokhodi, Vladimeri Gamkrelidze, Orkhan Abasov, Mor Sachin, and Ahmad Magomedov. Usmanov missed the World Championships last year while attempting to make the Olympic team for Russia at 86 kg. However, since then, Usmanov has looked back to world title form by winning the 2025 Yarygin, European Championships, and Russian Nationals. Usmanov is an incredibly powerful wrestler with outstanding defense, which he uses to stifle even the most offensive wrestlers. Usmanov’s biggest weakness is that he sometimes relies too heavily on his defense and allows his opponent to stay in the match when he could put them away. Still, if any wrestler in the 79 kg bracket hopes to win gold, they’ll likely have to go through Usmanov.

Usmanov's win over Nokhodi at the 2023 World Championships:

The Contenders

• Mohammad Nokhodi, IRI - 2021 & 2022 World Silver, 2023 & 2024 World Bronze, 2019 U23 World Silver
• Vladimeri Gamkrelidze, GEO - 2023 World Silver, 2023 U23 World Bronze, 2022 U23 World Gold, 
• Vasyl Mykhailov, UKR - 2022 & 2023 World Bronze, 2017 U23 World Bronze
• Magomet Evloev, TJK - 2025 Asian Bronze
• Georgios Kougioumtsidis, GRE - 2023 World 5th, 2022 Euro Gold, 2018 U17 World Silver, 
• Levi Haines, USA

The above list of wrestlers represents the next tier at 79 kg. This group is led by Iran’s Mohammad Nokhodi, who is already a four-time world medalist (2 silvers and 2 bronze) at just 24 years old. Nokhodi notably defeated Jordan Burroughs at last year’s world championships before losing to eventual champion Avtandil Kentchadze. Outside of that loss, Nokhodi has essentially only lost to Jordan Burroughs and Akhmed Usmanov internationally. Nokhodi is in a tier of his own; however, he suffered an injury at Worlds last year and hasn’t competed since. Because of that lack of competition, there are still questions surrounding whether or not he’ll be at peak form in Zagreb.

Nokhodi's win over Jordan Burroughs at the 2024 World Championships:

Vladimeri Gamkrelidze is also only 24 years old and won a silver medal at the 2023 Senior World Championships. Beyond that, Gamkrelidze has lost close matches to both Usmanov and Nokhodi over the past two years and has recorded wins over almost every other contender in the field. Gamkrelidze’s hitlist includes victories over Vasyl Mykhailov, Magomet Evloev, Bolat Sakayev, Khidir Saipudinov, and Akhsarbek Gulaev. Gamkrelidze has an outstanding slide-by that he can hit with a high level of efficiency against even the best wrestlers in the world, and he is solid in all positions. After Nokhodi, Gamkrelidze should be considered the most likely to reach the finals if he’s opposite Usmanov in the bracket.

Gamkreldize's win over Vasyl Mykhailov at the 2023 World Championships:

Ukraine’s Vasyl Mykhailov is the only other wrestler in this bracket who has already reached the podium at a Senior World Championships. Mykhailov won world bronze in both 2022 and 2023 and even qualified for the Olympics last year at 86 kg. Mykhailov has notable wins over Zahid Valencia, Boris Makoev, Georgios Kougioumtsidis, Bekzod Abdurakhmanov, Vladimeri Gamkrelidze, and DJ Hamiti. Despite those wins, Mykhailov’s recent losses to Simon Ruiz, Gamkrelidze, and Usmanov show that Mykhailov isn’t likely to challenge for gold in Croatia. 

Mykhailov's win over Zahid Valencia from the 2023 Egypt Ranking Series tournament:

Magomet Evloev is a Russian now wrestling for Tajikistan, who is a dangerous wrestler in this field. Evloev isn’t likely to challenge for gold, but he wrestles a unique style and ends a high percentage of his matches by pin. Because of that, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Evloev wrestle in a medal match in Zagreb.

Evloev's win over Kougioumtsidis:

Georgios Kougioumtsidis is another dangerous wrestler in the field who is capable of reaching the podium this year. Kougioumtsidis placed 5th at the 2023 World Championships in a deep 74 kg field where he defeated Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov and Tajmuraz Salkazanov. Kougioumtsidis wrestles a bit of an unorthodox style and is outstanding in scrambles. He recently took out Levi Haines in the Budapest Ranking Series Tournament and also gave Kyle Dake all he could handle in a 4-1 loss at 2023 Worlds. World-class wrestlers don’t usually come out of Greece, but Kougioumtsidis is the exception, and no one should be surprised if he brings home a medal this year.

Kougioumtsidis' recent win over Levi Haines:

Levi Haines will wrestle at his first senior world championships in what will only be his fourth ever international tournament. Haines made a U17 World team back in 2021 and then didn’t wrestle on the international stage again until this year. At the Pan-Am championships in April, Haines blitzed his way to gold with 2 pins and a tech fall. However, Haines ran into much stiffer competition at the Budapest Ranking Series tournament in July. There, Haines failed to place after going 1-1 with a 10-5 win over Khidir Saipudinov but a 7-3 loss to Georgious Kougioumtsidis. Even with that result, I believe we’ll see an improved version of Haines at the World Championships, and with the right draw, I think he could be right in the mix to win a medal.

Levi Haines' win over Khidir Saipudinov:

Sleepers & Landmines

• Mikey Labriola, PUR
• Daulet Yergesh, KAZ - 2022 U23 World Silver

There are certainly other wrestlers in the 79 kg field that could contend for a medal and show the depth of the bracket. Khidir Saipudinov (BRN), Zelimkhan Khadjiev (FRA), Akhsarbek Gulaev (SVK), and Iakub Shikhdzhamalov (ROU) are all competitors to watch out for in this bracket. However, I don’t think they fully fit the “sleepers & landmines” category like Labriola and Yergesh. Labriola, a four-time All-American for Nebraska, is now representing Puerto Rico and is mostly unknown internationally. Labriola’s style should translate over to freestyle perfectly, and he might be able to surprise some of the veterans in this field. 

Daulet Yergesh is much more well-known on the international stage and won a silver medal at the 2022 U23 World Championships, where he defeated Carter Starocci. However, Yergesh hasn’t fully realized the potential he showed in 2022. He’s failed to medal at two Ranking Series tournaments and the Asian Championships this year. Still, Yergesh is incredibly skilled, and if he wrestles his best, he can take out one of the contenders.

79 kg 2025 World Championship Predictions

I said it at the top of this preview - Akhmed Usmanov is the clear favorite to win worlds this year at 79 kg. Usmanov is the man to beat in this field, and because Nokhodi is coming back from injury after a long layoff, I don’t think he’ll be able to take out Usmanov.

My prediction for Levi Haines is entirely dependent on his draw. If he gets drawn on the same side as Usmanov and Nokhodi, I don’t think he wins a medal. However, if he’s opposite one or both, then his chances go way up, and I think he has the skills to beat anyone in the bracket. Because he’s so draw-dependent, I can’t predict Haines to win a medal before I see his path to the podium.

Full 79 kg Medal Predictions

Gold - Akhmed Usmanov, RUS

Silver - Mohammad Nokhodi, IRI

Bronze - Vladimeri Gamkrelidze, GEO

Bronze - Magomet Evloev, TJK