The 2025 Senior World Championships will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, from September 13 to 21. The 86 kg weight class in men’s freestyle will be in the first group of weight classes wrestled at worlds this year on September 13 and 14. Team USA’s Zahid Valencia will be one of the gold medal contenders at 86 kg, along with Iran's Kamran Ghasempour and Russia's Ibragim Kadiev. Check out the article below for a full breakdown, along with our medal predictions, for 86 kg at this year’s World Championships.

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86 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.

86 kg Seeds At The 2025 World Championships

1. Osman Gocen, TUR
2. Arsenii Dzhioev, AZE
3. Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov, BLR
4. Zahid Valencia, USA
5. Rakhim Magamadov, FRA
6. Hayato Ishiguro, JPN
7. Batbilguun Naadambat, MGL
8. Gyeongyeon Lee, KOR

The Favorite

• Kamran Ghasempour, IRI - 2021 & 2022 World Gold, 2018 & 2019 U23 World Gold

Two-time world champion Kamran Ghasempour will make his Senior Worlds debut at 86 kg after spending the past 5 years at 92 kg. World and Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani is currently recovering from injury and plans on moving up to 92 kg or 97 kg, which leaves Ghasempour to carry the torch at 86 kg for Iran for the foreseeable future. 

Remarkably, every 86 kg wrestler who medaled at 86 kg at the 2024 Olympics won’t be competing in this bracket due to either being hurt, retired, or up at 92 kg. That leaves Ghasempour as the man to beat in Zagreb. Along with his two world titles at 92 kg, where he defeated J’den Cox, Ghasempour has notable wins over Ibragim Kadiev, Osman Gocen, Magomed Kurbanov, Feyzulla Aktur, Arturn Naifonov, Ali Savadkouhi, and a host of other world-class wrestlers. Beyond the wins, Ghasempour’s only senior-level losses are to Hassan Yazdani, Abdulrashid Sadulaev, Kyle Snyder, David Taylor, and Mohammad Javad Ebrahimi. Ghasempour was already a powerful wrestler at 92 kg, and you have to imagine he’ll be able to use his strength to even more of an advantage down at 86 kg. 

Ghasempour’s win over Kadiev at PWL 7 in November 2024:

The Contenders

• Ibragim Kadiev, RUS - 2023 & 2024 U20 World Gold
• Avtandil Kentchadze, GEO - 2024 World Gold (at 79kg), 2018 World Silver (74 kg), 2018 U23 World Gold (74kg)
• Hayato Ishiguro, JPN - 2019 U23 World Bronze, 2018 U20 World Gold
• Zahid Valencia, USA - 2023 World Bronze (at 92 kg), 2017 U20 World Silver
• Azamat Dauletbekov, KAZ - 2022 & 2023 World Bronze
• Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov, BLR - 2020 Olympic Silver (at 74 kg)

The above list of wrestlers really displays the outstanding depth at 86 kg this year. These wrestlers represent a unique mix of experienced wrestlers with incredible achievements and younger wrestlers looking to take over. Russia’s Ibragim Kadiev is one of the most promising up-and-comers in wrestling right now and is a threat to win gold this year. Kadiev, a two-time U20 world champion, took out world and Olympic bronze medalist Artur Naifonov to win Russian Nationals and make the world team. Kadiev has outstanding leg defense and has some of the most creative scoring ability in the world. Kadiev might only be 21, but he has all the skills to win a world title this year. 

Kadiev's win over Josh Barr in the 2024 U20 World Finals:

Avtandil Kentchadze is making the move up to 86 kg after winning a world title last year at 79 kg. Kentchadze is one of the most experienced wrestlers in the field but is still only 29 years old. Kentchadze has a variety of attacks on his feet and has great par terre offense once he gets on top. He might be slightly undersized for the weight, but he still should be considered a threat against anyone in this field. 

Kentchadze's win in the 2024 World Finals over Magomed Magomaev:

Hayato Ishiguro might be unknown to casual American wrestling fans, but he has past wins over Aaron Brooks, Max Dean, Myles Amine, and Zahid Valencia. Despite those notable victories, Ishiguro has never been able to get it done on the biggest stages and has failed to reach the podium at the World Championships in 2021 and 2023. More recently, Ishiguro failed to place at the Olympics after losing to Aaron Brooks in the quarterfinals (11-1). Even with that result, if Ishiguro is wrestling his best, he’s a dangerous landmine for anyone in this field.

Ishiguro's win over Zahid Valencia from the 2023 Zagreb Open:

Zahid Valencia looks as good as ever and will look to upgrade his bronze medal from 2023 Worlds to gold in Zagreb. Valencia has some of the best offense in the world, regardless of weight, and has recently added some potent turns to his game. Valencia’s run to make the world team for Team USA may have been the most impressive performance of his career, with three straight wins over Kyle Dake and a 4-2 victory over Chance Marsteller. Since moving to Stillwater, Valencia is 19-0 with 12 techs and has outscored his opponents by a combined score of 175-21. Valencia has all of the skills to win a world title this year, and his potential matches against Kamran Ghasempour and Ibragim Kadiev will be some of the most anticipated bouts of the entire tournament.

Valencia's win over Kyle Dake at Final X:

Kazakhstan’s Azamat Dauletbekov is another serious contender in this field and is already a two-time world bronze medalist. At the 2024 Olympics, Dauletbekov failed to place after losing a close, 4-3 match to Aaron Brooks. However, Dauletbekov has an impressive hit list that includes wins over Myles Amine, Javrail Shapiev, Deepak Punia, Arslan Bagaev, Magomed Sharipov, Alireza Karimi, and Yurieski Torreblanca. 

Dauletbekov's win over Myles Amine at the 2022 World Championships:

Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov is the final wrestler who should be considered a gold medal threat at 86 kg. Kadimagomedov is coming up from 74 kg where the highlight of his wrestling there was his performance at the Tokyo Olympics, winning a silver medal and teching Kyle Dake. Kadimagomedov looks as good at 86 kg as he did at 74 kg and won a silver medal at the 2024 European Championships. There, Kadimagomedov won a silver medal while defeating Russia’s Artur Naifonov, but ultimately lost in the finals to Olympic gold medalist Magomed Ramazanov. Kadimagomedov was impressive even in the loss and held a 5-1 lead over Ramazanov before losing late. Kadimagomedov is an amazing athlete, and his scoring ability is on par with anyone in the world. He might be slightly undersized, but he’s a good enough wrestler to come away with gold from Croatia. 

Kadimagomedov's win over Artur Naifonov at the 2025 European Championships:

Watch Out For These Guys

• Arsenii Dzhioev, AZE - 2024 U23 World Silver
• Rakhim Magamadov, FRA - 2022 & 2023 U20 World Gold, 2021 U20 World Silver
• Osman Gocen, TUR - 2019 U23 World Bronze, 2016 U20 World Silver
• Boris Makoev, SVK - 2017 World Silver, 2022 World Bronze

In every other weight that I’ve done a preview for so far, this category would be the “Sleepers & Landmines” category. However, that’s usually designated for wrestlers who haven’t accomplished much yet but could be just on the verge with the potential to “blow up” a bracket. 86 kg is a unique weight that doesn’t possess a group of wrestlers that fit that category. So instead, I want to highlight these wrestlers who have the potential to reach the podium and/or take out one of the contenders. 

First up is Azerbaijan’s Arsenii Dzhioev, who is still a relatively young wrestler (only 23) and has some excellent recent results. Dzhioev won a silver medal at the Zagreb Open in February this year, where he defeated Trent Hidlay (5-0) but lost to Zahid Valencia (8-0). Beyond that tournament, Dzhioev won gold at the Budapest Ranking Series Tournament while defeating Osman Gocen (10-0) and Boris Makoev (3-0). Dzhioev also has close losses to accomplished wrestlers Dauren Kurugliev (2-1) and Artur Naifonov (2-1). Dzhioev might be slightly behind wrestlers in the “Contenders” category, but if he wrestles his best, he’s capable of reaching a medal match.

Dzhioev's win over Trent Hidlay:

Rakhim Magamadov is another young wrestler to watch out for in this weight. He’s only 21 years old and a two-time U20 World Champion. Magamadov has had up-and-down results on the senior level, but his win this year over Russia’s Arslan Bagaev shows that he’s trending in the right direction. Magamadov also had a great run at the 2023 Senior World Championships, making a run to the quarterfinals before falling short against Azamat Dauletbekov. With the right draw, Magamadov could make another deep run in Croatia.

Magamadov's win over Bennett Berge at the 2023 U20 World Championships:

Osman Gocen is one of the more experienced wrestlers in this bracket, but he’s never been able to put together his best performance at a world championship. He qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and won a bronze at the European Championships three different times. He also has notable victories over Magomed Ramazanov, Vasyl Mykhailov, Boris Makoev, Fatih Erdin, and Abubakr Abakarov. Gocen can clearly wrestle with the best in the world at 86 kg, and if he improves his consistency, he could finally reach the podium at senior worlds this year. 

Gocen's win over Boris Makeov to qualify for the 2020 Olympics:

Boris Makoev is 32 years old and one of the most experienced wrestlers in the bracket. He might be a little past his prime, but he’s still crafty and shouldn’t be underestimated by anyone. Makoev is probably best known by American fans for his performance at the 2017 World Championships, where he defeated J’den Cox in the semifinals. I’m certainly not picking Makoev to make the finals (or even medal), but don’t be surprised if Makoev finds some of his old “magic” in Croatia to knock out one of the contenders.

Makoev's win over J'den Cox in the semifinals of the 2017 World Championships:

86 kg 2025 World Championship Predictions

I’ve gone back and forth on who I think is going to come away with gold this year at 86 kg. I think there are only three guys who are good enough to navigate the depth of this bracket and win the whole tournament - Kamran Ghasempour, Ibragim Kadiev, and Zahid Valencia. When it comes down to it, I’m picking Zahid Valencia. He’s been wrestling better than ever, and I think we’re going to see the best performance of his career in Croatia.

Full 86 kg Medal Predictions

Gold - Zahid Valencia, USA

Silver - Kamran Ghasempour, IRI

Bronze - Ibragim Kadiev, RUS

Bronze - Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov, BLR