The 2025 Senior World Championships are set to go down in Zagreb, Croatia, with the men's freestyle division taking the mats on September 13-16. Check out the article below to see the brackets and for a full breakdown of Team USA's draws at every weight.

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2025 Senior World Championship Brackets

Spencer Lee, 57 kg

Spencer Lee is the top seed at 57 kg and will be a huge favorite in his first match against either Kim or Demir. Lee's quarterfinal will get tougher with a match against either Batkhuyag (MGL), Tuskaev (SRB), or Harutyunyan (ARM). Tuskaev placed second at Euros this year, and Harutyunyan is a three-time world bronze medalist. Batkhuyag isn't particularly accomplished, but he notably defeated Roman Bravo-Young this year at the Mongolian Open. 

Even with these tough opponents, Lee should be considered a big favorite to reach the semifinals, where he will wrestle either Roman Bravo-Young, Darian Cruz, Chongsong Han, or Ali Momeni. I think Bravo-Young is the best of that bunch, and Spencer Lee will be the favorite in that match, considering Lee defeated RBY earlier this year, 6-3. Overall, Spencer is the favorite to reach the finals and ultimately to win gold.

Spencer Lee prediction: Gold

Jax Forrest, 61 kg

Forrest didn't get any favors with his draw. After an opening round match against Han (KOR), Forrest will wrestle Japan's Takara Suda in the round of 16. Suda won the Asian Championships this year, and he was my pick going into Worlds to win gold. It's also worth noting that world medalist Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu and world and Olympic champion Zavur Uguev are on Forrest's side of the bracket. So, if Forrest loses to Suda, the road to the finals is a tough one for Suda in order to bring Forrest into repechage. 

Jax Forrest prediction: 5th Place

Real Woods, 65 kg

Real Woods has a winnable match in round one against Maxim Sacultan, but then will likely wrestle world champion Rahman Amouzad in the second round. Amouzad will be the favorite to beat Woods in that match, considering Amouzad defeated Woods earlier this year, 11-2. So that's the bad news. The good news is that the rest of Woods' side of the bracket is pretty wide open. Case in point, World/Olympic medalists Tevanyan, Kudiev, Rivera, and Kiyooka are all on the bottom side. All of that to say, Real Woods has a great shot at medaling or at the very least reaching a medal match.

Real Woods prediction: DNP

PJ Duke, 70 kg

PJ Duke has Chen from China in the first round and then will wrestle 2024 world champion Nurkozha Kaipanov second. Obviously, that's not the ideal draw, but the good news for Duke is that if he beats Kaipanov, it gets easier from there. Even if he loses, Kaipanov is the big favorite to make the finals. Austin Gomez and Tulga Tumur-Ochir (world medalist) are on Duke's side, but Duke has a decent path to a medal.

PJ Duke prediction: Bronze

David Carr, 74 kg

David Carr will be favored in his first two matches at Worlds and should make the quarters. However, that's when things get tough with a likely match against Olympic bronze medalist and current #1 Chermen Valiev. To make matters worse, world and Olympic champion Zaurbek Sidakov is also on Carr's side of the bracket and would be the favorite to make the semis. That means David Carr will likely have to defeat both #1 Valiev and #2 Sidakov just to make the world finals. Welcome to the World Championships!

David Carr prediction: 5th Place

Levi Haines, 79 kg

Levi Haines will be the favorite in his first two matches at Worlds and already has a win over his first-round opponent Khidir Saipudinov (10-5 in July). If Haines wins his first two, he'll be in the quarters against either Akhmed Usmanov (2023 World Champ) or Vladimeri Gamkrelidze (2023 World Silver). Haines won't be the favorite in that match, but the good news is that Usmanov and Gamkrelidze are the best guys on Haines' side of the bracket. So, if Haines wins, he should make the finals, but if he loses, he should get pulled into repechage.

Levi Haines prediction: DNP

Zahid Valencia, 86 kg

Zahid Valencia is a huge favorite to make the semis, and I wouldn't be surprised if he teched his way there. In the semifinals, he'll wrestle either world champion Kamran Ghasempour or Russia's Ibragim Kadiev. Ghasempour and Kadiev are the two best guys in the bracket (in my opinion), and the winner of this semifinal match is the gold medal favorite. It's not ideal for Valencia because if he loses, he has another hammer for bronze. However, if he wins, I expect a gold.

Zahid Valencia prediction: Gold

Trent Hidlay, 92 kg

Hidlay should cruise in his first two matches to make the quarters, where he'll likely wrestle Mirani Maisuradze. Hidlay defeated Maisuradze in a competitive, 7-2 match, in Budapest, so Hidlay should make the semis. It's imperative Hidlay does make the semis because waiting for him there will be either 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Dauren Kurugliev or 2023 World Silver medalist Osman Nurmagomedov. Hidlay defeated Kurugliev by injury default in Budapest after getting the first takedown in about 1 minute, and has never wrestled Nurmagomedov. 

Trent Hidlay prediction: Gold

Kyle Snyder, 97 kg

Kyle Snyder is the #3 seed and is opposite World and Olympic Champion Akhmed Tazhudinov, world champion Rizabek Aitmukhan, and Olympic bronze medalist Amirali Azarpira. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that Snyder is a big favorite to reach the semifinals, where he'll most likely wrestle Arash Yoshida or Givi Matcharashvili. Snyder lost to Yoshida at the Zagreb Open in February (5-5), however, it's worth noting that Snyder was leading 5-1 before giving up a takedown and turn with less than a minute left in the match. Snyder is 4-0 in his career against Givi Matcharashvili. With this draw, I expect Snyder to make the finals.

Kyle Snyder prediction: Silver

Wyatt Hendrickson, 125 kg

Hendrickson will wrestle Russia's Abdulla Kurbanov in round 1 - Kurbanov notably placed 5th at the 2023 World Championships, where he was teched by Mason Parris in the bronze medal match. Hendrickson also wrestled Kurbanov at U23 Worlds in 2023, where Hendrickson won a wild match by pin after leading 17-9. Hendrickson will then have Belarus' Dzianis Khramiankou in round 2 and likely Shamil Sharipov in the quarters. Both Kharmiankou and Sharipov are tough, but Hendrickson should be considered the favorite.

If Hendrickson gets to the semis, he'll likely wrestle world champion Amir Zare in the semifinals. Zare is currently ranked #1 and one of the biggest favorites of any wrestler in the field to win gold. It'd be great if Hendrickson were on the other side and didn't have to go through Zare to win bronze. However, if Hendrickson makes the semis and wins, he's the gold favorite; if he loses, he should win bronze. 

Wyatt Hendrickson prediction: Bronze