The 2026 Senior World Championships are set to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24-November 1, featuring the world's best wrestlers. The World Championships will be streamed live on FloWrestling, with the 65 kg wrestlers taking the mats October 30-31. Bo Bassett will be Team USA's reprentative at 65 kg and will be challenged by returning world champion Rahman Amouzad along with 7 other past world/Olympic medalists. Check out the article below for a full preview with predictions for this incredible weight class!
65 kg World Championship Rankings
View the full World Championship Rankings HERE
*Of note - the World Championship rankings are based on head-to-head match results. The seeds are based on points accumulated at UWW Ranking Series Tournaments, the 2025 World Championships, and the 2025 Continental Championships.
Projected World Championship Seeds
- Rahman Amouzad, IRI
- Sujeet Kalkal, IND
- Umidjon Jalolov, UZB
- Peiman Biabani, CAN
- Shamil Mamedov, BUL
- Rashid Babazade, AZE
- Nika Zakashvili, GEO
- Alibeg Alibegov, BRN
The Favorite
- Rahman Amouzad, IRI
Defending world champion Amouzad is the clear favorite to win the 65 kg this year. Last year, Amouzad avenged his Olympic finals loss to Kotaro Kiyooka with a dominant 10-0 tech in the world finals. It’s also worth noting that Amouzad has been undefeated since that loss and Kiyooka will not even be at Worlds this year. Since the Olympics, Amouzad has essentially defeated every contender in the weight with victories over Shamil Mamedov (17-10), Kwang Jin Kim (5-0), Abdulmazhid Kudiev (12-2), Umidjon Jalolov (4-0), Peiman Biabani (5-0), Sujeet Kalkal (6-5), and Real Woods (12-1 and 11-2). Amouzad has been utterly dominant over the past two years, and he has the potential to be the first back-to-back champion at 65/66 kg since Ramazan Sahin accomplished the feat back in 2007 and 2008.
Amouzad's come-from-behind win over Shamil Mamedov from the 2026 Ulaanbaatar Finals:
Title Contenders
- Sujeet Kalkal, IND
- Shamil Mamedov, BUL
- Abasgadzhi Magomedov, RUS
The above three wrestlers pose the biggest threat to taking out Rahman Amouzad and winning gold in Astana. Leading this list is India’s Sujeet Kalkal, who is coming off a gold medal performance at the Asian Games where he defeated Kotaro Kiyooka (3-3), Abdulmazhid Kudiev (10-1), and Abbas Ebrahimzadeh (10-0). Beyond his performance at the Asian Games, Sujeet is currently on a 24-match win streak dating back to last year’s world championships. Along with his wins at the Asian Games, Sujeet also has significant wins in the past year over Alik Khadartsev (15-4), Dzhambulat Kizinov (10-0), Ibragim Ibragimov, Umidjon Jalolov (8-1 and 10-0), Abdulmazhid Kudiev, Joey McKenna (11-0 and 11-0), and Bashir Magomedov (4-2). Sujeet only lost to Amouzad by one point last year, and there’s a strong case to be made that Sujeet’s improved enough to defeat Amouzad this year.
Sujeet's win over Joey McKenna:
Shamil Mamedov is the only wrestler in the field who actually holds a past victory over Rahman Amouzad. That win came back in the bronze medal match of the 2023 World Championships while Mamedov was representing Russia. Since then, Mamedov transferred to Bulgaria and has only lost to Abdulmazhid Kudiev (10-0 in 2024), Vazgen Tevanyan (2-1 this year), and Rahman Amouzad (17-10 this year). In the match against Amouzad this year, Mamedov got out to an 8-1 lead in the first but struggled to keep up with Amouzad’s pace in the second period. Ultimately, it resulted in Amouzad scoring 14 unanswered points to power past Mamedov. Even with that loss, Mamedov proved he has the offense to put up big points against Amouzad, and if Mamedov can finish a match strong, he’ll win gold in Astana.
Mamedov's win over Amouzad:
Russia’s Abasgadzhi Magomedov is the final clear threat to win gold at 65 kg. Magomedov won a world title in 2021 over Daton Fix and was runner-up to Vito Arujau in 2023 at 61 kg. Since his move up to 65 kg, Magomedov has had his ups and downs but really hit his stride this year, winning the Ali Aliyev, Russian Nationals, and the Stepan Sargsyan Cup. I still question whether or not Magomedov will be able to match the size and physicality of wrestlers like Amouzad and Sujeet, but Magomedov’s offense shouldn’t be underestimated. Magomedov is incredibly dangerous in scrambles and can put up points in bunches if his opponents make a mistake. That offensive ability makes him dangerous, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him defeat anyone in the field at 65 kg.
Abasgadzhi Magomedov's win over Daton Fix in the 2021 World Finals:
Medal Contenders
- Bo Bassett, USA
- Vazgen Tevanyan, ARM
- Abdulmazhid Kudiev, TJK
- Umidjon Jalolov, UZB
- Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu, KGZ
- Kaisei Tanabe, JPN
The above list of medal contenders shows just how deep 65 kg is and how challenging it will be for Bo Bassett to medal in Astana. Still, Bassett has been ultra-impressive over the past year with victories over Real Woods (9-5 and 8-4), Joey McKenna (10-0), and Beau Bartlett (15-5 and 10-0). Beyond that, Bassett recently dominated at U20 Worlds, with his closest match coming in the finals against Japan’s Takuto Osedo (8-2). Bassett overwhelms wrestlers with his pace and offense, and few wrestlers in this field will be able to withstand Bassett’s intensity over the course of 6 minutes. Bassett will be unseeded so there’s a chance he could get drawn on the same side of the bracket as Amouzad and Mamedov. However, if Bassett’s on the other side, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the finals.
Watch a Bo Bassett follow-along from the 2026 US Open:
Vazgen Tevanyan won a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships and has notable wins in the past year over Abdulmazhid Kudiev, Shamil Mamedov, and Alec Pantaleo. So why isn’t Tevanyan a title contender? He’s lacked consistency on the biggest stage to give me any confidence in picking him to reach the finals, let alone win gold. As already mentioned, Tevanyan has one world bronze medal to his name, but he’s competed at two Olympic Games and five World Championships. Can Tevanyan beat anyone in this field? Sure. However, history has shown us Tevanyan struggles to wrestle his best when the lights are the brightest.
Tevanyan's win over Kudiev:
Abdulmazhid Kudiev is another world bronze medalist competing in this field with the potential to upgrade that bronze to silver or gold in Astana. Kudiev won his bronze medal at 70 kg at the 2024 World Championships. Similar to Tevanyan, at his best Kudiev has outstanding potential but struggles with consistency. Kudiev has notable wins over James Green, Shamil Mamedov, Umidjon Jalolov, Sina Khalili, Takara Suda, and Nachyn Kuular. However, he lost to Jalolov last year at Worlds and has two losses this year to Sujeet. In his most recent match against Sujeet at the Asian Games, Kudiev was up 9-2 before giving up 8 straight points to lose 10-9. Kudiev has all of the talent to medal, but that type of meltdown suggests Kudiev will struggle to make the finals in a field this deep.
Kudiev's win over Sina Khalili:
Umidjon Jalolov won bronze at last year’s World Championships with victories over Nino Leutert, Abdulmazhid Kudiev, Sebastian Rivera, and Ibragim Ibragimov. As impressive as that run was, Jalolov has since suffered losses to Sujeet Kalkal (10-0 and 8-1), Rahman Amouzad (4-0), Joey McKenna (3-0), Tulga Tumur-Ochir (3-2), and Kwang Jin Kim (3-0). Jalolov proved that when he’s at his best, he can reach the podium, but the level of inconsistency he showed over the past year is concerning. He’ll fortunately be on the opposite side of the bracket from Amouzad and Mamedov, but it certainly won’t be easy for him to make the podium again this year.
Jalolov's win in the 2025 world bronze medal match over Ibragim Ibragimov:
Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu is yet another world medalist in the field. Zhumashbek Uulu won world bronze at 61 kg back in 2023. American fans might remember Zhumashbek Uulu for his victories over Nick Lee (14-4), Nahshon Garrett (pin), Anthony Ashnault (9-1), and Matt Kolodzik (11-3). It’s also worth noting that Zhumashbek Uulu lost to Vito Arujau (12-2) in 2023 and then to Jax Forrest last year (13-8). Zhumashbek Uulu has dangerous upper body attacks and is dangerous in scrambles. However, I think he lacks the size to truly challenge the best at 65 kg.
Zhumashbek Uulu's win over Nick Lee:
Japan’s Kasei Tanabe is the final wrestler in this field who I think should be considered a medal threat. Tanabe is notably only on the world team because Olympic champion Kotaro Kiyooka chose not to compete at Worlds this year, but that doesn’t make Tanabe any less dangerous. Most of Tanabe’s results are within Japan, but his international wins are as good as any in the field, with victories over Islam Dudaev, Umidjon Jalolov, and Sujeet Kalkal (by injury default but Tanabe was leading 9-0). It’s just as important to highlight that Tanabe lost to both Bilol Sharip Uulu (3-1) and Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu (14-3), so Tanabe does struggle with consistency. Still, Tanabe’s offense and athleticism make him a legitimate medal contender in Kiyooka’s absence.
Tanabe's win over Abbas Ebrahimzadeh:
Sleepers & Landmines
- Islam Guseinov, BLR
- Ahmet Duman, TUR
With the depth of 65 kg, there aren’t many wrestlers who can be considered a sleeper or landmine. Islam Guseinov is having a solid year that may have gone unnoticed by some. Guseinov earned a bronze medal at the European Championships this year and has notable wins over Dzhambulat Kizinov, Ahmet Duman, and Zelimkhan Abakarov. Duman won a silver medal at the 2024 World Championships at 61 kg but was notably on the opposite side of the bracket from Masa Ono, Vito Arujau, and Zaur Uguev. Beyond that, Duman was also a silver medalist at the U23 World Championships in 2022 at 57 kg. Duman hasn’t experienced the same level of success yet up at 65 kg, but it might only be a matter of time. If there is a surprise medalist this year at 65 kg, I’d pick either Gueseinov or Duman.
65 kg World Championships Predictions
65 kg is the deepest weight in the world, and this bracket will likely be the most exciting to watch from start to finish. Make no mistake, Amouzad is the favorite, but there are a host of wrestlers in the field who will challenge him in Astana. Mamedov, Kudiev, Kalkal, Magomedov, and Bassett are all dangerous threats to prevent Amouzad from reaching the top of the podium and becoming the next king of 65 kg. Even with all of that talent, I’m still picking the Iranian to come out on top this year and become the repeat world champion at the weight in almost 20 years.
Full 65 kg Medal Predictions
Gold - Rahman Amouzad, IRI
Silver - Sujeet Kalkal, IND
Bronze - Bo Bassett, USA
Bronze - Shamil Mamedov, BUL