The 2026 Senior World Championships are going down October 24-November 1 in Astana, Kazakhstan, and will be streamed live on FloWrestling. The 70 kg weight class will take place October 30-31 and will be one of the most exciting weights to follow. World champion Zain Retherford is Team USA’s representative and he’ll be challenged by host of contenders. Check out the article below for a full breakdown of the 70 kg weight class for this year’s World Championships!
2026 70 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.
70 kg World Championship Seed Projection
- Tulga Tumur-Ochir, MGL
- Ernazar Akmataliev, KGZ
- Ismail Musukaev, HUN
- Akaki Kemertelidze, GEO
- Vasile Diacon, MDA
- Kanan Heybatov, AZE
- Arman Andreasyan, AZE
- Sina Khalili, IRI
Title Contenders
- Zain Retherford, USA
- Ernazar Akmataliev, KGZ
- Tulga Tumur-Ochir
- Ibragim Ibragimov, RUS
70 kg is one of the most wide-open weights at Worlds this year, with the above four wrestlers leading the way as the favorites to win gold. Of this group, only Zain Retherford has ever won a world title. Retherford won gold in 2023 and also has a silver medal to his name from 2022. Despite being the most credentialed wrestler in the field, it’s worth noting that Retherford is 0-1 against both Ernazar Akmataliev and Tulga Tumur-Ochir. Akmataliev recently defeated Retherford 3-3 on criteria at RAF Tbilisi in July. Ochir’s win over Retherford came back at the 2024 World Olympic Games qualifier down at 65 kg (7-2). Even with those losses, Retherford has the skills to win worlds this year and has only gotten better since returning to the mats in May after an almost two-year layoff.
Retherford's win in the 2023 World Finals:
Ernazar Akmataliev is a three-time world medalist, winning bronze in 2022 and 2025 and silver in 2021 - all at 70 kg. Akmataliev’s consistency over the past 5 years has been remarkable, but the world title has ultimately eluded him. While he's fallen short in the past, Akmataliev already has notable victories this year over Zain Retherford, Ibragim Ibragimov, Taishi Narikuni (world champion), Alec Pantaleo, and Maiis Aliyev. His losses this year to Abhimanyou Mandwal and Kwang Jin Kim show some of Akmataliev’s inconsistency, but if he wrestles his best in Astana, he could bring home gold.
Akmataliev's win over Alec Pantaleo:
Tulga Tumur-Ochir is another multiple-time world medalist who has yet to win gold on the biggest stage. Tumur-Ochir was silver last year and bronze in 2021 (at 65kg). Tumur-Ochir’s hit list is as good as anyone’s in the weight, and he has significant victories in the past year over Nurkozha Kaipanov, Umidjon Jalolov, Sina Khalili, Abhimanyou Manwal, Magomed-Emi Eltemirov, Ismail Musukaev, and Sanzhar Doszhanov. Tumur-Ochir also possesses the skills to navigate a bracket this deep - he has defense that can shut wrestlers down and converts on a high percentage of his attacks. I’m hesitant to pick Tumur-Ochir to win gold this year because of his losses to Akaki Kemertelidze and Abhimanyou Mandwal. However, no one should be surprised if Tumur-Ochir is standing atop the podium in Kazakhstan.
Tumur-Ochir's win over Zain Retherford:
Ibragim Ibragimov is the final wrestler who I think should be considered a title contender heading into Worlds. Ibragimov was the surprise winner of Russian Nationals at 70 kg considering he’s spent most of his career at 65 kg. In fact, last year Ibragimov was Russia’s rep at 65 kg and failed to medal at Worlds, losing in the bronze match to Umidjon Jalolov (7-3). This year, Ibragimov has been incredibly impressive at 70 kg and might have the most dynamic offense of anyone in this bracket.
Ibragimov's win over world champion David Baev:
Medal Contenders
- Ismail Musukaev, HUN
- Arman Andreasyan, ARM
- Sina Khalili, IRI
- Akaki Kemertelidze, GEO
- Abhimanyou Mandwal, IND
- Kanan Heybatov, AZE
Of the above 6 wrestlers, only Ismail Musukaev and Arman Andreasyan are past world medalists. Musukaev is a 3-time world medalist with a world title in 2023 and two bronzes (2019 and 2022). All of those medals came at 65 kg, and Musukaev has really struggled with his consistency since moving up to 70 kg. In the past year, Musukaev has suffered losses to Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (10-0), Ernazar Akmataliev (14-4), Akaki Kemertelidze (3-0), Caleb Henson (5-4), Alexandr Gaidarli (11-0), and Tulga Tumur-Ochir (8-4). Even with all of those losses, Musukaev has dangerous neutral offense, and if he can find his peak again in Astana, he’ll be a threat to anyone in the bracket.
If you don't know Ismail Musukaev, you have to watch this video:
Andreasyan was world bronze back in 2023 and has fallen just short of a medal the past two years at Worlds. In 2024, Andreasyan lost a 2-0 bout to eventual world bronze medalist Inalbek Sheriev, and then last year Andreasyan lost in the bronze medal match to Ernazar Akmataliev (8-2). Andreasyan has a solid hit list that includes victories over world medalists Vazgen Tevanyan, Ismail Musukaev, Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, Mihail Sava, and Arsalan Budazhapov. Andreasyan sits at the #7 seed, so as long as he doesn’t draw someone like Zain Retherford or Ibragim Ibragimov early, we could see Andreasyan wrestle for another medal this year.
After the veterans, there’s a solid group of four young contenders looking for their first world medal this year. Iran’s Sina Khalili leads this group after winning U20 Worlds this year. On top of that, Khalili also has notable victories this year over Sanzhar Doszhanov, Akaki Kemertelidze, Abhimanyou Mandwal, Maiis Aliyev, and Tulga Tumur-Ochir. Khalili has shown incredible potential and is only getting better as he gains more experience. Khalil will be the #8 seed and is a sneaky pick to make the finals if he wrestles his best.
Khalili's win over Landon Robideau at U20 Worlds this year:
Georgia’s Akaki Kemertelidze is another wrestler who has the potential to make a run to the podium. Kemertelidze has notched wins this year over Tulga Tumur-Ochir, Sanzhar Doszhanov, Claeb Henson, and Ismail Musukaev. Kemertelidze also notably placed 5th at the 2024 World Championships, where he defeated James Green. However, he’s struggled with consistency and has lost to Vasile Diacon, Sina Khalili, and Ridge Lovett this year. This will be Kemertelidze’s third appearance at Worlds, and I expect to see the best version of him in Kazakhstan.
Abhimanyou Mandwal climbed all the way to #1 in the world this year after winning the Asian Championships in April recording victories over Tulga Tumur-Ochir and Ernazar Akmataliev. However, since then, Mandwal has suffered losses to Magomed-Emi Eltemirov (10-0), Ebrahim Elahi (11-0), and Gadzhimagomed Gadzhiev (7-0). This range of results makes it incredibly difficult to predict how Manwal will fare in Kazakhstan, but if it’s the same wrestler we saw at the Asian Championships, reaching the podium is within reason for Mandwal.
Mandwal's win over Ernazar Akmataliev:
Azerbaijan’s Kanan Heybatov is one of the best young prospects at 70 kg. Heybatov won a U23 World Title last year, where he defeated PJ Duke and Sina Khalili. Despite that strong performance, Heybatov has bounced back and forth between 74 kg and 70 kg this year and suffered losses to Ebrahim Elahi and Ridge Lovett in July. At the World Championships last year, Khalili reached the quarterfinals with victories over Amir Yazdani (15-4) and Shannon Hanna (10-0), before falling in a competitive 8-6 match to Arman Andreasyan. I think it’s only a matter of time before Heybatov wins a medal at the senior level, and this could be the year for the young Azeri.
Heybatov's win over PJ Duke at the 2025 U23 World Championships:
Sleepers & Landmines
- Vasile Diacon, MDA
- Lachlan McNeil, CAN
- Yuma Tomiyama, JPN
The above three wrestlers are not the most accomplished on the senior level but could make a name for themselves in Astana. Of this bunch, Diacon has the most experience and notable senior-level wins. Diacon has had significant victories in the past year over Akaki Kemertelidze, Alec Pantaleo, Ed Scott, and Abdullah Toprak. So why isn’t Diacon considered a medal contender? Diacon is only 2-16 in his career against world medalists, with his last win over a senior medalist coming all the way back in 2023 over Arman Andreasyan. Diacon has his moments, but I don’t think he’ll be able to string enough wins together to reach the podium.
Four-time All-American Lachlan McNeil will be an interesting wrestler to watch in this field. McNeil recently placed third at the Ziolkowski in August with victories over Alexander Seiwald (11-0), Marton Vargo (by pin), and Mykyta Honcharov (11-0), while only losing to Arman Andreasyan (2-1). McNeil hasn’t been that active on the senior level since graduating, but he has the potential to follow a similar trajectory as Stevan Micic, Myles Amine, and Austin Gomez.
Yuma Tomiyama is the final wrestler that should be considered a sleeper. Tomiyama finished second at the Emperor’s Cup in December to Taishi Narikuni (2022 world champion), and then received the world team spot after Narikuni forfeited in the finals of the Meiji Cup in June. Tomiyama has very limited results on the senior level, but Japan’s lightweights have been dangerous over the past few years. Tomiyama will be unseeded and might be the pick for an unknown making a deep run in this bracket, or at the very least, knock off one of the contenders at 70 kg.
70 kg World Championship Prediction
This is one of the most challenging weights to predict because there are a number of title and medal contenders, separated by very little. I’m picking Ibragim Ibragimov to win gold because I think he has the most variety in his offense and has made significant improvements to his consistency since moving up to 70 kg. If Ibragimov doesn’t come away with gold, I’d guess Zain Retherford, Tulga Tumur-Ochir, or Ernazar Akmataliev are standing atop the podium in Kazakhstan.
Full 70 kg Medal Predictions
Gold: Ibragim Ibragimov, RUS
Silver: Tulga Tumur-Ochir, MGL
Bronze: Zain Retherford, USA
Bronze: Sina Khalili, IRI