The 2026 Senior World Championships will take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 through November 1, and will be streamed live on FloWrestling. The 74 kg weight class will conclude the tournament on October 31 - November 1, with James Green representing Team USA at this weight. 74 kg has been a turbulent weight all year, resulting in several different wrestlers being ranked #1 and no true favorite entering Worlds this year. Check out the article below for a full preview with predictions for 74 kg at the World Championships.
74 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 74 kg Seeds
- Taimuraz Salkazanov, SVK
- Giorgi Elbakidze, GEO
- Magomedrasul Asluev, BRN
- Murad Kuramagomedov, HUN
- Orozobek Toktomambetov, KGZ
- Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, JPN
- Ibragim Veliev, BEL
- Farhad Nourikhor, EOR
Title Contenders
- Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, JPN
- Inalbek Sheriev, RUS
- Razambek Jamalov, UZB
- Taimuraz Salkazanov, SVK
74 kg has been volatile over the past two years, but the above four wrestlers are the most likely to win gold in Astana. Yoshinosuke Aoyagi won gold at 70 kg last year, then moved up to 74 kg and defeated last year’s 74 kg world champion, Kota Takahashi, to make Japan’s world team. Aoyagi has been very active over the past year, wrestling 24 matches since 2025 Worlds and going 21-3. Aoyagi’s only losses during this time period are to Mitchell Mesenbrink (2025 U23 Worlds), David Carr (2026 Zagreb Open), and Yones Emami (2026 Asian Games). It’s important to note that all three of these wrestlers won’t be at 2026 Worlds because they didn’t make their respective country’s world team. Outside of the losses, Aoyagi has victories this year over James Green, Amir Yazdani, Orozobek Toktomambetov, Magomedrasul Asluev, and Viktor Rassadin. Aoyagi is a master in match strategy and has some of the best neutral defense in the world. That combination makes him a dangerous threat to win a second consecutive title this year.
Aoyagi's win in the 2025 World finals:
Russia’s Inalbek Sheriev made Russia’s world team by defeating the great Zaurbek Sidakov in the finals (7-5). Sheriev, a world bronze medalist in 2024 at 70 kg, is only 23 years old and was a U23 World Champion back in 2023. Most of Sheriev’s recent results come from within Russia, but if history has shown us anything, it’s that Russia’s 74 kg wrestlers are always a threat to medal/win Worlds. Since 2014, Russia has earned a medal every year at 74 kg at Worlds/Olympics - 5 golds, 2 silvers, 3 bronzes. That level of excellence at what’s arguably the world’s toughest weight is astounding and gives me confidence that Sheriev will contend for a title or, at the very least, medal at Worlds this year.
Sheriev's win for world bronze in 2024:
Razambek Jamalov won the 2024 Olympic title in Paris by running through a gauntlet, defeating Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov, Taimuraz Salkazanov, Chermen Valiev, Viktor Rassadin, and Daichi Takatani for gold. However, Jamalov didn’t wrestle at all in 2025 and is currently 8-4 this year with some lackluster results. Jamalov lost in the Asian Championships semis at 79 kg to Japan’s Keyvan Gharehdaghi (4-3). It’s clear that Jamalov hasn’t found his Paris 2024 form, but if he does find it, he’s a clear threat to win gold.
Jamalov's win over Murad Kuramagomedov:
Taimuraz Salkazanov is the final wrestler in this group that I think should be considered a legitimate title contender. Salkazanov is a four-time world medalist, earning silver medals in 2021 and 2022 and bronze medals in 2019 and 2025. Salkazanov’s hit list includes victories over James Green, Yones Emami, Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov, Frank Chamizo, Avtandil Kentchadze, Razambek Jamalov, and a host of other world medalists/champs. This year, Salkazanov rose to #1 in the world after his gold medal performance at the European Championships, but he's currently riding a two-match losing streak after suffering consecutive losses to David Carr (5-4) and Murad Kuramagomedov (5-0). Those losses are absolutely concerning, but Salkazanov’s history shows he’s good enough to win gold this year at 74 kg.
Salkazanov's win over David Carr at the 2025 Zagreb Open:
Medal Contenders
- James Green, USA
- Amir Yazdani, IRI
- Viktor Rassadin, TJK
- Orozobek Toktomambetov, KGZ
- Murad Kuramagomedov, HUN
- Nurkozha Kaipanov, KAZ
The above 6 wrestlers have all had performances over the past year that suggest they’ll be in medal contention in Astana but aren’t quite as credentialed or consistent as the wrestlers in the title contenders category. We’ll start with Team USA’s rep, James Green, who shocked everyone by making the world team this year. Green is a two-time world medalist, but most of his success has come at 70 kg, and he hasn’t won a world medal since taking silver in 2017. Despite that, Green looked phenomenal on his way to the world team, beating David Carr in a fantastic best-of-three series. This will be Green’s 8th career world team, and he’ll need all of his experience to navigate this deep bracket. Green will be randomly drawn into this bracket, so we should expect a tough draw that could see him in toss-up matches every round.
James Green's win over David Carr to make the 2026 World Team:
Amir Yazdani is another 70 kg world medalist entering the field at 74 kg. Yazdani made the world team by defeating Yones Emami, who just had an incredible Asian Games, defeating Razambek Jamalov and Yoshinosuke Aoyagi. That’s a great sign for Yazdani, but he hasn’t had that same level of success internationally. Yazdani lost to Aoyagi at the 2026 Asian Championships and went 0-1 at Worlds last year at 70 kg. Yazdani is absolutely a threat, but it’s still a bit of a mystery how he’ll fare this year at Worlds.
The next four wrestlers have all had similar years - at times they’ve looked like medal threats or title contenders, but their inconsistency makes it hard to have any confidence in them in this deep of a field. Check out their wins and losses over the past year to get a clearer picture of this:
Viktor Rassadin, TJK
- Wins - Orozobek Toktomambetov (4-3) and Magomedrasul Asluev (3-2)
- Losses - Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (10-0), Taishi Narikuni (7-4), and David Baev (8-6).
Orozobek Toktomambetov, KGZ
- Wins - Feng Lu (9-0), Aghanazar Novruzov (3-3), Jaideep (2-0), Giorgi Elbakidze (2-0), Quincy Monday (5-1), Kanan Heybatov (3-1), and Nurkozha Kaipanov (4-2).
- Losses - Yones Emami (5-2 and 5-0), Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (10-0 and 10-0), Amir Yazdani (9-3), Kurban Shiraev (2-1), Omar Mohamed (10-6), and Viktor Rassadin (4-3).
Murad Kuramagomedov, HUN
- Wins - Mahdi Yousefi (4-1), Ibragim Veliev (11-0), Sagar Jaglan (8-1), and Taimuraz Salkazanov (5-0).
- Losses - Feng Lu (2-2), Imam Ganishov (2-2), Timur Bizhoev (2-1), Taimuraz Salkazanov (1-1), and Yegor Anchugin (2-1).
Nurkozha Kaipanov, KAZ
- Wins - Sagar Jaglan, Muhammed Besir Khaniev (7-4), and Will Lewan (4-0).
- Losses - Yones Emami (4-2 and 6-5), Feng Lu (3-3), and Orozobek Toktomambetov (4-2).
As you can see from the above results, it’s hard to distinguish between these four contenders. They’ve all traded wins and losses with one another; some have defeated title contenders, some have lost to wrestlers that won’t even be at Worlds. Because of the variance of their performances, I don’t expect to see any of this group wrestling for gold but wouldn’t be surprised to see them on the podium or, at the very least, wrestling for a medal.
Sleepers & Landmines
- Sagar Jaglan, IND
- Turan Bayramov, AZE
- Magomedrasul Asluev, BRN
The above group of three wrestlers has gone a little under the radar over the past year but have the talent to make some noise in Astana. Sagar Jaglan is coming off a 5th-place performance at the Asian Games where he defeated Razambek Jamalov and Tulga Tumur-Ochir but lost to Yones Emami and Nurkozha Kaipanov. Jaglan will be unseeded in this bracket, and it will be tough for him to navigate a deep run, but he’s capable of knocking off one of the contenders at 74 kg.
This will be Turan Bayramov’s 7th world/Olympic team for Azerbaijan, and he’s only 25 years old. Bayramov won’t take anyone by surprise, but he’s somewhat struggled recently, only placing at 1 international tournament in the past 2 years. That lack of success has moved him out of the top 20 in our international rankings and will keep many from picking him to do much in this bracket. Still, Bayramov has some of the best single-leg defense in the world and is a special athlete. If Bayramov’s conditioning is on point and his offense is clicking, he’s a great dark-horse medal pick.
Magomedrasul Asluev is another wrestler to watch out for in this bracket that might be going overlooked by many. Asluev was the Asian Championships runner-up this year with a close loss to Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (2-0) and victories over Begijon Kuldashev (4-3) and Mustafo Akhmedov (3-1). In fact, almost all of Asluev’s losses are 1- or 2-point matches - his losses this year are to Viktor Rassadin (3-2), Will Lewan (4-4), Aoyagi (2-0), and Yones Emami (2-1). If Asluev can figure out how to come out on the right side of these close matches, he’s right there with the contenders.
74 kg World Championship Predictions
74 kg is one of the most challenging weights to predict based on the results over the past year. There’s no true favorite, and every wrestler in this field has struggled with consistency against the top tier at 74 kg. It might sound cliché, but the winner of this tournament will truly be determined by whoever wrestles their best on October 31 and November 1. I’m picking Inalbek Sheriev to win gold here because I like the trajectory of his career, and I believe he’s just now entering his prime. Regardless of who wins 74 kg this year, we should expect exciting matches and upsets every round in Kazakhstan.
Full 74 kg Medal Predictions
Gold - Inalbek Sheriev, RUS
Silver - Yoshinosuke Aoyagi, JPN
Bronze - Taimuraz Salkazanov, SVK
Bronze - Amir Yazdani, IRI