The 2026 Senior World Championships are taking place in Astana, Kazakhstan, from October 24 through November 1 and will be streamed live on Flowrestling. Defending world champion Trent Hidlay will be Team USA’s rep and will be competing on October 31 and November 1 in Astana. Hidlay is the favorite to win again this year, but the field is deep with several challengers looking to knock Hidlay off the top of the podium. Check out the article below for a full preview, with predictions for 92 kg at the 2026 World Championships.
92 kg World Championship Rankings
92 kg World Championship Seeds
- Trent Hidlay, USA
- Miriani Maisuradze, GEO
- Amanula Gadzhimagomedov, RUS
- Amir Firouzpour, IRI
- Ahmed Bataev, BUL
- Samuel Scherrer, SUI
- Azamat Dauletbekov, KAZ
- Ali Tcokaev, AZE
Title Contenders
- Trent Hidlay, USA
- Amanula Gadzhimagomedov, RUS
- Amir Firouzpour, IRI
- Ali Tcokaev, AZE
Trent Hidlay leads the pack of title contenders at 92 kg after winning a world title last year. Since 2025 Worlds, Hidlay has been lights-out, winning 12 straight matches, including notable victories over Magomedkhan Magomedov (10-0), Abolfazl Rahmani (12-9), Mohammadmobin Azimi (5-5), Jacob Cardenas (5-3), and three victories over Michael Macchiavello (3-3, 2-1, and 8-3). It's also worth noting that before this year, Hidlay ended 2025 on a 19-match winning streak. That means Hidlay is currently riding a 31-match winning streak and hasn't lost since February of 2025 (I don't count his forfeit to Azimi this year as a loss). Hidlay has moved beyond being just a powerful wrestler with an underhook and has established himself as one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the world. That makes him the clear favorite to win again in Astana.
Trent Hidlay talks through his insane world final:
After Hidlay, the next three wrestlers are legitimate contenders, and any one of them is capable of winning gold. Russia's Amanula Gadzhimagomedov won silver last year after losing a wild 13-10 match to Hidlay in the finals. Gadzhimagomedov has been solid since Worlds but took a surprising loss to Ahmed Bataev at the European Championships this year. Beyond that, Gadzhimagomedov surprised a lot of people last year with his chest wrap and won't have that same benefit of catching his opponents off guard this year. Even with the element of surprise gone, Gadzhimagomedov is dangerous and navigated a tough bracket to win Russian Nationals. He's capable of doing the same at Worlds and coming away with gold this year.
Gadzhimagomedov's win over Firouzpour:
Iran's Amir Firouzpour won bronze last year at Worlds, losing only to Amanula Gadzhimagomedov, while recording victories over Kamil Kurugliyev (by pin), Batyrbek Tsakulov (7-2), and Ahmed Bataev (7-0). Firouzpour physically overwhelms his opponents, and few can withstand his handfight and pressure. Firouzpour only wrestled one international tournament this year - the Muhamet Malo, where he won gold in dominant fashion. Beyond that, Firouzpour was tested in his world team wrestle-off against countryman Mohammadmobin Azimi. Firouzpour came out on top of that battle, which is just another sign pointing to Firouzpour being ready to win a world title this year.
Firouzpour's win over Azamat Dauletbekov:
Azerbaijan's Ali Tcokaev is the final wrestler I consider to be a title contender, and he might be one of the most underrated wrestlers in the world. Tcokaev won bronze at last year's U23 World Championships, losing only to Russia's Arsen Balaian. However, since then, Tcokaev is undefeated, beating Mustafagadzhi Malachdibirov, Fatih Altunbas, Miriani Maisuradze, Dustin Plott, Ahmed Bataev, and Magomed Sharipov. Tcokaev is only 23 years old and is likely still approaching his prime. As the #8 seed, Tcokaev presents a legitimate threat to both Trent Hidlay and Amir Firouzpour on the top side of the bracket, and there's a chance he could keep one of those two from medaling in Kazakhstan.
Tcokaev's win for bronze at the 2025 U23 World Championships:
Medal Contenders
- Dauren Kurugliev, GRE
- Magomed Sharipov, BRN
- Ahmed Bataev, BUL
- Mukhammed Aliiev, UKR
- Miriani Maisuradze, GEO
- Azamat Dauletbekov, KAZ
This group of six wrestlers represents a deep field of medal contenders, with only 3 of the 6 seeded. That means there could be some really uneven brackets in Kazakhstan and some incredible early-round matches. 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Dauren Kurugliev is back in the bracket this year after going down with an injury. Kurugliev made his return to the mat at the 2026 Mediterranean Games and won gold in controlling fashion with three techs and one decision. However, at the Kadyrov Memorial in September, Kurugliev suffered a loss to Alan Bagaev before forfeiting in the bronze-medal match to Abubakr Abakarov. That performance is concerning, but if Kurugliev is close to healthy, he's a medal threat.
Kurugliev's win over Myles Amine in the 2023 European Championship Finals:
Magomed Sharipov was 5th at senior Worlds in 2023 and won a U23 world bronze last year. However, this year, Sharipov has had his ups and downs. He's failed to place at three different tournaments but notably placed second at the Asian Championships. Sharipov will be unseeded this year at Worlds, and if he gets drawn on the bottom side, Sharipov is a dark horse pick to make the finals.
Ahmed Bataev also has a fifth-place finish under his belt, coming just short of world bronze at the 2022 World Championships. This year, Bataev was third at the Muhamet Malo, first at the Dan Kolov, and second at the European Championships. Placing three times is noteworthy, along with his victories over Amanula Gadzhimagomedov, Fatih Altunbas, Mukhammed Aliiev, Suleyman Karadeniz, and Jacob Cardenas. Bataev only has three losses in this time frame - to Miriani Maisuradze, Ali Tcokaev, and Magomed Sharipov. Bataev doesn't quite have the consistency to be considered a "medal lock," but if Bataev is wrestling his best, he could wrestle for a medal again at Worlds.
Mukhammed Aliiev is fresh off a second-place finish at the Ziolkowski, where he teched two-time world medalist Miriani Maisuradze (10-0). Aliiev was also 2nd at the Hasan Gemici, 2nd at the Polyak Imre, and 3rd at the Dan Kolov. Similar to Bataev, Aliiev's ability to consistently place at international tournaments shouldn't be taken lightly and makes him a legitimate medal contender with the right draw.
Miriani Maisuradze is a two-time world medalist, winning silver in 2024 and bronze in 2022. Despite those accolades, Maisuradze has struggled a bit this year, losing to Mukhammed Aliiev by tech at the Ziolkowski and going 0-2 at the Polyak Imre, losing to Aliiev (16-12) and Anton Vyhivskyi (by pin). Still, Maisuradze didn't reach the podium twice at Worlds by accident. In fact, Maisuradze had two very competitive matches against Trent Hidlay last year, and as the #2 seed, Maisuradze is set up nicely to make a deep run at Worlds.
Azamat Dauletbekov is the final wrestler in this field that should be considered a serious medal threat. Dauletbekov is a two-time world bronze medalist, winning medals in both 2022 and 2023 at 86 kg. Dauletbekov has had some growing pains moving up in weight this year and suffered losses to Askhab Saadulaev (6-3), Mohammadmobin Azimi (6-0), and Amir Firouzpour (5-0). These losses make it pretty clear that Dauletbekov is not a threat to win gold. However, Dauletbekov is the #7 seed and will be on the opposite side of the bracket from Trent Hidlay, Amir Firouzpour, and Ali Tcokaev. That could set Dauletbekov up with the perfect draw to wrestle for a medal this year at 92 kg.
Sleepers & Landmines
- Fatih Altunbas, TUR
- Ion Demian, MDA
With the makeup of 92 kg, there aren't many wrestlers in the field that I think can take the weight class by surprise. With that in mind, Altunbas and Demian are two wrestlers to watch out for. Altunbas was second at the Dan Kolov this year and won the Hasan Gemici. He's also coming off a 5th-place finish at U23 Worlds, where he lost close matches to both Sandro Kurashvili (6-4) and Abolfazl Rahmani (6-3). Altunbas has victories this year over Mukhammed Aliiev, Samuel Scherrer, Andrian Grosul, and Kamil Kurugliyev. I'm not picking Altunbas to medal, but no one should be surprised if he defeats one of the medal contenders early in the tournament.
Moldova's Ion Demian is another under-the-radar wrestler who could make some noise in Kazakhstan. Demian won a bronze medal at the Hasan Gemici, where he lost only to Alperen Tokgoz (4-4) but defeated Iran's Abolfazl Babaloo (4-1). Beyond that, Demian won a U23 world bronze in 2024, defeating the aforementioned Altunbas in the bronze-medal match. Demian wrestles hard, and even if he's outclassed, he'll be a tough out for anyone in this bracket.
92 kg World Championship Predictions
Trent Hidlay is my pick to win gold again this year at 92 kg. Hidlay has only gotten better and more consistent since he won gold last year, and I think we'll see the best version of him in Astana. It won't be easy for Hidlay, especially considering he'll likely have to go through at least two of the top contenders in Ali Tcokaev and Amir Firouzpour. Still, Hidlay, and his wrestling style, is built for tough tournaments like this, and I expect to see Hidlay-Mania on full display in Kazakhstan.
Full 92 kg Medal Predictions
Gold - Trent Hidlay
Silver - Amanula Gadzhimagomedov, RUS
Bronze - Amir Firouzpour, IRI
Bronze - Dauren Kurugliev, GRE
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FloWrestling Archived Footage
Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloWrestling subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.
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