The first order of business for the 2018 World Championships has been completed, as brackets for 61, 74, 86 and 125 kg have been drawn. Joe Colon, Jordan Burroughs, David Taylor and Nick Gwiazdowski can finally see their paths to Budapest gold. Let's see what's in store for the Americans tomorrow morning when the action gets underway.  

Men's Freestyle Previews: 61 | 74 | 86 | 125

61 Kilograms

Joe Colon earned himself the fourth seed in his first world championship tournament. That will give him a bye while two totally unpronounceable names from Kazakhstan and Ukraine battle it out in a pigtail. 

The 61 kg bracket is not very large, so a win there puts Colon in the quarterfinals potentially against #15 Dubov of Bulgaria, the same Dubov that eliminated Dan Dennis from the Rio Olympics. It would be wise for Colon to avoid Dubov's gut wrench, least he share a similar fate. If it's not Dubov it could be #14 Topal of Turkey, so Colon is in for a battle either way.

Cuba's #7 ranked Yowlys Bonne will likely be the opponent in the semifinals, although Uzbekistan and Iran's entries are capable of upsetting the remorseless slaughtering machine known as Bonne. 

The other side of Colon's bracket has the two favorites, #1 Rashidov of Russia and #5 Lomtadze of Georiga, on opposite ends of that half. They should meet in the semi, with the winner being favored to take the gold. 

74 Kilograms

Chamizo earned the number one seed based on the new UWW points system, so he had the top spot in the bracket locked into place already. Burroughs did not finish in the top 4 points-wise, but the third seed, Daniyar Kaisanov of Kazakhstan, did not enter the tournament, so as the next highest point scorer that did enter, Burroughs slid into the fourth seed. That means that Burroughs and Chamizo will be on the same side of the bracket and slated to meet in the semifinals. 

Before we count our rubber-match chickens, however, Burroughs will have to negotiate an unknown first round match against Juah of Liberia (nice to see Liberia has a wrestling program), and then likely #12 ranked Hosseinkhani of Iran. 

Assuming Burroughs advances he'll probably see #3 Sidakov of Russia in the quarterfinals (meaning once again Burroughs has Russia on the same side of the bracket for the millionth time). Chamizo, on the other hand, does not have a particularly challenging draw until that potential match. Still, only after JB and Frank win in the quarters will it be time for Burroughs v Chamizo III.

Two NCAA wrestlers, Michigan State's Franklin Gomez and Boston University's Nestor Taffur, wrestle in the first round. The winner there will likely get Sidakov. Gomez wrestles for Puerto Rico and Taffur for Colombia. 

The other side of the bracket from Burroughs has #6 Demirtas of Turkey, #11 Fujinami of Japan, #9 Nurikov of Belarus and #8 Abdurakhmonov of Uzbekistan (and Clarion University). Look for Abdurakhmonov and Demirtas to meet in the semis, with the winner taking on either one of Burroughs, Chamizo or Sidakov, the top three ranked wrestlers in the world right now. 

86 Kilograms

When might #2 ranked David Taylor see #1 ranked Hasan Yazdani again, now that Taylor has finally made the USA world team?

Taylor earned himself the second seed, whereas Yazdani did not make it into the top 4, so it's all up to the luck of the draw. And as luck would have it, Yazdani drew himself right next to David. Yazdani will see the Magic Man in the first round for a rematch almost two years in the making. 

The winner of that titanic clash will get likely #9 Rajabau (also spelled Radzhabov) of Belarus, whom David as never wrestled. A win there gets DT a bout with either #13 Torreblanca of Cuba, or Orgodol of Mongolia. David beat Orgodol 14-7 back in 2016. He had a tougher time against Torreblanca, eking out a criteria win 4-4  in the first round of the Yarygin in the beginning of this year. 

The opponent in the semis will likely be #3 Kurugliev of Russia, although Aminashvili of Georiga and #10 Suleymanov of Azerbaijan are capable of an upset. 

On the other side of the bracket is Domenic Abounader, representing Lebanon, and Campbell's Ville Heino, representing his native Finland. Both have good chances of making a medal match. #11 Erdin and #12 Makoev on in the same top quarter of the bracket and are the only top 20 wrestlers on that half of the bracket. Heino won't see either until the quarters and Abounader until the semis.

125 Kilograms

What should Nick Gwiazdowski expect in his second consecutive World Championship? He's secured the top seed, which should be very advantageous to his medal chances. For one, it ensures he is on the lighter side of the brackets, as pigtails start on the bottom and work their way up. A second reason is that two of the toughest wrestlers in the bracket, Geno Petriashvili of Georiga and Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi are the #2 and #3 seeds respectively, and can't hit Gwiazdowski until the finals. 

Also working in Nick's favor is #1 ranked Taha Akgul getting drawn into the other half of the bracket. Akgul and Khotsianivskyi will wrestle in the round of 16. As 125 kg is a small bracket, it will be the first match for both of them. 

Nick's first match will also be in the round of 16. He sees unranked Natsagsuren Zolboo of Mongolia, his opponent when he won bronze at the 2017 World Championships. Assuming another win, Gwiz's next opponent will be either #18 Deng of China or Amar Dhesi of Canada. Dhesi is unranked but recently took third at the 2018 NCAAs wrestling for Oregon State, and should be considered a favorite to beat Deng, setting Nick and Amar up in the quarterfinals. 

Dhesi and Gwiz overlapped but never wrestled in college, however, in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, Dhesi placed seventh and Gwiz took second. 

There are no other top 20 wrestlers on Gwiz and Dhesi's side of the bracket. On the other side, however, is the aforementioned #1 Akgul, #2 Petriashvili, and #3 Khotsianivskyii. There is also #4 Hadi of Iran, #6 Magomedov of Azerbaijan, #10 Khizriev of Russia, and #16 Baran of Poland. The winner of that meatgrinder very well might see #12 ranked Nick Gwiazdowski in the finals.