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2021 Spartan Combat Wrestling I

Yianni Diakomihalis & Anthony Ashnault Meet In Battle of NCAA Champs

Yianni Diakomihalis & Anthony Ashnault Meet In Battle of NCAA Champs

Yianni and Ashnault continue to look for high level opponents. They'll clash on January 8 at the inaugural Spartan Combat Wrestling event.

Jan 4, 2021 by David Bray
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Spartan Combat RTC is putting on an all star card on Friday, January 8 with some enticing matchups, perhaps most exciting of which is Yianni Diakomihalis vs Anthony Ashnault. These two have sought out elite competition throughout this strange year, and now they'll meet for the first time on the senior level.

Watch Spartan Combat Wrestling LIVE on FloWrestling

Friday, January 8, 2020 | 5:00 PM EST

Right before the wrestling calendar was cleared by COVID-19, 2019 NCAA champion Anthony Ashnault punched his ticket to the US Olympic Trials by winning a gold medal at the 2020 Pan Am Championships at 70 kg. 

Most recently, Ashnault finished 4th in the FloWrestling 8-Man Challenge 150 lbs bracket. He had a wild win over Yianni's Spartan Combat teammate Evan Henderson before falling to Bajrang Punia and Alec Pantaleo. As he settles into 65 kg for this Olympic year, matches with guys like Yianni offer him opportunities to find out where he stands heading into the Olympic Trials.

Ashnault's win over Evan Henderson at the FloWrestling 8-Man Challenge

Ashnault vs Henderson

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Two-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis has also been busy in 2020. Like Ashnault, he won Pan Am Championships gold, and also like Ashnault, he's been laying it on the line in recent months.

He broke his quarantine in September for a match against Olympic Gold medalist Vladimer Khinchegashvili. Yianni was attacking late in that one but ended up falling in a 4-4 criteria thriller.

He bounced back from the loss with a 4-0 performance at the RTC Cup in November that included two wins over two-time World medalist James Green. He also beat Sammy Sasso and Tariq Wilson.

Yianni's RTC Cup win over Sammy Sasso

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Yianni's senior level credentials make him the on-paper favorite on Friday, but Ashnault is certainly hungry and game. Circle this as one of the most fascinating matchups on the event.

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