2023 World Championship Rankings

70 kg - Zain Retherford

Zain Retherford comes in at the #1 spot after winning silver at last year's world championships. On top of that performance, the wrestler who defeated Retherford, Taishi Narikuni, isn't competing in freestyle this year but is choosing to wrestle Greco-Roman for Japan at 67kg. 

Syrbaz Talgat comes in as the #2 ranked wrestler at 70kg based on his recent win over 2022 world bronze medalist Ernazar Akmataliev at the recent Ranking Series tournament in Kyrgyzstan. That result is especially interesting considering Talgat will likely be unseeded at the 2023 World Championships.