2023 World Championship Rankings
125 kg - Gable Steveson
As the Olympic champion, Gable Steveson is the top-ranked wrestler at 125kg and the favorite to win gold. In Tokyo, Gable recorded wins over Geno Petriashvili, Taha Akgul, and Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur. Despite those wins, Gable took a year off from competition and doesn't bring any rankings points into this year's worlds. That means Steveson will be unseeded at this year's world championships and randomly drawn into the bracket.
Taha Akgul is the defending world champion after defeating both Amir Zare and Lkhagvagerel Munkhtur at last year's world championships. On top of that, Akgul won another European title this Spring after defeating Geno Petriashvili. With those performances, Akgul will hold the #1 seed at worlds and likely be the biggest contender to Gable Steveson for Gold at worlds.