2022 World Championship Rankings - Men's Freestyle

70 - Magomedmurad Gadzhiev

Zain Retherford slides into the rankings after defeating Jordan Oliver at Final X to make his third world team. Retherford holds a past win over #6 Ramazanov but has yet to wrestle any of the top 4. Retherford also recently won the ranking series event in Tunsia with 4 technical superiority wins.

While Gadzhiev is the defending world champ, he has yet to compete since 2021 worlds and might not compete this year in Serbia. If that’s the case, the three favorites are Amir Yazdani, Taishi Narikuni, and Ernazar Akmataliev. Yazdani won world silver last year at 65kg and has been just as impressive up at 70kg. In February, Yazdani won the Yasar Dogu while defeating both James Green and 2021 world silver medalist Ernazar Akmataliev. 

Taishi Narikuni make Japan’s world team by winning the Meiji Cup in June and had a breakout performance at the Asian Championships in April. There, Narikuni defeated the aforementioned Akmataliev in the final 4-3 and looks to be capable of winning a world title.