Man, what a grind. At the end of the World Championships, just about each wrestler was battered and bruised. It was truly the only evidence needed to prove just how grueling the World tournament can be. The final day started with a bang and ended with one. So let's put a bow on the Championships with our top stories from day six. 


5. Bonne Rodriguez, Amit Kumar Handed Similar Suspicious Losses
Yowlys Bonne Rodriguez (CUB) was the fashionable pick to win the gold medal at 57kg this year. When the draw came out, it was clear he was going to have to earn it the hard way. After an opening round technical fall, Bonne Rodriguez matched up with two-time World Champion Viktor Lebedev (RUS).

I thought this would be an action packed match with lots of scoring, but I was wrong. Both competitors were very hesitant to attack, however Bonne Rodriguez seemed to be slightly more aggressive. Bonne Rodriguez is a great counter wrestler, and he took out Russian stud Aleksander Bogomoev at last year’s World Championships with some of these counters, so Lebedev’s hesitancy is completely understood.

After the wrestlers exchanged shot clock points, Bonne Rodriguez held criteria with the last point scored. To the dismay of many in attendance, they put Bonne Rodriguez on the shot clock for a second time. The 30-seconds expired once again and Lebedev regained the lead, 2-1.

This is where the real controversy starts. Bonne Rodriguez is chasing Lebedev all over the mat trying to score. The referee asks for confirmation on a caution against Lebedev for fleeing the hold resulting in the mat judge holding the red paddle in the air to confirm the call. The action doesn’t get stopped, and Bonne Rodriguez attempts to throw Lebedev over the top from a cement job position. The throw was unsuccessful as time ran out and the Cubans threw in the challenge block when they show Lebedev still ahead, 2-1.

After a conference, the refs award Bonne Rodriguez a point for a correct hold to tie the match at 2-2. But Lebedev held criteria advantage because of the two cautions against Bonne Rodriguez. Had the caution been scored instead of the correct hold, Bonne Rodriguez would have been the winner based on last score. Which should have happen.

Ironically, in the next round, Lebedev trailed Amit Kumar (IND) in the closing seconds, 1-1 with Kumar holding criteria by having the last score. With less than five seconds to go Lebedev was awarded a point for Kumar fleeing the hold. The same exact call was called two different ways; both times it went in Lebedev’s favor.



4. James Green Picks Up Bronze
James Green went through an arduous trials process to become the United States representative at 70kg. His persistence certainly paid off in Las Vegas with a bronze medal. Green dominated the bronze medal match with takedowns until he stepped out of a cutback attempt and pinned Mirov of Bulgaria in 2:07.

Green has one medal in one try at the World level, but will need to make adjustments for next year. 70kg is not an Olympic weight so in order to compete for a spot on the United States Olympic Team, he will have go down to 65kg. This will make the trials very interesting.

3. Double Trouble
Bilyal Makhov joined a select group of wrestlers by winning a medal in both Freestyle and Greco at the 2015 World level. Only eight wrestlers have accomplished this feat before Makhov. Most of the eight accomplished this before World War II with Jan Karlsson of Sweden being the last to accomplished this in 1973. In the future, can Makhov join Ivar Johansson of Sweden and Kristjan Palusalu of Estonia as the only double Gold medalists? Only time will tell.

2. Akgul Has Stranglehold On 125kg
Taha Akgul has firmly established himself as the man to beat in Rio next year with winning his second consecutive championship last night. He dominated the field scoring a technical fall in the semi-finals and finals. His match in the semis was particularly noteworthy as he met Bilyal Makhov, the former three-time World Champion, returned to Freestyle this year after a brief break and a year exclusively wrestling Greco. Can Akgul continue his dominance and surpass Makhov? The torch may have be taken, not passed, when Akgul laced him in the semis.

1. Heartbreak Passed Off
In 2014, Vladimir Khinchegashvili (GEO) led Yang of North Korea, 3-2, with 20-seconds remaining in the bout. It looked like he was going to win his first Senior World title. However, a head pinch exposure and step out gave Yang the 5-3 victory. The heartbreaking defeat was Khinchegashvili’s second loss in a major final as he lost the Olympic finale in 2012 to Dyamal Otarsultanov.

Fast forward to this year. Khinchegashvili seemed to be on his way to another runner-up finish as he trailed Hassan Rahimi (IRI) the entire match. With 25-seconds to go, Rahimi was still out front, 4-1. Khinchegashvili closed the gap to 4-3 with a takedown, but wasn’t able to execute a turn to take the lead. Then with minimal time left on the restart, Khinchegashvili hit a perfect superduck to win his World title in stunning fashion and turn the tides from a year ago. The heartbreak that motivated Khinchegashvili over the past year has been passed along to Rahimi as everyone starts to look forward to the Rio Games.




Day six was packed with so many great stories that we had to throw in an extra moment.

The real number one story is Jordan Burroughs. At this year’s Championships, Burroughs was really looking forward to avenging his 2014 loss to Denis Tsargush, but Tsargush didn’t hold up his end of the bargain and Aniuar Geduev was sent to the championships instead of the reigning champion. Geduev pushed Burroughs to the limit and was clearly a very game opponent in the semi-final. A second period takedown and stingy defense late in the match by Burroughs won him the match. He followed it up with a tech. fall in the finals to put a cherry on top of a very good World Championship performance.

With his win, he is now standing alone in third place as the most decorated American Freestyle wrestler of all-time. He has three World titles, an Olympic title, and a World bronze.