Zain Retherford is set to wrestle Yianni Diakomihalis again on September 2 at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA. This time we’ll start off by re-wrestling match No. 2 from Final X, Rutgers. If Zain wins that match he’ll be the rep in Kazakhstan. If Yianni wins the first match on Labor Day we’ll go to a deciding match No. 3 later that day. 

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Monday September 2nd | 3:00 PM Eastern

Over the last few months, the Yianni/Zain saga has become my absolute favorite rivalry in our sport. I went through the four matches that Diakomihalis and Retherford have wrestled so far this year with a fine-tooth comb to see what we can learn from the series so far, and maybe more importantly, what we can expect to see on Sept. 2 in Wilkes-Barre. 

The Offensive Numbers

What To Do

Admittedly I got a bit obsessed this weekend and started down the Yianni/Zain rabbit hole and I haven’t looked back, so instead of one big tech notes article like I do for most monster matchups, I'm going to roll out four tech notes article this week giving rundowns in each of the most influential positions to these (and most) wrestling matches. Neutral offense, neutral defense, par terre, and scrambling/non-controlled exposure.

Where To Start

As a jumping-off point, here is every score in the four-match series as it was scored on the day of the event. I realize that Final X match 2 is supposed to be stricken from the record books, but the information that is gathered in that match is vital to painting the full picture of the series.

Offensive Scores

If I were to ask you before this series started back at the U.S. Open who is the more “offensive” wrestler and who is the more “defensive” wrestler out of the two, I think most people would say that Zain is more offensive. According to this series, Yianni is the one that is forcing more offensive action.

Clearly, Yianni’s go-to offense is his misdirection single, but I don't know if I can truly exemplify just how good this single is. But, I’ll try. 

First, scoring against Zain is really difficult, because his baseline defense is ironclad. Yianni’s use of that right-to-left misdirection single is the only way that he has been able to score on Zain with the exact same finish. Every other time he’s employed that misdirection single he's had to finish in different ways. Below you’ll see Yianni shoot in on a misdirection single-leg, come out the back door, and try to expose Zain’s back. Zain, not wanting to expose, pretty much bails on the position and concedes the takedown. 

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While Yianni may have scored five more points over the course of four matches, we’d be foolish to count out Zain’s offensive output. If you take a glance at the numbers it’s easy to see that Zain is having the most amount of success scoring against Yianni with a double. In fact, eight of Zain’s 10 offensive points came from doubles. The one thing that the numbers don’t really say is that Zain is trying, under any circumstance to get Yianni’s feet off of the mat, which is easier to do with a double than it is with a single. Even when Zain finishes on the ground you can see him very deliberately trying to get at least one of Yianni’s legs off the ground. 

What’s It All Mean?

While in an NCAA forum Yianni may be more reactive and more willing to let his opponents come to him, it’s clear that if he wants to win the 65kg MFS spot then he’s going to have to get his offense going, more specifically, his misdirection single leg. 

While Zain’s rate of attack isn’t quite as high the patience has paid off in a high conversion rate. If he perfectly times a double leg for four points like he did at Final X Match 2… it’s going to be a short day for Yianni. 

The Defensive Scores

What To Do

Admittedly I got a bit obsessed this weekend and started down the Yianni/Zain rabbit hole and I haven’t looked back, so instead of one big tech notes article like I do for most monster matchups, I'm going to roll out four tech notes article this week giving rundowns in each of the most influential positions to these (and most) wrestling matches. Neutral offense, neutral defense, par terre, and scrambling/non-controlled exposure.

Where To Start

As a jumping-off point, here is every score in the four-match series as it was scored on the day of the event. I realize that Final X match 2 is supposed to be stricken from the record books, but the information that is gathered in that match is vital to painting the full picture of the series. 

Defensive Scores

For the sake of clarity, I want to point out exactly what I’m talking about here. The category of Defensive Scores is not going to include non-controlled exposure in scrambles; that will be a category all by itself. This is when one wrestler takes an offensive attack and the other winds up on top as a direct result.

This was another category that may go against conventional thought. Most people think of Yianni as the superior defensive wrestler, but the numbers say that Zain is the one who scores more from Yianni’s attacks. To further emphasize the point, one thing that the spreadsheet doesn’t show is just how high Yianni’s rate of attack is and just how many times Zain has stuffed those attacks with solid baseline defense. Zain's head/hands defense has been outstanding throughout the series. 

Take a look at all of the defensive scores. 

Yianni’s incredible when you grab one of his legs and he’s able to sit the corner and either crotch lock or chest wrap. Zain learned that very quickly in the series. The only time that Zain has deliberately transitioned from a double to a single in this series Yianni sat the corner and wound up scoring a takedown. 

What’s It All Mean?

Despite our preconceived notions, Zain is actually the one who has proven to score more points off of the Yianni’s attacks (albeit just one more point). But the true story of the defense has been Zain’s ability to stymie Yianni’s attacks with his head and hands. 

While I think Yianni’s single leg defense is out of this world, he hasn’t been able to score off of Zain’s shots by sitting the corner since their first match at the U.S. Open, and that is through no real fault of his own. Zain has learned to be a bit more patient in the hand fight and wait for double as opposed to dropping in on the first single leg opportunity that presents itself. He’s also learned to NEVER, under any circumstances, change from a double to a single against Yianni. 

The Par-Terre Numbers

What To Do

Admittedly I got a bit obsessed this weekend and started down the Yianni/Zain rabbit hole and I haven’t looked back, so instead of one big tech notes article like I do for most monster matchups, I'm going to roll out four tech notes article this week giving rundowns in each of the most influential positions to these (and most) wrestling matches. Neutral offense, neutral defense, par terre, and scrambling/non-controlled exposure.

Where To Start

As a jumping-off point, here is every score in the four-match series as it was scored on the day of the event. I realize that Final X match 2 is supposed to be stricken from the record books, but the information that is gathered in that match is vital to painting the full picture of the series. 

Par Terre offense is the easiest category totally, but don't overlook its importance. There are gems hidden in the numbers (or lack of numbers) that have influenced this series in various ways. 

Zain is the only participant wrestling on Sept. 2 in Wilkes-Barre who has scored in the par terre position in this series. That came as a bit of a surprise to me. Yianni is such a savvy freestyle wrestler that one would think that in a four-match series against anyone he’d be more than likely to score from the top position at some point. 

While you can look at the numbers in the cells of the spread and see what technique Zain has used to score, what the spreadsheet doesn’t tell you is when those techniques were applied. The only points that have been attributed to par terre wrestling in this series have come in transition. The first was when Zain wisely kept the legs split after finishing a double from the ground at the U.S. Open. The other was a transitional front side lace that also came as a result of a double by Zain.

Yianni has put a goose egg on the board in the par terre category, but it’s not for a lack of trying. Zain’s par terre defense has kept him in some of these matches. For example, the final score at their last meeting was 9-5. The last two points were scored by Zain in junk time when Yianni conceded a takedown to let the clock run out, so with about 25 seconds left in this bout the score was 9-3. One thing that you don’t get from the reading the spreadsheet is that Yianni was in deep on leg lace twice in this match and was unable to convert said laces into points. 

What It All Means

While par terre has not been an absolute difference-maker in this four-match set, it has played a part. Zain seems to be winning the par terre war both offensively and defensively. In a series that has been as tight as this one has every point is crucial — no matter what position they come from. With that said, there are small adjustments to hand placement and application of pressure that Yianni can make to both of the laces that you see above that will likely earn him an extra two points on each of those takedowns. The question is, has par terre offense been a focal point in training over the last few weeks in Ithaca? I guess we’ll find out on Labor Day. 

The Scramble Numbers

What To Do

Admittedly I got a bit obsessed this weekend and started down the Yianni/Zain rabbit hole and I haven’t looked back, so instead of one big tech notes article like I do for most monster matchups, I'm going to roll out four tech notes article this week giving rundowns in each of the most influential positions to these (and most) wrestling matches. Neutral offense, neutral defense, par terre, and scrambling/non-controlled exposure.

Where To Start

As a jumping-off point, here is every score in the four-match series as it was scored on the day of the event. I realize that Final X match 2 is supposed to be stricken from the record books, but the information that is gathered in that match is vital to painting the full picture of the series. 

In case you don't find importance in the category of non-controlled exposure and scrambling, allow me to remind you that it’s one of the reasons that we’re in this mess to begin with. If it weren't for the last minute of match No. 2 at Final X, we would have either seen a match three on June 8 or we would have had our rep after the second match. So you’d be well-served to pay close attention to the scrambles and the points that are produced as a result. 

I feel like a broken record when saying that we’re foolish for having a bias when approaching these scoring categories, but it’s hard to ignore. I’ll prove it. 

Answer QUICKLY.

Who’s better at scrambling, Yianni or Zain? 

If you answered the same way that I did (Yianni), then you may be surprised by the results. Let’s take a look at the scores as they were put up because they may be a bit deceiving. 

The first NCE score is pretty legit, not to mention it exemplifies just how intelligent Zain has been over the course of this series. In the first match in the series, Zain got eaten alive in scrambles, the majority of Zain leg attacks would up a fruitless effort or worse… points for Yianni. In this instance Zain takes a scramble that winds up in a stalemate 99 out of 100 times and simply runs his hips back into Yianni’s chest for a cheap two points.  

Now, before we get too wrapped up in the numbers it has to be said there is a lot more to scrambling than just scoring exposure points. Take a look at match No. 1 and the way Yianni evades a takedown early in the match. This is some of the highest levels of scrambling that I have ever seen albeit for zero points. 

The last bit of information that you will need to digest before the Labor Day showdown is the screwy bit of scoring that went down in Final X match No. 2. By now we’ve all seen the last 45 seconds of that match ad nauseam and while it was scored two for Zain it probably should have been scored two and two. Watch it one more time in HD and in SloMo and see if you agree. 

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If you’re looking for an explanation as to why I think this should be called two and two it’s pretty simple. I don't think, given his choice, Zain would have rolled through in that sequence. The reason that I say that is because his legs were completely straight when he went over. 

Firstly, there aren't very many offensive, athletic, motions that include straight legs. Secondly, the straight legs are indicative of someone that is trying to make their bottom half heavier so as NOT to get rolled through.  

The ending sequences weren’t the only scoring snafu that went on match two of FInal X in my estimation. I’m pretty sure that if the officiating team took a second close look at the sequence below they’d probably call it four red, two blue. I just don’t think that Zain got back to a defendable position. So, why wasn’t it challenged at the time? I can only speculate as to the reasoning of the Penn State corner, but I'd venture to guess that they didn’t want to burn a challenge on a sequence that they ultimately came out on top of, even if the margin was a criteria lead.