November 2026 International Men's Freestyle Wrestling Rankings

57 KG

Merey Bazarbayev (KAZ) won the U23 World Championships over Bekir Keser (TUR) with Daito Katsume (JPN) and Rohit Rohit (IND) taking bronze. Merey Bazarbayev (KAZ) is in the rankings at #11 for beating #2 Luke Lilledahl (USA), #12 Daito Katsume (JPN), and #20 Bekir Keser (TUR) on his way to U23 World gold. Daito Katsume (JPN) debuts in the rankings at #12 for beating #2 Luke Lilledahl (USA) for bronze.

#2 Luke Lilledahl (USA) falls eleven spots in the rankings to #13 for his losses to #11 Merey Bazarbayev (KAZ) and #12 Daito Katsume (JPN) at the U23 World Championships. Bekir Keser (TUR) is in the rankings at #20 for taking silver at the U23 World Championships and notching a ranked win over Arman Harutyunyan (ARM) in the semifinals after Harutyunyan had upset #14 Magomed Ozdamirov (RUS).

In the aftermath of the U23 World Championships, the bottom half of the top 20 has been reshuffled due to #14 Magomed Ozdamirov’s loss to Arman Harutyunyan (ARM). The change that occurred saw the quarter of #14 Ozdamirov, #15 Tundzhai Verdiev, #16 Yunus Yavbatirov, and #17 Lev Pavlov removed from the rankings to prevent clogging of the rankings due to a game of musical chairs of guys beating each other within Russia and not rewarding guys who performed stronger in international competitions while factoring in #14 Ozdamirov’s loss to an unranked opponent in Arman Harutyunyan.

#1 Spencer Lee (USA) won the Senior World Championships over #3 Roman Bravo Young (MEX) with #5 Abubakar Mutaliev (RUS) and #9 Chong Song Han (PRK) taking bronze. #3 Roman Bravo Young (MEX) moves up one spot to #2 with Luke Lilledahl’s drop in the ranking coupled with his world runner-up finish and ranked wins over #6 Chong Song Han (PRK), #8 Munkh Erdene Batkhuyag (MGL), and #14 Meirambek Kartbay (KAZ).

2021 Senior World bronze medalist Aryan Tyutrin (BLR) is back in the rankings at #19 for beating 2025 Islamic Solidarity Games runner-up Abdymalik Karachov (KGZ) at the Senior World Championships. Asian Games fifth place finisher Yamato Ogawa (JPN) is in the rankings at #16 after avenging his loss from the Asian Games bronze medal match to Aiaal Belolyubskii (TJK) and making the quarterfinals of the Senior World Championships were he fell to #15 Islam Bazarganov (AZE); Ogawa has a ranked win over #15 (61) Gulomjon Abdullaev (UZB) from the Asian Games.

61 KG

#16 Ahmad Javan (IRI) won the Senior World Championships over #1 Zavur Uguev (RUS) with #11 Kwang Myong Kim (PRK) and #3 Marcus Blaze (USA) taking bronze. #16 Ahmad Javan (IRI) moves up fifteen spots in the rankings to #1 for beating top ranked Zavur Uguev (RUS) in the world finals along with notching ranked wins over #3 Marcus Blaze (USA) and #17 Assyl Aitakyn (KAZ).

2023 57 KG Senior World bronze medalist Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB) returns to the rankings at #4 for upsetting #2 Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM) by 11-0 technical superiority victory in the round of 16. Abakarov fell in the semifinals to #2 Zavur Uguev (RUS) and to #3 Kwang Myong Kim (PRK) for bronze. #11 Kwang Myong Kim (PRK) moves up eight spots in the rankings to #3 for his ranked wins over #4 Zelimkhan Abakarov (ALB), #15 Gulomjon Abdullaev (UZB), and #17 (57) Wanhou Zou (CHN).

#17 Assyl Aitakyn (KAZ) moves up six spots to #11 for his upset win over #8 Omurbek Asan Uulu (KGZ) to go along with a pair of wins over past world medalists Horst Lehr (GER) and Nuraddin Novruzov (AZE): Aitakyn lost in the semifinals and bronze medal match to #1 Ahmad Javan (IRI) and #6 Marcus Blaze (USA) respectively.

#7 Ben Davino (USA) won the U23 World Championships over Iukhan Dokturbek Uulu (KGZ) with Sargis Begoyan (ARM) and #19 Ebrahim Khari (IRI) taking bronze.

65 KG

#14 Bo Bassett (USA) won the Senior World Championships over #7 Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM) with #1 Rahman Amouzad (IRI) and #4 Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS) taking bronze. #14 Bo Bassett (USA) moves up thirteen spots to #1 for winning gold at the Senior World Championships with ranked wins over #2 Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM), #5 Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS), and #6 Abdulmazhid Kudiev (TJK). #7 Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM) moves up five spots to #2 for his wins over #1 Rahman Amouzad (IRI) and #4 Shamil Mamedov (BUL).

#9 Abdulmazhid Kudiev (TJK) moves up three spots to #6 for his win over #2 Sujeet Kalkal (IND) at the Senior World Championships. #2 Sujeet Kalkal (IND) drops five spots in the rankings to #7 for his quarterfinal loss to #6 Abdulmazhid Kudiev (TJK). #8 Shamil Mamedov (BUL) moves up four spots in the rankings to #4 for his fifth place finish at the Senior World Championships and his past wins over #5 Abasgadzhi Magomedov (RUS) and #6 Abdulmazhid Kudiev (TJK).

#9 Ahora Khateri (IRI) won the U23 World Championships over #12 Koji Ogino (JPN) with #10 Eldar Akhmadudinov (RUS) and #13 Singh Jaskaran (IND) taking bronze. Ahora Khateri (IRI) takes the #9 spot in the rankings for beating #10 Eldar Akhmadudinov (RUS) in the semifinals of the U23 World Championships. Koji Ogino (JPN) is back in the rankings at #12 for beating #13 Singh Jaskaran (IND) in the semifinals of the U23 World Championships after Jaskaran had upset #1 Bo Bassett (USA): Khateri, Ogino, and Jaskaran do not get retroactively bumped into the top five based off a game of musical chairs of Jaskaran beating Bassett in the quarters so Ogino beat Jaskaran and Khateri beat Ogino so they should all be top five being that Bassett went on to win gold at the Senior World Championships less than two weeks later.

70KG

#2 Ibragim Ibragimov (RUS) won the Senior World Championships over #1 Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ) with #7 Zain Retherford (USA) and #12 Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL) taking bronze. #2 Ibragim Ibragimov (RUS) moves up one spot to #1 for winning gold at the Senior World Championships with ranked wins over #1 Ernazar Akmataliev (KGZ), #3 Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL), #9 Vasile Diacon (MDA), and #13 Yuma Tomiyama (JPN).

#12 Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL) moves up nine spots in the rankings to #3 for taking bronze at the Senior World Championships with a pair of ranked wins over #9 Vasile Diacon (MDA) and #19 Sina Khalili (IRI) to go along with a past win over 2023 Senior World Champion #4 Zain Retherford (USA) from the 2024 Istanbul Olympic Qualifier tournament.

#7 Zain Retherford (USA) moved up three spots in the rankings to #4 for taking bronze at the Senior World Championships and garnering a pair of ranked wins over #10 Lachlan McNeil (CAN) and #18 Kanan Heybatov (AZE) along with pinning 2023 65 KG Senior World Champion Ismail Musukaev (HUN).

#6 Taishi Narikuni (JPN) has been removed from the rankings due to an extended absence due to an injury he suffered at the Meiji Cup in his finals match to Yuma Tomiyama (JPN) at the Meiji Cup.

Yuma Tomiyama (JPN) debuts in the rankings at #13 for upsetting #11 Akaki Kemertelidze (GEO) in the round of sixteen at the Senior World Championships. Vasile Diacon (MDA) is back in the rankings at #9 for beating #13 Yuma Tomiyama (JPN) in repechage before taking fifth with a loss to #3 Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL). Lachlan McNeil (CAN) debuts in the rankings at #10 after beating #11 Ferhat Kilic (TUR) in repechage. Ferhat Kilic (TUR) debuts in the rankings at #11 for beating #8 Arman Andreasyan (ARM) in the round of 16: Andreasyan fell four spots in the rankings to #12 for his loss to Kilic.

#15 Magomed-Emi Eltemirov (RUS) won the U23 World Championships over #17 Ebrahim Elahi (IRI) with Abdullah Toprak (TUR) and #20 Alexander Gaidarli (MDA) taking bronze.

74 KG

Magomed Baitukaev (RUS) won the U23 World Championships over Jayden James (USA) with Ali Karampour (IRI) and Toki Ogawa (JPN) taking bronze.

#3 Inalbek Sheriev (RUS) won the Senior World Championships over #12 Nurkhoza Kaipanov (KAZ) with #5 Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (JPN) and #1 Amir Mohammad Yazdani (IRI) taking bronze.

#3 Inalbek Sheriev (RUS) moves up two spots to #1 for winning the Senior World Championships with ranked wins over #1 Amir Mohammad Yazdani (IRI), #11 James Green (USA), #12 Nurkhoza Kaipanov (KAZ) and #15 Taimuraz Salkazanov (SVK). #12 Nurkhoza Kaipanov (KAZ) moves up seven spots in the rankings to #5 for upsetting 2025 70 KG Senior World Champion #5 Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (JPN) in the semifinals of the Senior World Championships. Turan Bayramov (AZE) is back in the rankings at #18 for beating #9 (70) Viktor Rassadin (TJK) in the repechage bracket. Bayramov lost to #6 Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (JPN) by 11-0 tech fall for bronze.

79 KG

#7 Mahdi Yousefi (IRI) won the U23 World Championships over #14 Said Saidulov (RUS) with Chandermohan Chandermohan (IND) and Kanata Yamaguchi (JPN) taking bronze. Chandermohan Chandermohan (IND) debuts in the rankings at #19 for beating #20 Ibrahim Yaprak (TUR) for bronze at the U23 World Championships.

#1 Levi Haines (USA) won the Senior World Championships over #4 Mohammad Nokhodi (IRI) with #2 Ismail Khaniev (RUS) and #12 Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR) taking bronze. #4 Mohammad Nokhodi (IRI) moves up two spots after taking silver at the Senior World Championships to #1 Levi Haines: Nokhodi best win of the tournament was over 2025 86 KG European runner-up #12 (79) Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR).

86 KG

#12 Arsen Balayan (RUS) won the U23 World Championships over #18 Ahmet Yagan (TUR) with Batbilguun Naadambat (MGL) and Reza Afshar (IRI) taking bronze. Ahmet Yagan (TUR) is in the rankings at #18 for beating 2025 U23 World runner-up Eugeniu Mihalcean (MDA) in the semifinals of the U23 World Championships.

#4 Kyle Dake (USA) won the Senior World Championships over #3 Arsenii Dzhioev (AZE) with #13 Malik Shavaev (KGZ) and #6 Vladimeri Gamkrelidze (GEO) taking bronze. #4 Kyle Dake (USA) moves up three spots in the rankings to #1 after wins over top ranked Ibragim Kadiev (RUS), #3 Arsenii Dzhioev (AZE), #13 Malik Shavaev (KGZ). #3 Arsenii Dzhioev (AZE) moves up one spot to #2 with #1 Ibragim Kadiev (RUS) and #2 Magomed Ramazanov (BUL) falling to #5 and #6 in the rankings respectively.

#13 Malik Shavaev (KGZ) is the biggest mover in the rankings after the Senior World Championships, upsetting two-time 92 KG Senior World Champion #8 Kamran Ghasempour (IRI) and #1 Ibragim Kadiev (RUS) on his way to winning bronze and taking the #3 spot in the rankings. #8 Kamran Ghasempour (IRI) moved up four spots in the rankings to #4 for upsetting 2024 86 KG Olympic Champion #2 Magomed Ramazanov (BUL) in the round of 32: Ghasempour was pinned in the round of 16 by eventual bronze medalist #3 Malik Shavaev (RUS). #1 Ibragim Kadiev (RUS) dropped four spots in the rankings to #5 due to losses to #1 Kyle Dake (USA) and #3 Malik Shavaev (KGZ) and is behind #4 Kamran Ghasempour (IRI) due to Ghasempour’s win over him from the 2025 Senior World Championships. #2 Magomed Ramazanov (BUL) dropped four spots to #6 for his loss to #4 Kamran Ghasempour (IRI) at the Senior World Championships.

Valenyn Babii (UKR) debuts in the rankings at #19 for beating former #16 Ismail Kucuksolak (TUR) at the Senior World Championships. Joshua Morodion (GER) is in the rankings at #20 for beating two-time Senior World medalist Boris Makoev (SVK) at the Senior World Championships. Two-time U23 world medalist #17 Eugeniu Mihalcean (MDA) has been dropped from the rankings due to losses to #18 Ahmet Yagan (TUR) and Reza Afshar (IRI).

92 KG

Abolfazl Rahmani (IRI) beat two-time U23 World Champion #13 Arslan Bagaev (RUS) to win gold at the U23 World Championships. Bronze medalists at the U23 World Championships were Junior World Champion #20 Sandro Kurashvili (GEO) and Anar Jafarli (AZE). Abolfazl Rahmani (IRI) returns to the rankings at #13 for beating #13 Arslan Bagaev (RUS), #15 Fatih Altunbas (TUR) #20 Sandro Kurashvili (GEO) at the U23 World Championships. #13 Arslan Bagaev (RUS) drops two spots to #15 for his loss to #13 Abolfazl Rahmani (IRI) in the U23 World finals. #15 Fatih Altunbas (TUR) drops out of the rankings due to losses to #13 Abolfazl Rahmani (IRI), #20 Sandro Kurashvili (GEO) and Iakov Chaplin (KGZ) at the U23 and Senior World Championships.

#5 Amanulla Gadzhimagomedov (RUS) won the Senior World Championships over 2025 Senior World Champion #1 Trent Hidlay (USA) with #20 Miriani Maisuradze (GEO) and #4 Ali Tcokaev (AZE) taking bronze. #5 Amanulla Gadzhimagomedov (RUS) moves up four spots to #1 for beating top ranked Trent Hidlay for world gold.

#20 Miriani Maisuradze (GEO) moves up fourteen spots in the rankings to #6 after winning his third Senior World medal with ranked wins over #7 Azamat Dauletbekov (KAZ) and #17 Magomed Sharipov (BRN). #19 (86) Azamat Dauletbekov (KAZ) is back in the rankings at #7 for making the quarterfinals of the Senior World Championships after an upset win over 2024 86 KG Olympic bronze medalist #8 Dauren Kurugliev (GRE): Dauletbekov fell in the quarterfinals to eventual bronze medalist #6 Miriani Maisuradze (GEO).

#4 Ali Tcokaev (AZE) moves up one spot to #3 for beating returning world bronze medalist #3 Amirhossein Firouzpour (IRI) for bronze. Senior European runner-up Akhmed Bataev (BUL) is back in the rankings at #18 for beating #19 Mukhammed Aliiev (UKR) in the round of 16 at the Senior World Championships. Magomed Sharipov (BRN) is in at #17 for his past win over #18 Akhmed Bataev (BUL) at the Budapest Ranking Series tournament this year.

97 KG

#4 Kyle Snyder (USA) won the Senior World Championships over #8 Arash Yoshida (JPN) with #1 Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) and #6 Hassan Yazdani (IRI) taking bronze. #4 Kyle Snyder (USA) takes the number one spot in the rankings after winning the Senior World Championships with ranked wins over #1 Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) and #3 Arash Yoshida (JPN). #8 Arash Yoshida (JPN) moves up five spots to #3 for his wins over Olympic Champions #6 Hassan Yazdani (IRI) and #10 Akhmed Tazhudinov (BRN).

#7 Mukhamed-Takhir Khaniev (RUS) won the U23 World Championships over 2025 Junior World Champion Justin Rademacher (USA) with #3 (92) Mohammad Mobin Azimi (IRI) and Konstantine Petriashvili (GEO) taking bronze.

#3 (92) Mohammad Mobin Azimi (IRI) takes the #11 spot in the rankings after his bronze medal at the U23 World Championships. Azimi lost in a rematch of the 2025 U23 World finals to #7 Mukhamed-Takhir Khaniev (RUS) and earned his spot in the rankings through past wins over #9 Rizabek Aitmukhan (KAZ) and #9 (92) Osman Nurmagomedov (AZE): Azimi is not higher than #9 Aitmukhan due to losing to Aitmukhan at the 2025 Asian Championships semifinals.

125KG

#18 Abolfazl Mohammad Nezhad (IRI) won the U23 World Championships over Aleksandre Abramishvili (GEO) with #19 Coby Merril (USA) and Khetag Karsanov (AZE) taking bronze. Aleksandre Abramishvili (GEO) is in the rankings at #19 for beating #19 Coby Merril (USA) by 10-0 technical superiority in the quarterfinals. Merril is out of the rankings due to his loss to Abramishvili along with his loss at Junior World Team Trials to Junior World runner-up #20 Dreshaun Ross (USA).

#1 Amir Zare (IRI) won the Senior World Championships over #5 Abdulla Kurbanov (RUS) with #6 Wyatt Hendrickson (USA) and #8 Giorgi Meshvildishvili (AZE) taking bronze. #6 Wyatt Hendrickson (USA) moves up three spots to #3 for his trio of ranked wins over #4 Shamil Sharipov (BRN), #12 Mohsen Siyar (GER) and #15 Buheerdun Buheerdun (CHN).

#5 Abdulla Kurbanov (RUS) moves up three spots to #2 for his runner-up finish at the Senior World Championships and his pair of ranked wins over #8 Vladislav Baitsaev (HUN) and #7 Giorgi Meshvildishvili (AZE) to go along with a win over #3 Wyatt Hendrickson (USA) from the 2025 Senior World Championships.

#20 Hakan Buyukcingil (TUR) moves up eleven spots in the rankings to #9 for beating #3 Yedige Kassimbek (KAZ) in the round of 16: Buyukcingil lost in the quarterfinals to #7 Giorgi Meshvildishvili (AZE) and was eliminated when Meshvildishvili lost to #2 Abdulla Kurbanov (RUS) in the semifinals. Buyukcingil’s strong win over #10 Yedige Kassimbek (KAZ) offsets his unranked loss to Ronak Ronak (IND) at the U23 World Championships. #3 Yedige Kassimbek (KAZ) falls seven spots to #10 for his loss to #9 Hakan Buyukcingil (TUR) in the round of 16 at the Senior World Championships.

Pound for Pound

#12 Kyle Dake moves up eleven spots to take the number one spot in the pound for pound rankings after winning the 86 KG Senior World Championships with ranked wins over #14 Arsenii Dzhioev (AZE), #15 Malik Shavaev (KGZ), and #17 Ibragim Kadiev (RUS). #19 Kyle Snyder (USA) moves up seventeen spots in the rankings to #2 for winning the 97 KG Senior World Championships and notching ranked wins over #1 (now #5) Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) and #7 Arash Yoshida (JPN).

The reason I went with Dake over Snyder was based off a multitude of factors, with the first one being the losses between the men. Since the last Olympic cycle (2024), Kyle Snyder has sustained losses to the following competitors: #5 (97) Amirali Azarpira 2x, #10 (97) Akhmed Tazhudinov (BRN) 1x, #2 (97) Arash Yoshida (JPN) 1x, #7 (97) Mukhamed-Takhir Khaniev (RUS) 1x, and #14 (97) Stephen Buchanan 1x (USA).

During the same time, Dake has sustained only sustained five losses to four men and avenged all but one; Daichi Takatani (JPN) at the 2024 74 KG Olympics where he rebounded to take third, #9 (86) Zahid Valencia (USA) at the 2025 86KG U.S. Open and Final X which Dake avenged this year at Final X to win the world team spot, and two losses to #2 (86) Arsenii Dzhioev (AZE) and #5 (86) Ibragim Kadiev (RUS) at the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series Tournament which Dake avenged in the 86 KG world finals and semifinals respectively.

Next, I want to discuss the level of competition for both men, as Snyder has six World/Olympic titles, three World/Olympic silvers and two world bronzes and Dake has five world titles and two Olympic bronze medals. Snyder had a five year gap between world titles from 2017 to 2022 and from that span, a trend began to develop where Snyder was competitive with the best but could not beat the best (i.e. Sadulaev, Sharifov in 2018, 2019, and 2021) and for his world titles in 2022 and 2025, neither field boasted the top flight talent of 97KG and it was Snyder beating the best of the rest but still not showing that he had climbed to to the tier of regaining the crown of 97 KG, and between those two titles, he had a blowout loss to #10 (97) Akhmed Tazhudinov (BRN) at the 2023 World Championships and failed to place at the 2024 Olympics with losses to #10 (97) Akhmed Tazhudinov (BRN) and #5 (97) Amirali Azarpira (IRI).

It was not until the 2026 World Championships run from Snyder that we saw a return to form that we had not seen in close to a decade, where Snyder time and time again beat the true cream of the crop of the weight in eight-time World/Olympic champion #5 Abdulrashid Sadulaev (RUS) and three-time Asian Champion #7 Arash Yoshida (JPN) to capture gold that would give him an argument to be top five pound for pound.

#1 Kyle Dake in contrast had three losses from 2021-2024 in the form of #12 (79) Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR) at the 2020 Olympics, three-time World/Olympic champion #6 Zaurbek Sidakov (RUS) in the 2023 74 KG world finals, and Daichi Takatani (JPN) at the 2024 Olympics. Between that, Dake won two world titles at 74 kilograms. After 2024, Dake moved up to 86 KG in 2025 and was runner-up at the U.S. Open and Final X to eventual world champion #9 (86) Zahid Valencia (USA) and in 2026 as previously discussed Dake had avenged his losses to Valencia, Kadiev, and Dzhioev on his path to world gold, on top of avenging his loss to #12 (79) Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov (BLR) in RAF and only has been unable to avenge his losses to Takatani and Sidakov due to moving up in weight.

#1 Abdulrashid Sadulaev falls four spots to #5 for losing to #2 Kyle Snyder in the quarterfinals of the 97 KG Senior World Championships. Arash Yoshida (JPN) takes the number seven spot in the rankings for taking silver at the 97 KG Senior World Championships where he notched wins over two-time World/Olympic champion #10 (97) Akhmed Tazhudinov (BRN) and four-time World/Olympic champion #8 Hassan Yazdani (IRI). Four-time World/Olympic champion Hassan Yazdani (IRI) is back in the rankings at #8 after taking bronze at the 97 KG Senior World Championships.

Bo Bassett debuts in the pound for pound rankings at #9 for winning the 65 KG Senior World Championships. Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM) is in the pound for pound rankings at #10 for taking silver to #9 Bo Bassett at the 65 KG Senior World Championships and notching upset wins over #2 Rahman Amouzad (IRI) and #4 (65) Shamil Mamedov (BUL). #2 Rahman Amouzad (IRI) falls nine spots to #11 for his loss to #10 Vazgen Tevanyan (ARM) at the 65 KG Senior World Championships.

Ahmad Javan (IRI) debuts in the pound for pound rankings at #12 for upsetting #3 Zavur Uguev (RUS) to win the 61 KG Senior World Championships title. Four-time World/Olympic champion Zavur Uguev (RUS) falls ten spots to #13 for his loss to #12 Ahmad Javan (IRI) in the 61 KG Senior World finals.

Malik Shavaev (KGZ) takes the #15 spot in the pound for pound rankings for upsetting two-time 92 KG Senior World champion Kamran Ghasempour (IRI) and three-time Russian Nationals champion #10 Ibragim Kadiev (RUS) to take bronze at the 86 KG Senior World Championships. Ghasempour returns to the pound for pound rankings at #17 for his win over #7 (#18) 2024 86 KG Olympic champion Magomed Ramazanov (BUL) at the 86 KG Senior World Championships along with his win from the 2025 Senior World Championships over #17 Ibragim Kadiev (RUS).

Spencer Lee (USA) is back in the pound for pound rankings at #23 for winning the 57 KG Senior World Championships. Amanulla Gadzhimagomedov (RUS) is in the pound for pound rankings at #24 for winning the 92 KG Senior World Championships. 2024 70 KG Senior World champion Nurkhoza Kaipanov (KAZ) is back in the pound for pound rankings at #25 for upsetting 2025 70 KG Senior World champion #15 Yoshinosuke Aoyagi (JPN) to make the 74 KG Senior World finals: Kaipanov lost in the finals to #4 Inalbek Sheriev (RUS) and Aoyagi fell out of the pound for pound due to his loss to Kaipanov.