Valencia, Dake to battle at 86 kg in men’s freestyle at 2025 Final X in Newark, N.J.

Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Kyle Dake squares off against 2023 Senior World bronze medalist Zahid Valencia in a highly anticipated matchup at 86 kg in men’s freestyle at 2025 Final X on Saturday, June 14, at Prudential Center.

Valencia enters with confidence, coming off a 2025 CLAW U.S. Open title, where he defeated Dake 8-4 in the finals. Earlier this year, Valencia transitioned from Tempe, Arizona, to Stillwater, Oklahoma, to train at the Cowboy RTC.

In 2023, Valencia won bronze at 92 kg at the Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. His international medal haul also includes a 2022 Senior Pan American Championships gold and a 2017 U20 World silver.

Valencia is a two-time NCAA Champion for Arizona State, and placed third in 2017. Dake is a four-time NCAA Champion for Cornell, competing at four different weights.

Dake is one of the most credentialed athletes competing in Final X. He is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist (2020 and 2024) while competing at 74 kg. Dake has won five World medals, including four golds and one silver, wrestling at both 74 kg and 79 kg.

In April, Dake moved to 86 kg, a weight he last competed in at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. At the 2025 Senior World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Louisville, Ky., Dake advanced to Final X with a 2-0 record to set up a rematch against Valencia.

Dake holds a 2-1 record over Valencia. In April, Valencia claimed his lone win over Dake at the U.S. Open. The pair faced off at 79 kg in 2018 Final X, with Dake defeating Valencia in two matches, 4-0 and 4-3, to secure a Senior World Team berth.

Final X will determine the 2025 U.S. World Team in two international disciplines—men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle. In total, 20 weight classes will be contested, 10 in each discipline. The top two U.S. athletes in each weight classes will wrestle a best-of-three series at Final X to determine the U.S. representative at the 2025 Senior World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia.

Both Dake and Valencia made their Final X debut against each other at 79 kg in 2018, where Dake won in two matches. This will be the fifth Final X event for Kyle Dake, who holds a 4-0 record in best-of-three series. In 2019, Dake defeated Alex Dieringer in two matches at 79 kg. Moving down to 74 kg, Dake won in two matches in 2022 and 2023 over Jason Nolf.

This is the fourth Final X event for Valencia, who holds a 1-2 record in best-of-three series. He has competed at three different weights, including his 79 kg series against Dake. Valencia dropped an 86 kg series to 2020 Olympic champion David Taylor in 2022 then won a 92 kg series in two matches against Michael Macchiavello in 2023, securing his first Senior World Team berth.

Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit, the 15^th BTSNY Annual Benefit to date. These unique electrifying events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X.

Both Dake and Valencia have appeared in multiple Beat the Streets event prior to 2025 Final X. Dake defeated Hasan Tahmasebi of Iran, in 2013 at Grand Central Station, and three-time Senior World medalist Livan Lopez Azcuy of Cuba, 13-1, in 2018 at South Street Seaport. In 2016, Valencia dropped a 10-1 decision to 2021 Senior World bronze medalist and two-time U23 World Champion (2017, 2019) Majtaba Goleij of Iran in Times Square. Both men were a part of the Beat the Streets Final X events in 2022 and 2023.

Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (Final X plus exclusive after party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at btsny.org. Proceeds from Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages will directly help BTSNY serve NYC youth. For more information on ticket packages, email BTSNY Executive Director Brendan Buckley at bbuckley@btsny.org. 

Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.

FloWrestling will serve as the host broadcast partner for Final X. Fans can watch the event live or on-demand at FloWrestling.com.

Online results for Final X will be available on USA Bracketing, USA Wrestling’s new best-in-class event management software.

Final X will be held in two sessions on Saturday, June 14. Session I, which starts at 12:30 p.m. (ET), will feature U.S. National Team true-third matches, followed by round one in each best-of-three series. Session II, which starts at 5 p.m. (ET), will continue with round two and if-necessary round three matches. Match order for each session will be provided at a later date.

For more information about Final X, please visit themat.com.

57 kg – Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Luke Lilledahl (Saint Charles, Mo./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

61 kg – Vito Arujau (Ithaca, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

65 kg – Joseph McKenna (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Real Woods (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Yianni Diakomihalis (Rochester, N.Y./Spartan Combat RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg – Mitchell Mesenbrink (Bellefonte, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

79 kg – Evan Wick (San Gabriel, Calif./Askren Wrestling Academy/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Levi Haines (Arendtsville, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kyle Dake (Port Matilda, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

92 kg – Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Joshua Barr (Davison, Mich./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Hayden Zillmer (Deerwood, Minn./Gopher WC)

125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/U.S. Air Force WCAP) vs. Trent Hillger (Minneapolis, Minn./Gopher WC)

50 kg – Audrey Jimenez (Bethlehem, Pa./Lehigh Valley Wrestling RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Erin Golston (Denton, Texas/New York AC)

53 kg – Brianna Gonzalez (Baldwin, Calif./Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Felicity Taylor (Coralville, Iowa/Titan Mercury WC)

55 kg – Cristelle Rodriguez (Fresno, Calif./Tiger WC) vs. Everest Leydecker (Phoenix, Ariz./Thorobred WC)

57 kg – Helen Maroulis (Rockville, Md./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amanda Martinez (Riverside, Ill./Cardinal WC/Titan Mercury WC)

59 kg – Abigail Nette (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP) vs. Jacarra Winchester (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

62 kg – Kayla Miracle (Phoenix, Ariz./Valiant WC) vs. Adaugo Nwachukwu (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army WCAP)

65 kg – Macey Kilty (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women’s WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Aine Drury (Westminster, Calif./New York AC)

68 kg – Kennedy Blades (Tiffin, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Brooklyn Hays (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

72 kg – Alexandria Glaude (Atherton, Calif./Beaver Dam RTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Amit Elor (Walnut Creek, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

76 kg – Kylie Welker (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa Women's WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Dymond Guilford (Lancaster, Calif./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)

57 kg – Liam Cronin (Lincoln, Neb./Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Nico Provo (Stratford, Conn./California RTC)

65 kg – Marcus Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg WC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Brock Hardy (Brigham City, Utah/Nebraska WTC/Titan Mercury WC)

70 kg – Ian Parker (Charlottesville, Va./Cavalier WC) vs. Bryce Andonian (Kirtland, Ohio/Southeast RTC/Titan Mercury WC)

74 kg – Jarrett Jacques (Columbia, Mo./Tiger Style WC) vs. Joseph Blaze (Perrysburg, Ohio/Boilermaker RTC)

86 kg – Parker Keckeisen (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Panther WC-RTC) vs. Carter Starocci (Erie, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC)

50 kg – Anaya Falcon (Yorba Linda, Calif./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Kendra Ryan (Naperville, Ill./Cardinal WC)

53 kg – Sage Mortimer (Allendale, Mich./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Sydney Petzinger (Parsippany, N.J./Cardinal WC)

59 kg – Alexis Janiak (Plainfield, Ill./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Xochitl Mota-Pettis (Humble, Texas/Rise RTC)

62 kg – Alara Boyd (Muncie, Ind./Cardinal WC) vs. SaVannah Cosme (Denver, Colo./Atreus WC)

65 kg – Jennifer Page (Bellefonte, Pa./Titan Mercury WC) vs. Bella Mir (Las Vegas, Nev./Cardinal WC)

68 kg – Latifah McBryde (Buffalo, N.Y./Life) vs. Solin Piearcy (San Jose, Calif./Titan Mercury WC)

72 kg – Kaylynn Albrecht (Fort Worth, Texas/USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC) vs. Skylar Grote (Newton, N.J./USOPTC/Titan Mercury WC)