Black, Martinez, Guilford make bronze medal round at Muhamet Malo
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by Richard Immel, USA Wrestling
Otto Black tosses Singh Karanjit of India at the 2026 Muhamet Malo.
TIRANA, Albania – Team USA pushed three athletes to the bronze medal round on Saturday afternoon at the 2026 Muhamet Malo international tournament, which serves as the second UWW Ranking Series event of the season.
Two-time age-group World medalist Otto Black stole the show for the American bunch, posting a 3-1 record with a semifinal appearance at 67 kg in Greco-Roman. In the preliminaries, he earned technical fall wins over Ankit and Singh Karanjit of India, plus a statement 4-1 decision against 2024 World silver medalist Yerzhet Zharlykassyn of Kazakhstan.
Black held a 4-0 lead in the second period of his semifinal against Georgia’s Diego Chkhikvadze, a three-time age-group World medalist and Zagreb Open Ranking Series runner-up. However, Chkhikvadze stole the match late by countering a Black overhook throw attempt with 34 seconds remaining to snatch the match on criteria, 4-4.
In the bronze medal match, Black is opposite UWW athlete Erzu Zakriev in a rematch of the 2024 U20 World finals, won by Zakriev.
Also claiming spots in a bronze medal match were women’s freestyle athletes Amanda Martinez at 57 kg and Dymond Guilford at 76 kg. Both women went 1-1 during session one. This evening, Martinez will face 2025 U20 World silver medalist Felicitas Domajeva of Norway, while Guilford will battle 2022 World bronze medalist Alexandra Anghel of Romania.
Two-time Olympian Ildar Hafizov and 2025 World Team member Alston Nutter earned spots in the repechage round but came up a win shy of qualifying for a bronze medal match.
The tournament continues at noon (ET) with the day four medal round in Greco-Roman (63 kg, 67 kg) and women’s freestyle (53 kg, 57 kg, 72 kg, 76 kg).
A live stream of the Muhamet Malo will be available to the U.S. audience through FloWrestling. Brackets and updated results are hosted on UWW Arena.
Gold – Solomiia Vynnyk (Ukraine) vs. Neha (India)
Bronze – Nilufar Raimova (Kazakhstan) vs. Kristina Mikhneva (UWW)
Bronze – Felicitas Domajeva (Norway) vs. Amanda Martinez (United States)
Gold – Zhamila Bakbergenova (Kazakhstan) vs. Nurzat Nurtaeva (Kyrgyzstan)
Bronze – Diksha Malik (India) vs. Wiktoria Choluj (Poland)
Gold – Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) vs. Genesis Reasco Valdez (Ecuador)
Bronze – Elmira Yasin (Türkiye) vs. Gulmaral Yerkebayeva (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Alexandra Anghel (Romania) vs. Dymond Guilford (United States)
Solomiia Vynnyk (Ukraine) tech. fall Nilufar Raimova (Kazakhstan), 14-2
Neha (India) tech. fall Felicitas Domajeva (Norway), 10-0
Zhamila Bakbergenova (Kazakhstan) tech. fall Diksha Malik (India), 10-0
Nurzat Nurtaeva (Kyrgyzstan) dec. Wiktoria Choluj (Poland), 2-1
Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan) dec. Elmira Yasin (Türkiye), 8-0
Genesis Reasco Valdez (Ecuador) dec. Alexandra Anghel (Romania), 6-4
Gold – Sakit Guliyev (Azerbaijan) vs. Ziya Babashov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze – Morten Thoresen (Norway) vs. Bakytzhan Kabdyl (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Yernur Fidakhmetov (Kazakhstan) vs. Ali Hajivand Nouraei (Iran)
Gold – Diego Chkhikvadze (Georgia) vs. Meiirzhan Shermakhanbet (Kazakhstan)
Bronze – Otto Black (United States) vs. Erzu Zakriev (UWW)
Bronze – Joni Khetsuriani (Georgia) vs. Mahammad Shukurzade (Azerbaijan)
Sakit Guliyev (Azerbaijan) tech. fall Morten Thoresen (Norway), 11-0
Ziya Babashov (Azerbaijan) dec. Yernur Fidakhmetov (Kazakhstan), 7-3
Diego Chkhikvadze (Georgia) dec. Otto Black (United States), 4-4
Meiirzhan Shermakhanbet (Kazakhstan) dec. Joni Khetsuriani (Georgia), 3-1
WIN Luisa Valverde Melendres (Ecuador), 10-4
LOSS Neha (India), tech. fall, 10-0
VS Felicitas Domajeva (Norway)
LOSS Genesis Reasco Valdez (Ecuador), 3-2
WIN Anastasiya Alpyeyeva (Ukraine), 5-2
VS Alexandra Anghel (Romania)
LOSS Sakit Guliyev (Azerbaijan), tech. fall, 9-0
LOSS Bakytzhan Kabdyl (Kazakhstan), 12-9
WIN Tsuchika Shimoyamadaa (Australia), tech. fall, 13-4
LOSS Diego Chkhikvadze (Georgia), tech. fall, 9-1
LOSS Erzu Zakriev (UWW), tech. fall, 9-0
WIN Ankit (India), tech. fall, 9-0
WIN Yerzhet Zharlykassyn (Kazakhstan), 4-1
WIN Singh Karanjit (India), tech. fall, 8-0
LOSS Diego Chkhikvadze (Georgia), 4-4
VS Erzu Zakriev (UWW)
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