Blades, Mir Meet at 68 kg in Women’s Freestyle at 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management, Wrestle-Off in Ohio

2024 Olympic silver medalist Kennedy Blades and two-time age-group World Team member Isabella Mir are slated to square off at 68 kg in a battle of 2026 NCAA champions at 2026 Final X, presented by Kerberos Capital Management. The best-of-three series takes place on Friday, September 25, at Hilliard Davidson High School in the greater Columbus, Ohio, area starting at 6 p.m. ET.

Originally scheduled for June 19, Blades requested and received a medical delay, which pushed the matchup with Mir to next week.

Coming off a bronze medal at the 2025 World Championships, Blades accepted her automatic berth into Final X. After dropping a match to eventual World champion Ami Ishii of Japan, Blades came back with a vengeance in the repechage, winning 9-2 over two-time age-group World medalist Manola Skobelska of Ukraine. She then rolled to a 12-1 technical fall against 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Buse Cavusoglu Tosun of Türkiye in the bronze medal bout.

Along with an Olympic silver medal and a World bronze medal, Blades has three age-group World medals, including the 2021 U20 World title. Earlier this year, Blades captured an NCAA title for Iowa at 160 pounds at the inaugural NCAA Women's Championships in March. Blades allowed only one point throughout the tournament and capped it with a pin in the championship bout.

Mir locked in her spot at Final X with a dominant run through the 68 kg bracket at the U.S. Open Championships. Across her five wins, two came by pin and two by technical fall, including a 10-0 final against three-time age-group World medalist Jasmine Robinson. The lone decision Mir encountered was in the semifinals against top-seeded and current National Team member Latifah McBryde, 12-7.

Like her Final X foe, Blades, Mir also claimed an NCAA title in March for North Central College at 145 pounds. Mir upset top-seeded Reese Larramendy of Iowa with a pin at 2:26. Internationally, Mir has earned spots on two age-group World Teams. She competed at the 2023 U20 World Championships and at last year’s U23 World Championships.

Blades and Mir, who both have wrestled for Iowa, have yet to face one another in competition.

The winner of the best-of-three wrestle-off secures the 68 kg women’s freestyle spot on the 2026 U.S. World Team, competing at the 2026 Senior World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan, October 24-November 1.

This will be Blades’ third Final X appearance, and she has gone 2-2 overall. At her Final X debut in 2023, Blades lost the first two bouts in her series against 2020 Olympic silver medalist and six-time World champion Adeline Gray at 76 kg. Last year, Blades swept two-time age-group World Team member Brooklyn Hays.

This year will be Mir’s first Final X appearance in a best-of-three series. Mir was slated to compete at 2025 Final X in a true third match but forfeited to Jennifer Page.