Freestyle World Cup preview: Men’s Group B matches between Iran, Japan and the All World Team

Kamran Ghasempour of Iran secures a single leg takedown. Photo by Kostadin Andonov, United World Wrestling.

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TheMat.com will preview each of the Group match-ups for the Men’s and Women’s World Cup in Coralville, Iowa, Dec. 10-11. Group pairings are based upon team placements at the 2022 Senior World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia in September.

We finish with Men’s Freestyle Group B, which features No. 2 Iran, No. 3 Japan and the All World Team. Iran has a talented and experienced team, with five Senior World medalists, as well as seven others who have won World medals at the age-group levels. Japan has a young and inexperienced team. The All World Team is loaded with nine past World medalists, and all 10 who have reached World medal matches. On paper, the All World Team might be considered a slight favorite, however Iran has traditionally been very competitive at the World Cup, an event that they believe is important to win.

Saturday, December 10, 11:30 a.m. CT – Iran vs. Japan

This Asian rivalry could be very one-sided, as Iran is bringing a majority of its best wrestlers, while Japan’s team just has two past Senior World Team members. As the first match for Iran, which always comes to World Cup to win, it is important to get a strong start. This event will give Japan’s young athletes a chance to make a name for themselves.

The 57 kg match is between two young athletes, 2022 Asian U20 silver medalist Reza Hossein Momenijoujadeh of Iran and Taichi Yamaguchi of Japan, who was fifth in the 2020 Asian U20 championships. The 61 kg bout features 2022 U20 World silver medalist Armin Mehdi Habibzadehsaroukolaei of Iran and Kaito Morikawa of Japan, a 2016 Asian U17 silver medalist. Iran has a decided edge at 65 kg, with 2022 Senior World champion Rahman Mousa Amouzakhalili wrestling 2022 U23 World bronze medalist Ryoma Anraku. Japan will need to secure some wins in the light weights to have a chance to stay in this dual meet.

Iran’s 2021 World silver medalist Amirmohammad Yazdanicherati will wrestle Keitaro Ono of Japan at 70 kg. Two-time age group World medalist Mohmmadsadegh Firouzpourbandpei of Iran, draws 2018 World University champion Kirin Kinoshita of Japan at 79 kg. Two-time Senior World silver medalist Mohammad Nokhodalarimi of Iran takes on Yudai Takahashi, who was seventh in the 2022 World Championships.

Iran is strong in the upper weights. At 86 kg, three-time Senior World medalist Alireza Karimimachiani has one of Japan’s bright young stars, 2022 U23 World champion Tatsuya Shirai. Two-time Senior World champion Kamran Ghasempour of Iran is clearly favored over 2022 World Team member Hikaru Abe of Japan at 92 kg. 2021 U23 World champion Amirali Azarpira of Iran battles 2022 World Team member Takahashi Ishiguro of Japan at 97 kg. Two-time age-group World champion Amirreza Masoumi Valadi of Iran closes it out at 125 kg against Hiroto Ninomiya, who competed on the 2018 Japan U20 World Team.

Iran Men’s Freestyle World Cup team
57 kg – Reza Hossein Momenijoujadeh (Iran) vs. Taichi Yamaguchi (Japan)
61 kg – Armin Mehdi Habibzadehsaroukolaei (Iran) vs. Kaito Morikawa (Japan)
65 kg – Rahman Mousa Amouzadhalili or Mohammadreza Bagheriheidarabadi (Iran) vs. Ryoma Anraku (Japan)
70 kg – Aliakbar Fazlikhalili or Amirmohammad Yazdanicherati (Iran) vs. Keitaro Ono (Japan)
74 kg – Mohmmadsadegh Firouzpourbandpei (Iran) vs. Kirin Kinoshita (Japan)
79 kg – Mohammad Nokhodarimi or Ali Bakhtiar Savadkouhi (Iran) vs. Yajiro Yamasaki or Yudai Takahashi (Japan)
86 kg – Alireza Mohammad Karimimachiani (Iran) vs. Tatsuya Shirai (Japan)
92 kg – Kamran Ghasempour or Amirhossein Firouzpourbandpei (Iran) vs. Sotoshi Miura or Hikaru Abe (Japan)
97 kg – Amirali Azarpira (Iran) vs. Takahashi Ishiguro (Japan)
125 kg – Amirreza Masoumi Valadi (Iran) vs. Hiroto Ninomiya (Japan)

Saturday, December 10, 4:30 p.m. CT– All-World vs. Japan

The star-studded All World Team is expected to be in command of their dual meet against the young Japan team. It will be interesting to see how many wins Japan is able to get in this dual meet.

At 57 kg, 2022 World champion Zelimkhan Abakarov of Albania faces Taichi Yamaguchi, who was fifth at the 2020 Asian U20 Championships. Georgi Vangelov of Bulgaria, who was fifth at the 2022 World Championships, battles 2016 Asian U17 silver medalist Kaito Murikawa at 61 kg. Two-time World medalist Aszmail Muszukajev of Hungary will wrestle for the All World Team at 65 kg, against 2022 U23 World bronze medalist Ryoma Anraku.

The All World Team has two-time World medalist Ernazar Akhataliev of Kyrgyzstan battling Keitaro Ono of Japan at 70 kg. Three-time World medalist Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia follows at 74 kg against 2018 World University champion Kirin Kinoshita. At 79 kg, 2022 World bronze medalist Arsalan Budazhapov of Kyrgyzstan faces Yudai Takahashi, who was seventh in the 2022 Worlds.

Fans should enjoy the 86 kg bout between 2022 World bronze medalist Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan and 2022 U23 World champion Tatsuya Shirai of Japan. Two-time World bronze medalist Osman Nurmagomedov of Azerbaijan squares off at 92 kg against 2022 U23 World Team member Hikaru Abe of Japan. 2022 World silver medalist Batyrbek Tsakulov of Slovakia and 2022 World Team member Takahashi Ishiguro of Japan will compete. The All World heavyweight, 2019 World bronze medalist Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi of Ukraine will wrestle 2018 U20 World Team member Hiroto Ninomiya of Japan.

All-World vs. Japan
57 kg: Zelimkhan Abakarov (All World/Albania) vs. Taichi Yamaguchi (Japan)
61 kg: Georgi Vangelov (All World/Bulgaria) vs. Kaito Morikawa (Japan)
65 kg: Iszmail Muszukajev (All World/Hungary) vs. Ryoma Anraku (Japan)
70 kg: Ernazar Akmataliev (All World/Kyrgyzstan) vs Keitaro Ono (Japan)
74 kg: Tajmuraz Salkazanov (All World/Slovakia) vs. Kirin Kinoshita (Japan)
79 kg: Arsalan Budazhapov (All World/Kyrgyzstan) vs. Yajiro Yamasaki or Yudai Takahashi (Japan)
86 kg: Azamat Dauletbekov (All World/Kazakhstan) vs. Tatsuya Shirai (Japan)
92 kg: Osman Nurmagomedov (All World/Azerbaijan) vs. Sotoshi Miura or Hikaru Abe (Japan)
97 kg: Batyrbek Tsakulov (All World/Slovakia) vs. Takahashi Ishiguro (Japan)
125 kg: Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi (All World/Ukraine) vs. Hiroto Ninomiya (Japan)

Saturday, December 10, 7:30 p.m. session – Iran vs. All-World

Expect a display of high-quality wrestling in the Iran vs. All World dual meet. Both teams have strong athletes on their roster, and the team that gets some momentum could be the one that emerges with this dual meet win and should advance to the championship match on Sunday.

2022 World champion Zelimkhan Abakarov of Albania opens up for the All World Team at 50 kg against 2022 Asian U20 silver medalist Reza Hossein Momenijoujadeh. Georgi Vangelov of Bulgaria, fifth in the 2022 Worlds, competes at 61 kg against 2022 U20 World silver medalist Armin Mehdi Habibzadehsaroukolaei. Iran has the edge at 65 kg, as 2022 World champion Rahman Mousa Amouzakhalili battles two-time World medalist Iszmail Muszukajev of Hungary. Amouzakhalili beat Muszukajev at the 2022 Senior Worlds.

Two-time World medalist Ernazar Akmataliev of Kyrgyzstan faces 2021 World silver medalist Amirmohammad Yazdanicherati of Iran at 70 kg, which could be a key match in this dual meet. Three-time World medalist Tajmuraz Salkazanov of Slovakia should have the edge against two-time age-group World medalist Mohmmadsadegh Firouzpourbandpei of Iran at 74 kg. Two-time World silver medalist Mohammad Nokhodalarimi of Iran and 2022 World bronze medalist Arsalan Budazhapov of Kyrgyzstan have another high-level match at 79 kg.

Iran matches up well in the upper weights with the All World Team, which could be where the dual meet is determined. Three-time Senior World medalist Alireza Karimimachiani will wrestle 2022 World bronze medalist Azamat Dauletbekov of Kazakhstan at 86 kg. Two-time Senior World champion Kamran Ghasempour of Iran and two-time World bronze medalist Osman Nurmagomedov of Azerbaijan will compete at 92 kg. 2022 World silver medalist Batyrbek Tsakulov of Slovakia will wrestle 2021 U23 World champion Amirali Azapira at 97 kg. If it goes down to heavyweight, this one could be really close, between 2022 U20 World champion Amirreza Masoumi Valadi of Iran and 2019 World bronze medalist Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi of Ukraine. This match should be very close, and could come down to which team has the most bonus points.

Iran Men’s Freestyle World Cup team
57 kg – Reza Hossein Momenijoujadeh (Iran) vs. Zelimkhan Abakarov (All World/Albania),
61 kg – Armin Mehdi Habibzadehsaroukolaei (Iran) vs. Georgi Vangelov (All World/Bulgaria),
65 kg – Rahman Mousa Amouzadhalili or Mohammadreza Bagheriheidarabadi (Iran) vs. Iszmail Muszukajev (All World/Hungary),
70 kg – Aliakbar Fazlikhalili or Amirmohammad Yazdanicherati (Iran) vs. Ernazar Akmataliev (All World/Kyrgyzstan)
74 kg – Mohmmadsadegh Firouzpourbandpei (Iran) vs. Tajmuraz Salkazanov (All World/Slovakia)
79 kg – Mohammad Nokhodarimi or Ali Bakhtiar Savadkouhi (Iran) vs. Arsalan Budazhapov (All World/Kyrgyzstan),
86 kg – Alireza Mohammad Karimimachiani (Iran) vs. Azamat Dauletbekov (All World/Kazakhstan),
92 kg – Kamran Ghasempour or Amirhossein Firouzpourbandpei (Iran) vs. Osman Nurmagomedov (All World/Azerbaijan),
97 kg – Amirali Azarpira (Iran) vs. Batyrbek Tsakulov (All World/Slovakia),
125 kg – Amirreza Masoumi Valadi (Iran) vs. Oleksandr Khotsianivskyi (All World/Ukraine)

Previous Previews
Women’s Freestyle Group A: Japan, MGL, UKR
Women’s Freestyle Group B: USA, CHN, All-World
Men’s Freestyle Group A: USA, MGL, GEO