9 Medalists of the World and Olympics in One Weight; The Smell of Blood From Hassan Yazdani's Weight Class!

The 97 kg freestyle wrestling world championship in 2026 may be considered the most star-studded bout in recent decades.

According to "Verzeh Se", the countdown to the start of the 2026 World Wrestling Championship in Kazakhstan has begun, and in the meantime, the competition in one of the weights has received more attention than the others due to the presence of a large number of contenders.

Just look at these names and their honors:

1- Hassan Yazdani (world and Olympic champion)

2- Abdul Rashid Saadaleyev (world and Olympic champion)

3- Kyle Snyder (world and Olympic champion)

4- Ahmad Tajuddinov (world and Olympic champion)

5- Rezabek Aitmokhan (world champion)

6- Arash Yoshida (third in the world, Asian champion)

7- Givi Matcharashvili (Olympic runner-up and third in the world)

8- Magomed Khan Magomedov (the third Olympic runner-up and world runner-up)

9- Batyrbek Tsakalov (runner-up of the world)

The presence of 9 main contenders with a history of winning world and Olympic medals has created a special and perhaps unique situation in the 2026 World Championships in the weight of 97 kg. The 9 main contenders this year have a total of 43 colorful gold, silver and bronze medals from the world and the Olympics, and each of them has a chance to be on the championship podium.

Of course, most of the predictions for winning the title are on four well-known Olympic champions, namely Hasan Yazdani, Abdul Rashid Saadaleyev, Kyle Snyder and Ahmed Tajuddinov.

* The lottery of death is waiting for Hassan Yazdani?!

Considering that the confrontation of each of these contenders is considered a final in its own way, it is possible to guess the schedule of the matches and the arrangement of the contenders to some extent by considering the ranking of the wrestlers.

On the other hand, Hassan Yazdani, who has moved up to two weights and has not participated in the 97 kg weight in the ranking competitions, is not among the top 8 in the ranking of this weight, and due to this issue, there is a possibility that he will face his main rivals, Snyder and Saadaleyev, in the same first round!

According to the table drawn based on the first to eighth ranking of 97 kg weight, Kyle Snyder with rank 1 and Abdul Rashid Saadaleyev with rank 8 are at the top of the table and will meet in the second round. A battle that will be reminiscent of several world and Olympic finals.

On the other hand, Arash Yoshida and Ahmad Tajuddinov are at the bottom of the table and there is a possibility of their confrontation before the final.

According to the current arrangement of the table, Hasan Yazdani will definitely face the draw of death by being at the top of the table, and he will face Abdul Rashid Saadaleyev and Kyle Snyder either in the first round or before the finals.

Of course, there are whispers about the withdrawal of the Indian wrestler, who is ranked sixth in this weight, and if this happens, the table will collapse and Sadaleyev will be at the bottom of the table, and Snyder's job will be easier at the top of the table.

Anyway, what is clear is that Hasan Yazdani may face his main rivals from the very first round due to not having the first to eighth rank in the weight of 97 kilos.

Hasan Yazdani's return to the world championships and Olympics after two years after the bitter injury he suffered in the finals of the Paris Olympics, that too in two higher weights, although he worried his competitors in this weight, has also brought his fans to the peak of stress and excitement. Undoubtedly, with the presence of 9 contenders for the championship in one weight, one of the toughest fights of the century will take place in Kazakhstan, and the champion of this weight must defeat at least two or three other contenders to reach the gold medal.

Among the contenders of this weight, Hasan Yazdani has not fought with any of the wrestlers before due to being in a lower weight, but since last years, many wrestling enthusiasts in the world are waiting for Yazdani's confrontation with superstars like Saadaleyev and Snyder; It remains to be seen whether it will happen in Kazakhstan or not.