The 2026 Senior World Championships will bring together Olympic champions, world champions and emerging stars for nine days of international wrestling in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Among the biggest storylines are a Russian champion looking to add to his legacy at a lower weight, an Iranian superstar moving up to 97 kg, a Japanese Olympic champion looking to reclaim the top of the podium and an Iranian Greco-Roman standout chasing another world title.
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With men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle and Greco-Roman competition running from Oct. 24-Nov. 1, these four wrestlers are among the international names fans should watch closely.
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Zavur Uguev enters the Senior World Championships as one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the 61 kg bracket.
Uguev won Olympic gold at 57 kg at the Tokyo Games and has established himself as a consistent competitor in international freestyle wrestling.
Uguev won world titles at 57 kg in 2018 and 2019 before adding Olympic gold in 2021. He also captured the 61 kg world title in 2025, making him the defending champion as he heads to Astana.
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The division features several challengers, including American Marcus Blaze, Armenian Arsen Harutyunyan and India’s Aman Sehrawat.
Uguev’s experience and defensive ability make him the wrestler to beat, but the field will have an opportunity to test the reigning champion.
Hassan Yazdani’s move to 97 kg is one of the biggest storylines of the 2026 Senior World Championships.
Yazdani won Olympic gold at 74 kg at the 2016 Rio Games before becoming a dominant force at 86 kg. He earned three world titles at that weight and won silver medals at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics.
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Now, Yazdani is taking on a new challenge in one of the most loaded divisions in international wrestling.
The 97 kg bracket features four Olympic champions: Yazdani, American Kyle Snyder, Russia’s Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Bahrain’s Akhmed Tazhudinov.
Together, they have won five Olympic gold medals and 14 world titles, making the weight class one of the tournament’s premier attractions.
Yazdani will have to adjust to the additional size and strength of his new opponents, but his international resume makes him a serious contender.
A world title at 97 kg would add another major achievement to an already remarkable career.
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Yui Susaki remains the biggest name in women’s freestyle wrestling, and her return to the world championship stage will be a major storyline of the tournament.
Susaki won Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games and captured four senior world titles. She built a reputation as one of the sport’s most dominant wrestlers before suffering a surprising defeat in the opening round of the 2024 Paris Olympics, but recovered to win bronze.
Susaki returned to international competition in 2026 with a gold medal at the Asian Championships, where she defeated North Korea’s Kim Son Hyang 6-0 in the final without surrendering a point throughout the tournament. She followed that performance with another gold medal at the Asian Games in September.
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The Japanese star will look to carry that momentum into Astana and reassert herself as the world’s top wrestler at 50 kg.
With a combination of speed, technique and championship experience, Susaki is a leading contender for another world title.
Hadi Saravi is a leading figure in Greco-Roman wrestling and enters the 2026 Senior World Championships as the defending world champion at 97 kg.
Saravi won Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games after earning bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. He then reclaimed the world title in 2025, defeating Russia’s Artur Sargsian 3-1 in the final in Zagreb and giving him his second senior world championship gold medal.
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Saravi will face a competitive field in Astana, including Sargsian, returning bronze medalists Kiryl Maskevich of Belarus and Murad Ahmadiev of Azerbaijan, and Cuba’s Gabriel Rosillo, who won the world title in 2023.
With Olympic and world titles already on his resume, Saravi has a chance to further establish himself among the best Greco-Roman wrestlers of his generation.
Another gold medal would give him a third senior world title and strengthen Iran’s position among the leading nations in the style.
The 2026 Senior World Championships feature compelling storylines across all three wrestling styles.
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Uguev will try to defend his title at 61 kg, Yazdani will face an entirely new challenge at 97 kg, Susaki will look to continue her comeback and Saravi will aim to repeat as Greco-Roman world champion.
With Olympic champions and world champions spread across the brackets, these four wrestlers are among the international stars who could help define the tournament in Astana.
STREAMING: Watch the 2026 Senior World Championships on FloWrestling.
On Your TV: Download the FloSports App Now Available on Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Samsung, VIZIO, & LG.
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On The Go: Download the FloSports app on iOS or Android.
Video footage from the event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloWrestling subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.
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