With the world team trials approaching soon there are many matches that people want to see. Let’s take a look at who the favored champions at this point are.
57kg- Thomas Gilman
Thomas Gilman has been on the scene for a while making teams from 2017 to 2021 with the only absence being in 2019 where he was swept by Daton Fix at Final X. Gilman most recently won his first World title this season in Oslo and with Zavur Uguev not in the field Gilman will be the favorite to repeat.
Other Competitors-
Nick Suriano
Vito Arujau
61kg- Daton Fix
Daton Fix is coming off of another second place finish at the national tournament which has been rough for him the past few years. The freestyle scene has been a bright spot for Fix winning a world silver medal in Oslo. With Abasgadzhi Magomedov out of the picture Fix will be the favorite to win his first world title.
Other Competitors-
Nathan Tomasello
Tyler Graff
65kg- Yianni Diakomihalis
Yianni finally after 3 years was able to make his first team which resulted in a DNP finish. He will be the favorite to make his second team this year but there is some good competition there waiting to take him out.
Other Competitors-
Joey McKenna
Nick Lee
70kg- Ryan Deakin
In a stacked 70kg field Ryan Deakin has managed to make the finals of the world team trials in 2021 and made Final X in 2019. He is just coming off the national title run that he has been looking at for a long time. 70kg is a very stacked weight and it could be anybody’s game.
Other Competitors-
Jordan Oliver
Zain Retherford
Alec Pantaleo
74kg- Kyle Dake
Dake has been on the scene forever and will be looking to win his 4th world title this year in Serbia. With Zaurbek Sidakov and Magomedkhabib Kadimagomedov out of the picture Frank Chamizo looks to be the guy to challenge Dake in the world finals if all goes to plan.
Other Competitors-
Jason Nolf
David Carr
79kg- Jordan Burroughs
Jordan Burroughs will be looking to make history this year in Serbia and take the lead for the most world and Olympic gold medals won in American history. 79kg is looking strong this year but it will be fun to see if anyone can shock the world.
Other Competitors-
Vincenzo Joseph
David McFadden
Isaiah Martinez
Chance Marstellar
Alex Dieringer
Carter Starocci
86kg- David Taylor
David Taylor has a big task ahead of him with Hassan Yazdani if he wants to win his 3rd gold medal and Taylor vs Yazdani 5 will be the biggest match up of the world championships should it go down. Taylor should not have too much of a trouble making the world team but there are some solid competitors.
Other Competitors-
Zahid Valencia
Mark Hall
Myles Martin
92kg- J’den Cox
J’den Cox as well as David Taylor are looking to get revenge on Iranian competitors. Cox was defeated in the world semifinals by Kamran Ghasempour who would go on to win gold. 92kg is an interesting weight domestically but nobody should really be able to challenge Cox.
Other Competitors-
Cam Caffey
Isaac Trumble
97kg- Kyle Snyder
Most would consider Snyder to be the best wrestler in the country right now and with Sadulaev out for the world championships it looks like Snyder will be set to win his 4th gold medal. he does have some solid competition domestically to get through before he heads to Serbia.
Other Competitors-
Mike Macchiavello
125kg- Nick Gwiazdowski
Just took a loss to Olympic Amar Dhesi in the Pan-Am finals but Gwiz has been looking sharp ever since he lost his spot to Gable Steveson for the 2021 Olympic Games. He will most likely be facing Mason Parris and Hayden Zillmer along the way to make his 5th world team so he needs to show up with his head on straight and he should have no problem.
Other Competitors-
Mason Parris
Hayden Zillmer
