Ulvi Ghanizade reaches World Championship final for the third time!

September 19, 2025

The World Wrestling Championships continue in Zagreb, Croatia.

Today, action kicked off in three more Greco-Roman weight categories.

Nihat Mammadli (60 kg) defeated Abdelkarim Fergat (Algeria) by technical superiority (8:0), but fell short in the quarterfinals, losing 4:8 to Alisher Qaniev (Uzbekistan). Our wrestler also suffered a serious injury in this bout and was forced to withdraw from the tournament.

Ulvi Ghanizade (72 kg) overcame Abdelmalek Merabet (Algeria) 6:0 in the round of 16, and beat South Korea’s Yeonghun No 8:3 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he dominated Uzbekistan’s Abdulla Aliyev with a 5:0 victory. Reaching the World Championship final for the third time, Ulvi will face Ibrahim Ghanem of France in the title clash.

Murad Ahmadliyev opened his campaign with a 4:1 win over Italy’s Nikoloz Kakhelashvili and followed up with a 5:1 victory against Kyrgyz Olympic medalist Uzur Dzhuzupbekov in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, he stunned Armenia’s Olympic champion, four-time world and seven-time European champion Artur Aleksanyan, winning by fall. Ahmadliyev, however, fell to Russia’s Artur Sargsyan in the semifinals on criteria (1:1) and will wrestle for bronze tomorrow.