By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling

ZAGREB, Croatia – The men’s freestyle draw has been finalized, and complete brackets have been released, for the 2025 Senior World Championships being held over the next week in Croatia’s capital city.

Coming in as the top seed at 57 kg, 2024 Olympic silver medalist Spencer Lee is eager to take the mats at his first Senior World Championships. He has a first-round bye and awaits the winner between Sunggwon Kim of Korea and Yusuf Demir of Turkey, neither of whom hold major World or Continental credentials.

The competition ramps up for Lee in the quarterfinals with potential opponents being three-time World bronze medalist Arsen Harutyunyan or Armenia, 2025 European silver medalist Azamat Tuskaev of Serbia, or 2025 Asian bronze medalist Munkh Erdene Batkhuyag of Mongolia. No. 4 seed Roman Bravo-Young of Mexico, a two-time NCAA champion for Penn State and 2024 Olympian, or two-time U23 World bronze medalist Ali Hossein Momenijoujadeh of Iran could see Lee in the semifinals.

Olympic champion and three-time World champion Kyle Snyder sits in a nice spot as the No. 3 seed at 97 kg. Like Lee, Snyder sits out the first round. His initial opponent will either be 2024 U20 World bronze medalist Adam Jaksik of Slovakia or three-time Pan American medalist Cristian Sarco Colmenarez of Venezuela.

Past results point toward a semifinal showdown between Snyder and Georgia’s Givi Matcharashvili, who is a 2024 Olympic silver medalist and two-time World bronze medalist. Matcharashvili is the reigning European champion. 2024 Olympic champion Akhmed Tazhudinov of Bahrain holds the top seed in the weight and sits in the opposite half bracket from Snyder.

2023 World bronze medalist Zahid Valencia mans the No. 4 seed at 86 kg. He opens with 2023 U23 Asian gold medalist Mukul Dahiya of India in what should be a nice tune up match for the later rounds. Valencia has a clear path to the semifinals, where his potential foes could be two-time World champion Kamran Ghorban Ghasempour of Iran, No. 1 seed Osman Gocen of Turkey, or two-time U20 World champion Ibragim Kadiev of UWW.

The fourth-and-final member of the U.S. men’s freestyle team to boast a seed is Trent Hidlay, who is in the No. 5 position at 92 kg. Hidlay begins his quest in Croatia against Redjep Hajdari of North Macedonia. A likely path to the finals for Hidlay would include going through top seed and two-time World medalist Miriani Maisuradze of Georgia in the quarters, followed by either 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Dauren Kurugliev of Greece or three-time World medalist Osman Nurmagomedov of Azerbaijan in the semis.

The remaining six members of Team USA—Jax Forrest at 61 kg, Real Woods at 65 kg, PJ Duke at 70 kg, David Carr at 74 kg, Levi Haines at 79 kg and Wyatt Hendrickson at 125 kg—were unseeded and drawn in at random.

Notable first round opponents from these six include 2024 Olympian and two-time U23 World medalist Maxim Sacultan of Moldova for Woods, 2025 Asian silver medalist Khidir Kurban A Saipudinov of Bahrain against Haines and 2024 U23 World bronze medalist Abdulla Kurbanov of UWW against Hendrickson.

The toughest path to the finals goes to Carr. After a favorable opening round match against Rasul Shapiev of North Macedonia, Carr would likely see 2023 World bronze medalist Ramazan Eldarovitch Ramazanov of Bulgaria in round two, followed by 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Cherman Valiev of Albania in the quarters and 2020 Olympic champion and three-time World champion Zaurbek Sidakov of UWW in the semis.

Barring any major upsets, a few featured round two matchups for American fans to dial in on are Forrest versus reigning Asian champion Takara Suda of Japan, Woods taking on 2024 Olympic silver medalist Rahman Mousa Amouzadkhalili of Iran and Duke against reigning World champion Nurkozha Kaipanov of Kazakhstan.

Men’s Freestyle is the first style to take the mats at Arena Zagreb. Athletes will compete in three waves over the course of the event—group one (61-70-86-125 kg) starting September 13, group two (57-74-79-92 kg) on September 14 and group three (65-97 kg) on September 15. Each bracket will be contested over a two-day stretch, running through semifinals on day one, followed by repechage and medal matches on day two. 

Those seeking to follow along in real time can reference the event schedule below. Zagreb, Croatia, is in the GMT +2 time zone, which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. USA Wrestling will provide regular updates on TheMat.com and its social media platforms throughout the event. 

The Senior World Championships will be live streamed on FloWrestling.com to the U.S. market. Brackets and updated results will be provided by United World Wrestling on UWW Arena.2025 World Championships - Men's Freestyle Brackets

2025 Senior World Championships 

At Zagreb, Croatia, September 13-21 

Quick Links 

• Event Hub

• Live Stream

• Brackets and Results
  

U.S. Men’s Freestyle Draws 

57 kg – Spencer Lee (Iowa City, Iowa/Hawkeye WC/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Sunggwon Kim (Korea) or Yusuf Demir (Turkey)

61 kg –Jax Forrest (Johnstown, Pa./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Sangboum Han (Korea)

65 kg –Real Woods (Ann Arbor, Mich./Cliff Keen WC/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Maxim Sacultan (Moldova)

70 kg –PJ Duke (Slate Hill, N.Y./KD Training Center/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Shuang Chen (China)

74 kg –David Carr (Ames, Iowa/Cyclone RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Rasul Shapiev (North Macedonia)

79 kg –Levi Haines (Arendtsville, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Khidir Kurban A Saipudinov (Bahrain)

86 kg – Zahid Valencia (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Mukul Dahiya (India)

92 kg – Trent Hidlay (Raleigh, N.C./Wolfpack WC/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Redjep Hajdari (North Macedonia)

97 kg – Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Nittany Lion WC/Titan Mercury WC) 

VS Adam Jaksik (Slovakia) or Cristian Sarco Colmenarez (Venezuela)

125 kg – Wyatt Hendrickson (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy RTC/U.S. Air Force WCAP) 

VS Abdulla Kurbanov (UWW)

Men’s Freestyle Event Schedule 

Saturday, September 13 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (MFS 61-70-86-125 kg)

6 p.m. – Opening Ceremony

7 p.m. – Semifinals (MFS 61-70-86-125 kg)

Sunday, September 14 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (MFS 57-74-79-92 kg), Repechage (MFS 61-70-86-125 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (MFS 57-74-79-92 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (MFS 61-70-86-125 kg)

Monday, September 15 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (MFS 65-97 kg), Repechage (MFS 57-74-79-92 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (MFS 65-97 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (MFS 57-74-79-92 kg)

Tuesday, September 16 

10:30 a.m. – Repechage (MFS 65-97 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (MFS 65-97 kg)

*Listed times reflect local time in Zagreb, Croatia, which is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time.