By Richard Immel
USA Wrestling

ASTANA, Kazakhstan – The Greco-Roman draw is finalized, and complete brackets have been released for the 2026 Senior World Championships, which start Saturday at Barys Arena. 

Five-time World Team members Kamal Bey and Cohlton Schultz, who was the Arizona and National winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award in 2019, lead the U.S. Greco-Roman group. In his first Worlds at 82 kg, Bey opens as a round-one favorite against Halishan Bahejiang of China. A win moves Bey into a round-of-16 contest against No. 6 seed Yuksel Saricicek of Türkiye. At 130 kg, No. 5 seed Schultz sits in the round of 16, awaiting the winner between 2021 U17 World bronze medalist Artur Sarkisjan of Czechia and 2023 World bronze medalist Abdellatif Mohamed of Egypt. 

Two Americans have drawn past World champions to open the tournament. At 67 kg, two-time age-group World medalist Otto Black gets returning World champion and Asian Games champion Aytjan Khalmakhanov of Uzbekistan. At 63 kg, two-time World Team member Xavier Johnson will face 2024 World champion Nihat Mammadli of Azerbaijan. 

At 87 kg, 2024 U23 World silver medalist Beka Melelashvili enters a primetime matchup against 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Ivan Huklek of Croatia to start his second Senior Worlds run. 

Seeded athletes Dalton Roberts (No. 4 at 60 kg) and Benji Peak (No. 7 at 72 kg) have favorable openers. Roberts sits in the round of 16 and will take on either Razvan Arnaut of Romania or Dahyun Kim of Korea. Peak will face 2019 U23 World silver medalist Aliaksandr Liavonchyk of Belarus. 

Other U.S. entrants drawn into the field include Max Nowry at 55 kg, Joel Adams at 77 kg, and Timothy Young at 97 kg. All U.S. athletes except Schultz and Roberts sit in the round of 32. Their initial opponents are listed below. 

Greco-Roman will take the mats first in Astana. Athletes will compete in three waves over the course of the event—group one (55-60-77-82 kg) starting October 24, group two (72-97-130 kg) on October 25, and group three (63-67-87 kg) on October 26. Each bracket will be contested over two days, with semifinals on day one and repechage and medal matches on day two. 

To follow along in real time, refer to the event schedule below. Astana, Kazakhstan, is in the GMT +5 time zone, nine 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 stream live on FloWrestling.com to the U.S. market. United World Wrestling will provide brackets and updated results on uww.org.

2026 Senior World Championships 

At Astana, Kazakhstan, October 24 – November 1  

Reference Links 

• USA Wrestling event hub

• Live stream

• Brackets and results 

Greco-Roman Event Schedule 

Saturday, October 24 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (GR 55-60-77-82 kg)

7 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 55-60-77-82 kg) 

Sunday, October 25 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (GR 72-97-130 kg), Repechage (GR 55-60-77-82 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 72-97-130 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (GR 55-60-77-82 kg) 

Monday, October 26 

10:30 a.m. – Qualification Rounds (GR 63-67-87 kg), Repechage (GR 72-97-130 kg)

4:45 p.m. – Semifinals (GR 63-67-87 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (GR 72-97-130 kg) 

Tuesday, October 27 

10:30 a.m. – Repechage (GR 63-67-87 kg)

6 p.m. – Medal Matches (GR 63-67-87 kg) 

*Listed times reflect local time in Astana, Kazakhstan, which is nine hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. 

U.S. Greco-Roman Draws 

55 kg – Max Nowry (Washington, Ill./Illinois RTC/New York AC) 

VS Nazarmamad Rakhmonbekov (Tajikistan) 

60 kg – Dalton Roberts (Fountain, Colo./Army WCAP) 

VS Razvan Arnaut (Romania) or Dahyun Kim (Korea) 

63 kg – Xavier Johnson (Pueblo, Colo./Army WCAP) 

VS Nihat Mammadli (Azerbaijan) 

67 kg – Otto Black (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/New York AC) 

VS Aytjan Khalmakhanov (Uzbekistan) 

72 kg – Benji Peak (Colorado Springs, Colo./Position Wrestling/New York AC) 

VS Aliaksandr Liavonchyk (Belarus) 

77 kg – Joel Adams (Omaha, Neb./Beaver Dam Wrestling RTC) 

VS Stoyan Kubatov (Bulgaria) 

82 kg – Kamal Bey (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) 

VS Halishan Bahejiang (China) 

87 kg – Beka Melelashvili (Colorado Springs, Colo./USOPTC/New York AC) 

VS Ivan Huklek (Croatia) 

97 kg – Timothy Young (Colorado Springs, Colo./Army WCAP) 

VS Matej Mandic (Croatia) 

130 kg – Cohlton Schultz (Tempe, Ariz./Southwest WC/New York AC) 

VS Artur Sarkisjan (Czechia) or Abdellatif Mohamed (Egypt)