UWW Awards:
Amouzad named Most Dominant Freestyle Wrestler of the Year
Iran’s Rahaman Amouzad has been named the United World Wrestling (UWW) Most Dominant Freestyle Wrestler of the Year, securing the fourth award for the country at the annual UWW Awards.
The 23-year-old standout edged fellow Iranian world champion Amirhossein Zare’, Americans Zahid Valencia and Kyle Snyder, and Russian Zaur Uguev to claim the prestigious honor.
The recognition follows a dominant 12-month stretch in which Amouzad returned to the top of the sport with title-winning campaigns at the Senior World Championships, the Islamic Solidarity Games and the Muhamet Malo Ranking Series event. He finished the season ranked world No. 1 in the 65kg category with 58,000 points.
Amouzad compiled a flawless 14-0 record in 2025, with five victories coming against elite opponents who hold world or Olympic medals — including American Real Woods (twice), Uzbekistan’s Umidjon Jalalov and Kyrgyzstan’s Taiyrbek Zhumashbek Uulu.
The highlight of his season came at September’s World Championships in Zagreb, where he avenged his loss to Kotaro Kiyooka in the final of the Paris Olympics by defeating the Japanese wrestler in emphatic fashion. Amouzad secured a technical superiority victory in the first period of the 65kg final to claim his second world title, adding to his 2022 triumph.
Remarkably, across his five wins against top-tier opponents, Amouzad outscored them by a combined margin of 42-4.
Nicknamed “Ruthless Rahman,” Amouzad was equally dominant at the Islamic Solidarity Games in November, reaching the final in Riyadh without conceding a single point before overpowering Tajikistan’s Abdulmazhid Kudiev 12-2 to secure his second major gold medal in less than two months.
Amouzad’s compatriot Saeid Esmaeili was earlier named Most Dominant Greco-Roman Wrestler of 2025, following a stellar season in which the reigning Olympic champion also captured world and ISG gold medals, along with a second consecutive Asian title in March.
Meanwhile, Gholamreza Farrokhi claimed the Breakout Performer of the Year award after posting a perfect 17-0 record across his international appearances, including 11 victories by technical superiority.
Farrokhi announced his arrival on the senior stage at February’s Ranking Series event in Zagreb, defeating 2024 world silver medalist Erik Szilvássy of Hungary 6-2 in the 82kg final. He built on that momentum at the World Championships in September, amassing 37 points across four bouts while conceding just one en route to the world title.
After moving up to the 87kg division at the U23 World Championships in October, Farrokhi swept aside all five opponents by technical superiority — including Ukraine’s Ivan Chmyr in the final — to clinch gold in Novi Sad, Serbia. He capped off his season with another title at the Islamic Solidarity Games, beating Kazakhstan’s Islam Yevloyev 6-0 in the final.
In addition, Iran was named Top Greco-Roman Team of 2025 following a prolific year that saw the nation complete a clean sweep of four world team titles across all age groups. Iranian wrestlers earned medals in 29 of the 40 weight categories on offer, collecting 10 golds, six silvers and 13 bronzes.
The high point of Iran’s international campaign came at the Senior World Championships in Zagreb, where a remarkable haul of four golds, two silvers and two bronzes secured only the country’s second team title — and its first since 2014 — in the history of the competition.