Tough road ahead for Mirzazadeh as Kayaalp rivalry looms large
Iran’s Greco-Roman sensation Amin Mirzazadeh will face a daunting task to defend his superheavyweight title at the Wrestling World Championships, with an anticipated rivalry with Rıza Kayaalp is set to resume in October’s showpiece.
Few expected Turkish great Kayaalp – winner of a remarkable 13 world and Olympic medals – to make an emphatic return to action, after serving an 18-month doping ban, at the European Championships in Tirana last week.
However, the 36-year-old outclassed Hungarian world silver medalist Dáriusz Vitek 7-1 to cap off his campaign with the 13th continental gold of his illustrious career, overtaking legendary Russian Aleksandr Karelin as the most decorated wrestler in the history of the competition.
Should two-time world champion Mirzazadeh – bronze medalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics – and Kayaalp go head-to-head at the world event again, it will mark a fourth 130kg showdown between the two in five years, with the Turkish holding a 2-1 lead in the previous meeting.
Their first major encounter was in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, which Kayaalp won 7-2 to add the third Olympic medal to his personal haul. They met again in the final of the 2022 World Championships, where the Turkish wrestler once again got the better of his Iranian opponent, winning on criteria (1-1).
Mirzazadeh, however, turned the tables at the 2023 World Championships. In a closely contested 130kg final, Mirzazadeh rallied from behind late in the bout to make it 2-2 and secure a criteria victory.
As the 2026 World Championships approach, a potential rematch between the two heavyweights looms larger than ever. Yet Mirzazadeh’s journey to that contest – and to repeating past successes – remains complex and arduous as he must first overcome young compatriot Fardin Hedayati in the domestic trials before navigating a field of formidable international opponents, including Kayaalp.
Reigning two-time world under-23 champion Hedayati made his senior international breakthrough in style at the 2024 Ranking Series event in Budapest. The Iranian prodigy, who outmuscled Kayaalp in the quarterfinals before defeating Georgian Olympic silver winner Iakobi Kajaia in the final showpiece, will have every reason to fancy his chances of going all the way on a potential debut at the Senior Worlds.
With two world titles and an Olympic bronze already to his name, Mirzazadeh is determined to continue his winning trajectory, though the scale of the task ahead looks much greater this time around.