By Ken Marantz. Sadulaev put up an impregnable defense in posting a victory after the luck of the draw pitted the superstars against each other in the first round at freestyle 92kg at the Non-Olympic Weight Categories World Championships on Wednesday in Tirana. In the most anticipated match of the tournament, Sadulaev was content to sit back and let Taylor go on the offensive, fending off each attack and twice scoring go-behind takedowns, while also adding a counter lift for 2.
He also scored a stepout, but otherwise made no legitimate tackle attempts. The closest Taylor came to scoring came on his first shot, when he got in deep on a single and tried to come out the back door, only for the surprisingly nimble Sadulaev to escape the hold. Sadulaev and Taylor both won Olympic golds at Tokyo , at 97kg and 86kg, respectively, and Wednesday's match saw them meeting in the middle.
It's the first time Sadulaev is wrestling below 97kg since moving up to that weight after winning the 86kg gold at the Rio Olympics. Taylor, who won his third world title in but retired after losing at the U. Sadulaev had gone ahead on criteria after each received an activity point when Ghasempour finally broke through the defenses and scored a double-leg takedown with 30 seconds left.
But with the final seconds ticking down, he snapped the Iranian down, spun behind, then managed to fling him to the mat for a 4-point takedown. Nokhodi looked to be cruising to victory when he built up a lead in the second period. But Kentchadze secured a takedown that allowed him to wrap up Nokhodi's legs and he ripped off three lace-lock rolls. Nokhodi halted the flow for a moment for a 2-point exposure, but he also appeared to injure his knee during the exchange and the Georgian was able to easily add a pair of late takedowns.
Uguev, seemingly hampered by an ankle injury, had no answer for the lightning-quick speed of Ono, who chalked up two takedown-gut wrench combinations in the first period en route to a victory. Ono never let up after the victory, chalking up three straight technical falls without giving up a point, capped with a dominating victory in the semifinals over defending champion Vitali ARUJAU USA.
