Jordan Burroughs going for gold, James Green for bronze on final night of World Championships in Las Vegas
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by Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
Jordan Burroughs advanced to the finals of the World Championships on Saturday in Las Vegas. John Sachs photo.
LAS VEGAS – Jordan Burroughs is back in the finals of the World Championships.
And he’s on a mission to capture his third World gold medal.
The top-ranked Burroughs outlasted No. 2 Aniuar Geduev of Russia 4-3 before a boisterous sellout crowd of 7,000 fans Saturday afternoon at the Orleans Arena.
Burroughs advances to face Mongolia’s Unurbat Purevjav in the gold-medal finals at 74 kg/163 lbs. on Saturday night. Burroughs defeated Purevjav 6-0 at April’s World Cup in Los Angeles.
“I'm having a good time,” Burroughs said. “I've never smiled as much in one day as I have today. I really want to enjoy this moment. My family is here, my son gets to see me compete, I'm in Vegas, the crowd is chanting 'USA', I'm wrestling well and I'm feeling good. What else could I ask for right now? I'm in a great position to become a four-time World champion tonight. I'm excited.”
American James Green, who trains with Burroughs in Lincoln, Neb., advanced to the bronze-medal match at 70 kg/154 lbs. Green will face Bulgaria’s Muroslav Kirov for bronze.
The medal matches are set for 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The matches will be streamed live on unitedworldwrestling.org. The Burroughs match will be the night's 12th and final bout.
Burroughs, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion, broke a 2-2 tie with Geduev by blasting in for a double-leg takedown to lead 4-2 with 48 seconds left. The powerful Geduev came back to score a late pushout, but Burroughs held him off in the final seconds as the vocal American crowd stood and cheered.
“For me, I don't necessarily wrestle the individual,” Burroughs said. “I wrestle the country. The name on the front of the singlet is more important to me than the name on the back. Regardless of who the representative is for the country, I want to beat Russia and be a World champion."
Burroughs clinched his fourth career World medal. He won World gold medals in 2011 and 2013 before earning a World bronze medal in 2014. He won an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
Burroughs is looking to join an exclusive club of American wrestlers with at least three World titles in men’s freestyle. That group includes John Smith (four World golds), Lee Kemp (three) and Bruce Baumgartner (three).
Burroughs gave up an early takedown before coming back to down defensive-minded Krystian Brzozowski of Poland 5-2 in his first bout.
Burroughs then kept his composure early in a physical match before powering past Ukraine’s Oleg Zakharevych 10-0 in the second round. Burroughs followed with a quick 11-0 technical fall over Hungary’s Mihaly Nagy in the third round.
The top-ranked Burroughs fired in for an early takedown before controlling Iran’s Alireza Ghasemi 5-0 in the quarterfinals.
Green, competing at his first World Championships, dominated Costa Rica’s Johnathan Scott Duque 10-0 in the first round at 70 kg/154 lbs. He then overpowered Slovakia’s Robert Olle 12-1 in the second round.
Green charged out aggressively en route to a 10-0 win over India’s Arun Kumar in the quarterfinals. Green then fell 9-4 to 2014 Junior World champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran in the semifinals
Second-time World Team member Tony Ramos opened with a 10-1 triumph over Colombia’s Eucli Cuero Munoz at 57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Ramos came back to earn a gritty win over Uzbekistan’s Makhmudjon Shavkatov in the second round. Ramos spun behind Shavkatov for a late takedown to win 3-3 on criteria.
Ramos then dropped a narrow 3-1 decision to World champion Hassan Rahimi of Iran in the third round. Rahimi was put on the shot clock late in a 1-1 match, but he won a scramble to score the eventual winning takedown.
Ramos was eliminated in a 7-1 loss to Asadulla Lachinau of Belarus in the repechage.
"Sometimes you fall on the wrong side of a draw, but you have to control your own destiny," Ramos said. "That was the one thing I said yesterday when I saw my draw come out. If I win this, I'm going to go through everyone and I'm going to beat everyone. You have to control what you can control and not leave it up to someone else."
First-time World Team member Zach Rey dropped a 6-1 first-round decision to 2013 World silver medalist Alen Zaseev of Ukraine at 125 kg/275 lbs.
“I’ve wrestled this high of competition before,” Rey said. “I've wrestled him in the past and lost to him in the past. I'm not here for the experience. I'm here to get a medal, and I didn't get that done. He's a very technical wrestler. He's very offensive, and he's good at scoring. My game plan was to get him tired, push him and score when the opportunity presented itself.”
2015 World Championships
Sept. 7-12
Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Finals matchups
Men’s freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Hassan Rahimi (Iran) vs. Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia)
70 kg/154 lbs.
Magomedras Gazimagomedov (Russia) vs. Hassan Yazdani (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs.
Jordan Burroughs (USA) vs. Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia)
125 kg/275 lbs.
Taha Akgul (Turkey) vs. Jamaladdin Magomedov (Azerbaijan)
U.S. performances
Men’s freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs. – Tony Ramos, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Eucli Cuero Munoz (Colombia), 10-1
WIN Makhmudjon Shavkatov (Uzbekistan), 3-3
LOSS Hassan Rahimi (Iran), 1-3
LOSS Asadulla Lachinau (Belarus), 1-7
70 kg/154 lbs. – James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Johnathan Scott Duque (Costa Rica), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Robert Olle (Slovakia), tech. fall 12-1
WIN Arun Kumar (India), 10-0
LOSS Hassan Yazdani (Iran), 4-9
vs. Muroslav Kirov (Bulgaria) in bronze-medal match
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids)
WIN Krystian Brzozowski (Poland), 5-2
WIN Oleg Zakharevych (Ukraine), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Mihaly Nagy (Hungary), tech. fall 11-0
WIN Alireza Ghasemi (Iran), 5-0
WIN Aniuar Geduev (Russia), 4-3
vs. Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia) in gold-medal match
125 kg/275 lbs. – Zach Rey, Bethlehem, Pa. (Lehigh Valley WC)
LOSS Alen Zaseev (Ukraine), 1-6
LAS VEGAS – Jordan Burroughs is back in the finals of the World Championships.
And he’s on a mission to capture his third World gold medal.
The top-ranked Burroughs outlasted No. 2 Aniuar Geduev of Russia 4-3 before a boisterous sellout crowd of 7,000 fans Saturday afternoon at the Orleans Arena.
Burroughs advances to face Mongolia’s Unurbat Purevjav in the gold-medal finals at 74 kg/163 lbs. on Saturday night. Burroughs defeated Purevjav 6-0 at April’s World Cup in Los Angeles.
“I'm having a good time,” Burroughs said. “I've never smiled as much in one day as I have today. I really want to enjoy this moment. My family is here, my son gets to see me compete, I'm in Vegas, the crowd is chanting 'USA', I'm wrestling well and I'm feeling good. What else could I ask for right now? I'm in a great position to become a four-time World champion tonight. I'm excited.”
American James Green, who trains with Burroughs in Lincoln, Neb., advanced to the bronze-medal match at 70 kg/154 lbs. Green will face Bulgaria’s Muroslav Kirov for bronze.
The medal matches are set for 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The matches will be streamed live on unitedworldwrestling.org. The Burroughs match will be the night's 12th and final bout.
Burroughs, an Olympic gold medalist and two-time World champion, broke a 2-2 tie with Geduev by blasting in for a double-leg takedown to lead 4-2 with 48 seconds left. The powerful Geduev came back to score a late pushout, but Burroughs held him off in the final seconds as the vocal American crowd stood and cheered.
“For me, I don't necessarily wrestle the individual,” Burroughs said. “I wrestle the country. The name on the front of the singlet is more important to me than the name on the back. Regardless of who the representative is for the country, I want to beat Russia and be a World champion."
Burroughs clinched his fourth career World medal. He won World gold medals in 2011 and 2013 before earning a World bronze medal in 2014. He won an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
Burroughs is looking to join an exclusive club of American wrestlers with at least three World titles in men’s freestyle. That group includes John Smith (four World golds), Lee Kemp (three) and Bruce Baumgartner (three).
Burroughs gave up an early takedown before coming back to down defensive-minded Krystian Brzozowski of Poland 5-2 in his first bout.
Burroughs then kept his composure early in a physical match before powering past Ukraine’s Oleg Zakharevych 10-0 in the second round. Burroughs followed with a quick 11-0 technical fall over Hungary’s Mihaly Nagy in the third round.
The top-ranked Burroughs fired in for an early takedown before controlling Iran’s Alireza Ghasemi 5-0 in the quarterfinals.
Green, competing at his first World Championships, dominated Costa Rica’s Johnathan Scott Duque 10-0 in the first round at 70 kg/154 lbs. He then overpowered Slovakia’s Robert Olle 12-1 in the second round.
Green charged out aggressively en route to a 10-0 win over India’s Arun Kumar in the quarterfinals. Green then fell 9-4 to 2014 Junior World champion Hassan Yazdani of Iran in the semifinals
Second-time World Team member Tony Ramos opened with a 10-1 triumph over Colombia’s Eucli Cuero Munoz at 57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Ramos came back to earn a gritty win over Uzbekistan’s Makhmudjon Shavkatov in the second round. Ramos spun behind Shavkatov for a late takedown to win 3-3 on criteria.
Ramos then dropped a narrow 3-1 decision to World champion Hassan Rahimi of Iran in the third round. Rahimi was put on the shot clock late in a 1-1 match, but he won a scramble to score the eventual winning takedown.
Ramos was eliminated in a 7-1 loss to Asadulla Lachinau of Belarus in the repechage.
"Sometimes you fall on the wrong side of a draw, but you have to control your own destiny," Ramos said. "That was the one thing I said yesterday when I saw my draw come out. If I win this, I'm going to go through everyone and I'm going to beat everyone. You have to control what you can control and not leave it up to someone else."
First-time World Team member Zach Rey dropped a 6-1 first-round decision to 2013 World silver medalist Alen Zaseev of Ukraine at 125 kg/275 lbs.
“I’ve wrestled this high of competition before,” Rey said. “I've wrestled him in the past and lost to him in the past. I'm not here for the experience. I'm here to get a medal, and I didn't get that done. He's a very technical wrestler. He's very offensive, and he's good at scoring. My game plan was to get him tired, push him and score when the opportunity presented itself.”
2015 World Championships
Sept. 7-12
Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Finals matchups
Men’s freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs.
Hassan Rahimi (Iran) vs. Vladimer Khinchegashvili (Georgia)
70 kg/154 lbs.
Magomedras Gazimagomedov (Russia) vs. Hassan Yazdani (Iran)
74 kg/163 lbs.
Jordan Burroughs (USA) vs. Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia)
125 kg/275 lbs.
Taha Akgul (Turkey) vs. Jamaladdin Magomedov (Azerbaijan)
U.S. performances
Men’s freestyle
57 kg/125.5 lbs. – Tony Ramos, Iowa City, Iowa (Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Eucli Cuero Munoz (Colombia), 10-1
WIN Makhmudjon Shavkatov (Uzbekistan), 3-3
LOSS Hassan Rahimi (Iran), 1-3
LOSS Asadulla Lachinau (Belarus), 1-7
70 kg/154 lbs. – James Green, Lincoln, Neb. (Titan Mercury WC)
WIN Johnathan Scott Duque (Costa Rica), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Robert Olle (Slovakia), tech. fall 12-1
WIN Arun Kumar (India), 10-0
LOSS Hassan Yazdani (Iran), 4-9
vs. Muroslav Kirov (Bulgaria) in bronze-medal match
74 kg/163 lbs. – Jordan Burroughs, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids)
WIN Krystian Brzozowski (Poland), 5-2
WIN Oleg Zakharevych (Ukraine), tech. fall 10-0
WIN Mihaly Nagy (Hungary), tech. fall 11-0
WIN Alireza Ghasemi (Iran), 5-0
WIN Aniuar Geduev (Russia), 4-3
vs. Unurbat Purevjav (Mongolia) in gold-medal match
125 kg/275 lbs. – Zach Rey, Bethlehem, Pa. (Lehigh Valley WC)
LOSS Alen Zaseev (Ukraine), 1-6
