Snyder to face Aitmukhan and Zhabrailov in PWL 8 international card in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Feb. 25

2016 Olympic champion and three-time World champion Kyle Snyder is the headliner in Professional Wrestling League PWL 8, a card featuring top international wrestlers.

The event is scheduled for Tuesday, February 25 at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace (Abay St, 44) in Almaty, Kazakhstan at 7:00 p.m. local time.

The Professional Wrestling League features star wrestlers from around the world, including Olympic champions and medalists, world champions, and continental champions in men’s freestyle, women's freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Three-time Olympian Kyle Snyder (State College, Pa./Titan Mercury WC/Nittany Lion WC) won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero and a silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. He won Senior World titles in 2015, 2017 and 2022. Snyder claimed a U.S. record nine straight World and Olympic medals from 2015-2023. He was a three-time NCAA champion and four-time finalist for Ohio State.

Snyder is the only wrestler on the PWL 8 card who will wrestle two matches, both against rising young stars on the international scene at 97 kg.  

Snyder is in the Main Event of PWL 8, competing against Rizabek Aitmukhan of Kazakhstan, a 2023 Senior World champion at 92 kg. In 2024, Aitmukhan won two age-group World titles in 2024, a U20 World championship at 97 kg in Pontavedra, Spain and a U23 World championship at 97 kg in Tirana, Albania. He is a two-time Senior Asian silver medalist (2023, 2024) and a two-time Asian U23 gold medalist (2022, 2023).

His other opponent is 2019 Senior World bronze medalist and 2021 Senior European champion Alikhan Zhabrailov of Russia. Zhabrailov is a three-time Russian Senior National champion.

This year, for the first time, the league has been included in the United World Wrestling calendar. The total prize money for PWL 8 is $200,000.

Snyder and Aitmukhan will also be featured at the PWL 8 press conference, along with UWW President Nenad Lalovic and other dignitaries, on Monday, February 24 at 6:00 p.m. local time

The event will be broadcasted live on the international wrestling streaming service WRESTLINGTV.RU

For the fans from the USA and the United Kingdom, the livestream will be available on pwlworld.tv

The general partner of the Professional Wrestling League is the betting company OLIMPBET.

WRESTLIGA.COM reported the confirmed schedule of the matches.

Almaty, Kazakhstan is 10 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern time zone. That means, PWL 8 will be available for a live stream at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time zone on Monday, February 25.

Snyder is scheduled to fly immediately from Almaty to Tirana, Albania to compete in the second UWW Ranking Series event there.

PWL 8

February 25th, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Women's freestyle

WFS 76 kg: Zhamila Bagbergenova (Kazakhstan) vs. Aiperi Medet Kyzy (Kyrgyzstan)

Greco-Roman

GR 77 kg: Akzhol Makhmudov (Kyrgyzstan) vs. Ibrahim Ghanem (France)

GR 67 kg: Luis Orta Sanchez (Cuba) vs. Slavik Galstyan (Armenia)

GR 97 kg: Artur Sargsian (Russia) vs. Gabriel Rosillo (Cuba)

GR 97 kg: Kiryl Maskevich (Belarus) vs. Hayk Khloyan (Armenia)

Men’s Freestyle wrestling.

MFS 97 kg: Kyle Snyder (USA) vs. Alikhan Zhabrailov (Russia)

MFS 79 kg: Avtandil Kentchadze (Georgia) vs. Akhmed Usmanov (Russia)

MFS 86 kg: Azamat Dauletbekov (Kazakhstan) vs. Mahamedkhabib Kadzimahamedau (Belarus)

MFS 97 kg: Kyle Snyder (USA) vs. Rizabek Aitmukhan (Kazakhstan)