# 2025 World Wrestling Championships
The **2025 World Wrestling Championships** were the senior world wrestling championships organized by [United World Wrestling](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-world-wrestling) (UWW), held in Zagreb, Croatia, from September 13 to 21, 2025, at Arena Zagreb[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide). It was the first time Croatia hosted the event[2](https://uww.org/articles/wrestling-calendar-2025-world-continental-championships-live-uww).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | September 13 to 21, 2025[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide) |
| Venue | Arena Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide) |
| Host award | Zagreb awarded the championships by the UWW Bureau in February 2024, the first Croatian hosting in wrestling history[3](https://uww.org/articles/croatia-host-2025-world-championships-non-olympic-worlds-returns) |
| Format | Standard UWW format across three styles, with qualification rounds, repechage, semifinals and finals over nine days[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide) |
| Weight classes | Ten freestyle classes (57 to 125 kg), eight women's wrestling classes (50 to 76 kg), and ten Greco-Roman classes (55 to 130 kg), including non-Olympic weights[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide) |
| Historic firsts | Georgios Kougioumtsidis became Greece's first male world champion; a wrestler became Ecuador's first world champion[4](https://uww.org/articles/kougioumtsidis-gives-greece-historic-world-gold-1st-male-champion) • [5](https://uww.org/articles/reasco-becomes-ecuadors-first-world-champ-maroulis-adds-gold-tally) |
| Side event | The first UWW World Conference was held at The Westin Zagreb, September 17 to 19, 2025[6](https://cdn.uww.org/2025-09/2025_world_wrestling_championships_zagreb_media_guide.pdf) |
## Host selection and context
The UWW Bureau awarded the Senior World Championships 2025 to Zagreb at a meeting in February 2024. Zagreb had been a regular on the wrestling calendar for a decade, hosting European Championships and Ranking Series events, and the Zagreb Open has often opened the international season[3](https://uww.org/articles/croatia-host-2025-world-championships-non-olympic-worlds-returns). When UWW confirmed the full 2025 calendar in September 2024, it also set the age-group World Championships: U17 in Athens, Greece (July 28 to August 3), U20 in Sofia, Bulgaria (August 18 to 24), Veterans in Budapest, Hungary (October 7 to 12), and U23 in [Novi Sad](https://www.edgepedia.org/novi-sad), Serbia (October 20 to 26)[7](https://uww.org/article/uww-confirms-ranking-series-world-championships-hosts-2025).
The 2025 championships fell in a non-Olympic year, so the program included the non-Olympic weight classes alongside the Olympic ones: 61 kg, 70 kg, 79 kg, and 92 kg in freestyle, 55 kg, 59 kg, 65 kg, and 72 kg in women's wrestling, and 55 kg, 63 kg, 72 kg, and 82 kg in Greco-Roman, in addition to the Olympic categories[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide).
## Venue and competition format
All competition took place at Arena Zagreb, the same venue that hosted the season-opening Zagreb Open Ranking Series event in February[2](https://uww.org/articles/wrestling-calendar-2025-world-continental-championships-live-uww). The championships ran nine days in the standard UWW format, with qualification rounds each morning at 10:30, semifinals in the evening sessions, and medal bouts at 18:00, with repechage rounds determining the bronze-medal matchups[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide).
The daily order ran freestyle first (September 13 to 17), women's wrestling in the middle of the week (September 15 to 18), and Greco-Roman last (September 18 to 21)[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide). Live coverage was carried on UWW+, with FloWrestling broadcasting in the United States[1](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide).
## Notable results
**First-time champions.** Georgios Kougioumtsidis (GRE) defeated Levi Haines (USA) 3-2 in the 79 kg freestyle final on day three, becoming the first male world champion in Greek history despite the country's long wrestling tradition[4](https://uww.org/articles/kougioumtsidis-gives-greece-historic-world-gold-1st-male-champion). In women's wrestling, Luisa Reasco became Ecuador's first world champion, and [Helen Maroulis](https://www.edgepedia.org/helen-maroulis) added to her gold tally[5](https://uww.org/articles/reasco-becomes-ecuadors-first-world-champ-maroulis-adds-gold-tally).
**Freestyle storylines.** Zaur Uguev won the 61 kg gold, ending a six-year world title drought[8](https://uww.org/articles/uguev-ends-six-year-world-title-drought-61kg-gold). Trent Hidlay of the United States, wrestling in his first Senior World Championships, staged a comeback to win the world title at 92 kg[9](https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/international/hidlay-stages-epic-comeback-to-win-world-title-r100512/). In Greco-Roman, Paris Olympic bronze medalist Amirreza Azarpira ended [Akhmed Tazhudinov](https://www.edgepedia.org/akhmed-tazhudinov)'s two-year run as champion with a semifinal victory[10](https://uww.org/article/azarpira-ends-tazhudinovs-two-year-dream-run-zagreb).
**Final day.** On the closing day, September 21, Aleksandr Komarov (SRB) upset Olympic silver medalist Alireza Mohamadi (IRI) 4-3 in the 87 kg Greco-Roman final, with the last three Greco-Roman titles decided that evening[11](https://uwworg-web.kube.staging.uww.org/articles/komarov-upends-mohamadi-make-history-spoil-iran-celebrations).
## UWW World Conference
Held alongside the championships, the first edition of UWW's World Conference took place at The Westin Zagreb from September 17 to 19, 2025. Olympic legends Mijain Lopez (CUB), [Erica Wiebe](https://www.edgepedia.org/erica-wiebe) (CAN), Arsen Julfalakyan (ARM), Sofia Mattsson (SWE), and Marwa Amri (TUN) headlined the program[6](https://cdn.uww.org/2025-09/2025_world_wrestling_championships_zagreb_media_guide.pdf).
## References
1. [World Championships 2025 Fan Guide, United World Wrestling](https://uww.org/articles/world-championships-2025-fan-guide)
2. [Wrestling Calendar 2025: World, continental championships live on UWW+, United World Wrestling](https://uww.org/articles/wrestling-calendar-2025-world-continental-championships-live-uww)
3. [Croatia to host 2025 World Championships, non-Olympic Worlds returns, United World Wrestling](https://uww.org/articles/croatia-host-2025-world-championships-non-olympic-worlds-returns)
4. [Kougioumtsidis gives Greece historic world gold as 1st male champion, United World Wrestling](https://uww.org/articles/kougioumtsidis-gives-greece-historic-world-gold-1st-male-champion)
5. [Reasco becomes Ecuador's first world champ as Maroulis adds to gold tally, United World Wrestling](https://uww.org/articles/reasco-becomes-ecuadors-first-world-champ-maroulis-adds-gold-tally)
6. [2025 World Wrestling Championships Zagreb Media Guide, United World Wrestling](https://cdn.uww.org/2025-09/2025_world_wrestling_championships_zagreb_media_guide.pdf)
7. [UWW confirms Ranking Series, World Championships hosts for 2025, United World Wrestling](https://uww.org/article/uww-confirms-ranking-series-world-championships-hosts-2025)
8. [Uguev ends six-year world title drought with 61kg gold, United World Wrestling](https://uww.org/articles/uguev-ends-six-year-world-title-drought-61kg-gold)
9. [Hidlay Stages Epic Comeback to Win World Title, InterMat](https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/international/hidlay-stages-epic-comeback-to-win-world-title-r100512/)
10. [Azarpira ends Tazhudinov's two-year dream run in Zagreb, United World Wrestling](https://uww.org/article/azarpira-ends-tazhudinovs-two-year-dream-run-zagreb)
11. [Komarov upends Mohamadi to make history, spoil Iran celebrations, United World Wrestling](https://uwworg-web.kube.staging.uww.org/articles/komarov-upends-mohamadi-make-history-spoil-iran-celebrations)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Combat sports and professional wrestling › Amateur and collegiate wrestling*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license