The final Ranking Series tournament of the year will take place in Budapest, Hungary from June 6-9, featuring the best wrestlers in the world. 2024 Olympian Mason Paris will compete in the 125kg class on June 6. With almost half of the 125kg Olympians competing in Budapest, Paris will have the perfect pre-Olympic test. Check out the article below for a detailed breakdown of the 125kg class and stay on top of all of Mason Paris' upcoming storylines.
2024 Polyak Imre & Varga Janos Memorial Ranking Series #2
Can Mason Parris get revenge on Geno Petriashvili?
Mason Paris' toughest opponent in Budapest will be Geno Petriashvili, a three-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist. There's also a good chance that Paris and Petriashvili will meet in the 2024 Olympic semifinals. Petriashvili and Paris are currently the second and third seeds, respectively, and their positions are virtually guaranteed. It's possible that Paris could slip past Petriashvili into the second seed, but it's worth noting that neither of them can overtake the top-seeded 2023 world champion Amir Zareh of Iran. Beyond that, there are no players who can overtake Petriashvili and Paris in the second and third seeds.
If Mason Paris wants to make it to the Olympic finals in two months, he will likely have to beat Petriashvili. Coincidentally, the two met in the semifinals of the 2023 World Championships, with Petriashvili winning by a narrow margin of 8-6. In that bout, Paris was leading with under 50 seconds left in the match, but Petriashvili scored a takedown to turn the game around. Is Paris good enough to beat Petriashvili? We'll find out in this tournament.
Watch Paris vs Petriashvili below:
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Paris' Mini Olympics – 8 Olympians to compete
With the Olympic Games limited to 16 competitors in each weight class, there are seven 125 kg competitors and one 97 kg competitor in Budapest. We've already mentioned a possible Olympic semi-final against Petriashvili. Still, Paris could face several other Olympians in Budapest, and she'll have to beat them in the coming months to win an Olympic medal. See all the Olympians competing in Budapest below:
- Giorgi Meshvirdishvili, AZE
- Giannis Kramiankou, AIN (BLR)
- Diaeldin Abdelmottareb, Egypt
- Geno Petriashvili, GEO
- Givi Machalashvili, GEO (age 97)
- Yusup Batyrumurzaev, KAZ
- Jonovan Smith, PUR
- Mason Paris, USA
Geno Petriashvili stands out in the list above, but it's also worth analyzing the other top wrestlers, Giorgi Meshvilishvili and Giannis Hramyankou. Hramyankou hails from Belarus and has won two medals at the U23 World Championships and two medals at the U20 World Championships. In addition to that, he is a two-time Olympian and has an athletic style of wrestling that could be an interesting test for Mason Parris.
Then there's Meshvirdishvili, who Paris beat in a close 5-2 decision earlier this year and has been wrestling well for the past few years, including a win over Hayden Zillmer two years ago. After Petriashvili, Meshvirdishvili may be Paris's biggest challenge in Budapest.
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Non-Olympic competitors entered:
- Georgi Ivanov, BUL
- Milan Kolchog, HUN
- Amirezza Masoumi, IRI
- Khasanboy Rahimov, UZB
Apart from the Olympians, the four wrestlers mentioned above are also registered in the 125kg division and could challenge Mason Paris. Amir Zareh stands out from the rest, but Iranian media outlets have reported that Masoumi's visa has not been approved (or submitted), meaning he likely won't compete. But if he does compete, he'll be a favorite to win, given his 11-6 win over Mason Paris at the Zagreb Open earlier this year. Apart from the results of that head-to-head match, Masoumi is only 19 years old and is already a two-time U20 World Champion, U23 World Champion, and U17 World Champion. If it weren't for Amir Zareh, Masoumi would have been the favorite to win the Olympic gold medal.
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Another wrestler on the list above is Uzbekistan's Hasanboy Rahimov. He's not the most accomplished wrestler, but he does have two wins over Gable Steveson, once at the 2018 U20 World Championships and once over Medved in 2019. Rahimov then won a bronze medal at the 2019 Senior World Championships, but was suspended for two years after testing positive for a banned substance. Although he hasn't cracked the top 10 in the heavyweight division since his return, he is a dangerous fighter to watch in Budapest and could pose a unique upper-body challenge if he faces Paris.
Olympic seeds for 125kg decided in Budapest
As mentioned above, this is the last Ranking Series event before the Olympics, which means it's the last opportunity for Olympians to earn seed points. There won't be any major changes in the seedings at 125 kg, but Mason Paris, Giorgi Meshvirdishvili and Giannis Hramiankou could all move up in seeding. Paris could move up from third to second seed, Meshvirdishvili from sixth to fifth, and Hramiankou from unseeded to seventh. See below the current Olympic seedings along with the number of ranking points held by each wrestler entering the Budapest Ranking Series tournament:
Current Olympic seeds and ranking points:
- Amir Zareh, IRI – 68,000
- * Geno Petriashvili, GEO – 57,000
- *Mason Paris, USA – 54,200
- Taha Akgul, TUR – 44,000
- Daniel Ligety, HUN – 30,025
- *Giorgi Meshvirdishvili, AZE – 25,900
- Abdulla Kurbanov, AIN (Russia) – 25,000
- Tang Chih-Wai, CHN – 24,500
*Competing in Budapest
Don't sow the fields
- Giannis Kramiankou, AIN (BLR) – 17,000
- Jonovan Smith, PUR – 16,400
- Diaeldin Abdelmottareb, Egypt – 6,600
- Yusup Batyrumurzaev, KAZ – 0
Points available in the Budapest Ranking Series event:
1st place = 8,000
2nd place = 6,400
3rd place = 5,200
5th place = 4,000
Full schedule for the Budapest Ranking Series
*All times below are Eastern Standard Time
Thursday, June 6
4:30 AM – 9:30 AM – Men's Freestyle 57-61-65-70-79-97-125 kg Qualification Rounds and Repechage
11am – 2:30pm – Men's Freestyle 57-61-65-70-79-97-125kg Medal Round
Friday, June 7
4:30 AM – 9:30 AM – Qualifying and Repechage for Men's Freestyle 74-86-92 kg and Women's Freestyle 50-53-57-59-72 kg
11am – 2.30pm – Men's Freestyle 74-86-92kg and Women's Freestyle 50-53-57-59-72kg Medal Rounds
Saturday, June 8
4:30 AM – 9:30 AM – Qualifying and Repechage for Women's Freestyle 55-62-65-68-76 kg and Greco-Roman 60-63-130 kg
11am – 2.30pm – Women's Freestyle 55-62-65-68-76 kg and Greco-Roman 60-63-130 kg Medal Round
Sunday, June 9
4:30 AM – 9:30 AM – Greco-Roman Preliminaries and Repechage – 55-67-72-77-82-87-97
11am – 2:30pm – Greco-Roman Medal Round – 55-67-72-77-82-87-97
