Bimeh-Razi retain World Wrestling Clubs Cup after dominating in Iran

Iran's Bimeh-Razi team retained their World Wrestling Clubs Cup title ©UWW

Iran’s Bimeh-Razi were crowned World Wrestling Clubs Cup champions for the second successive year after earning a dominant victory in the finals against the American Titan Mercury Wrestling Club in Tehran.

Led by under 57 kilogram world champion Vladimer Khinchegashvili, the Iranians progressed to the final following a series of impressive performances across the two days of competition at the 12,000-seater Azadi Sport Complex.

The Georgian wrestler got his team off to an ideal start against their American opponents by beating Tony Ramos 4-1, before Iran’s Behnam Ehsanpour and Masoud Esmaeilpour claimed 5-1 wins in their under 61kg and 65kg bouts.

It gave the Iranian team a comfortable 3-0 advantage, as they looked to win only the second edition of the annual team event, and they were able to call upon another world champion, Russia’s Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov, to put them one victory away from victory.

The under 70kg division competitor, who cruised to gold at September’s United World Wrestling (UWW) World Championships in Las Vegas, claimed one of the most impressive triumphs of the team event as he overcame America’s Dustin Schlatter with a technical fall.

Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov was one of the world champions on show in the team event ©Martin Gabor/UWW

Andrew Howe was able to reduce the deficit after beating Iran’s Alireza Ghasemi 7-2 in the 74kg class, but the American’s victory proved to be the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club’s only win of a one-sided final.

Asian Games champion Meysam Jokar and Komeil Ghasemi added to the Iranian team’s margin of victory after winning their respective bouts in the under 86kg and 125kg competitions, but two-time world champion Reza Yazdani delivered the highlight of the dead rubbers.

The under 97kg wrestler produced an excellent display against the reigning Olympic champion Jake Varner, eventually winning the contest after the judges awarded a technical fall.

Having defended their title, despite the challenge of 10 rival international teams, Bimeh-Razi received the top prize money of $50,000 (£33,000/€45,900) while the runners-up claimed $30,000 (£19,900/€27,600).

The second Iranian team, Kefay Ati, received $20,000 (£13,200/€18,400) after finishing third.