Olympic champion Ismael Borrero Molina sits atop the 67 kilograms standings following an update to the UWW Greco-Roman ranking series ©UWW

Olympic champion Ismael Borrero Molina sits atop the 67 kilograms standings following an update to the United World Wrestling (UWW) Greco-Roman ranking series.

The Cuban, who won the 59kg gold medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, has accumulated 47 ranking points - more than any Greco-Roman wrestler in any weight class.

He recently cruised to his fourth overall Pan-American title, picking up four technical falls and outscoring his opponents by a combined score of 40-0.

In February, Borrero Molina won a gold medal at the Cerro Pelado International in front of a home crowd in La Havana.

Another Cuban wrestler, Oscar Pino Hinds, earned a number one ranking in the 130kg category.

Like Borrero Molina, Pino Hinds claimed a gold medal at the Pan-American Championships in Peru’s capital Lima.

He beat the United States’ Robby Smith to win his third consecutive continental title.

Kyrgyzstan also have a pair of top-ranked Greco-Roman wrestlers; Kanybek Zholchubekov at 60kg and Urmatbek Amatov at 63kg.

Zholchubekov opened 2018 by winning a gold medal at the Takhti Cup in Mahshahr in Iran and followed it up with a bronze at his home Asian Championships in Bishkek.

Amatov earned bronze at the Takhti Cup and silver at the Asian Championships.

Kyrgyzstan's Urmatbek Amatov is top of the 63kg category ©UWW
Kyrgyzstan's Urmatbek Amatov is top of the 63kg category ©UWW

Hungary’s Balint Korpasi, the 2016 world champion, is the top-ranked wrestler at 72kg.

He was a Cerro Pelado International champion and captured a bronze medal at the recent European Championships in Russian city Kaspiysk.

World bronze medallist Mohammad Ali Geraei of Iran occupies first spot at 77kg.

He has been a Takhti Cup champion and Asian Championships silver medallist this year.

Another world bronze medallist, Georgia’s Roberti Kobliashvili, heads the rankings at 87kg.

He recently claimed a gold medal at the European Championships.

Other top-ranked Greco-Roman wrestlers include Turkey’s Ekrem Ozturk at 55kg, Bulgaria’s Daniel Aleksandrov at 82kg and Azerbaijan’s Orkhan Nuriyev at 97kg.

The 2018 season is the first in which UWW is utilising an objective ranking system.

The points acquired at continental championships and select ranking series will determine the top-four seeded athletes at the 2018 World Championships, due to be held in Hungary’s capital Budapest from October 20 to 28.