2022 World Championship Rankings - Men's Freestyle

125 - Amir Zare

With Olympic champion Gable Steveson retired, Iran's Amir Zare is the clear favorite at this year's world championships in Serbia. The young Iranian won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, losing only to Geno Petriashvili in the semi-finals, 6-3. Zare then got revenge on Petriashvili in the world finals winning 9-2. He also impressively took out heavyweight legend Taha Akgul, 4-0 in the semis. Akgul and Petriashvili are still at the top tier and are almost locks to bring home a medal at worlds. However, after those top three, the final spot on the podium is wide open.

Hayden Zillmer is the surprise rep for Team USA at 125kg after he defeated Nick Gwiazdowski in the best of three series at Final X NYC. Zillmer will not be seeded heading into the world championships but it's important for him to be drawn on the top side of the bracket - opposite both Zare and Akgul.