Under the weather, up-in-weight, and with antibiotics sapping some of his firepower, 2024 Olympian Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP) still stood steps away from a podium spot on a day during which he added yet another remarkable victory to a career that has featured plenty of them. Meanwhile, in the sport’s second-lightest weight category, ’25 World Team member Max Black (60 kg, NYAC/NTS) rebounded from an opening-round loss to also come within arm’s reach of a medal. But both wound up finishing in 5th place in spite of their efforts and they, along with the rest of the USA contingent in Albania, will now begin focusing on what lies ahead in the spring.
The third and final day of Greco-Roman at the 2026 Muhamet Malo “Ranking Series” tournament began Sunday morning at 10:30am local time (4:30am ET) and streamed live on FLOWrestling.
Black and Bey were among nine wrestlers who competed for Team USA on Sunday but multi-time World Teamer Dalton Roberts (60 kg, Army/WCAP) was the only other American who garnered a win. Roberts, in fact, triumphed in his first two bouts prior to falling to Sadyk Lalaev (UWW) in the quarterfinal. Army teammate, and the World Championships competitor at 97 kg from ’25, Michial Foy was downed by one of the highest-profile names in his bracket, but was pulled back in for repechage and fought well against a recent World bronze before dropping a decision loss.
Bey, Black, & Roberts
Bey — who went up to 82 kg for this event, one weight class higher than his usual 77 — dealt with host country wrestler Marjan Kola in the round-of-16 and, after trailing 1-0 via passivity in Period 2, ended things in a rather abrupt manner. Amid an exchange, Bey used an underhook and simply hipped Kola to the mat and the Albanian landed on his back. Bey then simply held position on a wriggling Kola long enough to come away with the fall.
The quarterfinal match delivered to Bey ’24 Olympic silver Demeu Zhadrayev (KAZ), who himself bypassed 77 for 82. It was a tight contest throughout with Zhadrayev holding a 3-1 lead as time ticked away from the clock in the second period. Then with :29 to go, Bey executed a lightning-fast duck-under to Zhadrayev’s right side and instantly had himself a takedown that gave him the advantage on criteria. Bey did not struggle to ward off the last-gasp attempts on the part of his foe to advance to the semifinals, where eventual gold Mohammadamin Hosseini (IRI) prevailed 7-0 to deposit the Army wrestler into the bronze round opposed by ’17 World champ Viktor Nemes (SRB).
In their latest meeting (the pair had clashed twice previously), Nemes’ tactics were centered around stymying Bey’s offensive might and not much more. He was awarded a passivity/par terre chance in both periods, could not score from top either time, and therefore clung to a 2-0 lead that carried him to the finish line. The loss resulted in a 5th-place finish for Bey, who had authored a strong performance despite the circumstances.
Black
It was not the easiest first-round draw for Black as he encountered ’24 World Champion Nihat Mammadli (AZE) and was turned back via technical superiority. But Mammadli marched through the rest of the bracket, thus allowing Black to re-enter the competition in repechage against Yerbol Kamaliyev (KAZ). And Black capitalized, in more ways than one. Kamaliyev had been gifted a passivity point along with the subsequent opportunity from top par terre and, upon his attempt at a turn, surrendered a reversal to Black. That made the score 1-1 with Black holding criteria. Then in the second period, Black received his own passivity point to take an outright 2-1 lead, which held up through the remainder and elevated him to the bronze-medal match.
Alas, a frustrating ending it was for Black. Russian Suner Konunov (UWW) was the recipient of the bout’s first passivity, but could not score from top PT. The officials gave Black the second-period passive, and he likewise struggled to negotiate a turn. But as the bout moved towards the final minute, Konunov was cited for passivity once again to provide Black with one more try at a score from par terre. However, Konunov defended Black’s attempts from top to emerge with bronze.
Roberts Goes 2-1
Two wins against stout young opposition should have Roberts gaining momentum as the World Team Trials approaches in April. The Fowlerville, Michigan native started his tournament on Sunday with a comeback at the expense of Kurmanbek Zhaparov (KAZ). Zhaparov was ahead 2-1 in the second period when Roberts countered a body attack and utilized a “cement mixer” hold to snare takedown points in what eventually became for him a 3-2 decision.. The following round saw Roberts race out in front of Ishkar Kurbayev (KAZ) thanks to a particularly explosive maneuver. As both prodded in the ties and, as Kurbayev nudged forward, Roberts unfurled a beautiful four-point arm throw. Later in the bout, Roberts added a passive point and step-out to move on by a score of 6-1. Roberts fell to ’24 World/’25 European Championships bronze Sadyk Lalaev (UWW) in the quarterfinal and Lalaev got clipped in the round-of-four by Nihad Guluzade (AZE) to eliminate Roberts from an alternate route to bronze through the repechage system.
Other Results
’23 U23 World Team member Billy Sullivan (55 kg, Army/WCAP) had a tough go of it against two-time U23 World bronze Vishvajt More (IND), but More was ousted in the semifinal by well-decorated Emin Sefershaev (UWW) in the semifinal. At 72 kg, “Mr. Fantastic” Benji Peak (NYAC/Position WC) challenged Iuri Lomadze (GEO) in spaces, though Lomadze advanced 5-1 and then lost in the next round to Hojat Rezaei (IRI). Peak’s close friend — and fellow NMU alumnus — George Sikes (82 kg, NYAC) returned to overseas action in Tirana by facing Prince Prince (IND) and fell via 7-0 decision.
As mentioned at the top, Foy had his hands full from the outset. He first greeted ’25 World silver Artur Sargsyan (UWW) and was downed 8-0. Sargsyan ran the the table, thus delivering to Foy an opportunity in repechage against World bronze Mahammad Ahmadiyev (AZE), by whom he was defeated 6-2. In the same weight class, Keith Miley (Arkansas RTC) did business with recent World bronze Artur Omarov (CZE) and lost 8-0. Omarov defaulted out of the tournament in the proceeding round, knocking Miley out of contention for possible bronze.
Two-time U20 World bronze Aden Attao (130 kg, NYAC) surrendered one big step-out to Sulkhan Buidze (GEO) and fell behind 2-0 — but then buckled down and worked to pummel his way to meaningful positions through the entirety of the bout. There was no further scoring — not even a passivity point on either combatant — yet Attao demonstrated resilience as he continues to log more and more mat time on the Senior level.
Notes
- Though Muhamet Malo was not a conventional team tournament due to its “Ranking Series” designation along with participating countries sending different numbers of athletes, the final team rankings put the US in 6th place with 44 points behind Hungary (49) and ahead of India (41). Azerbaijan took top honors with 128 points (two golds, one silver), Kazakhstan was next with 95 (one gold, two bronze), and Iran came in 3rd (89), also with two golds and a bronze. Kazakhstan had more points because the nation acquired classification points from four weight categories in which Iran did not enter athletes.
- The combined individual record for Team USA was 11-18. Of the 11 wins, three were VSU’s and two were pins.
- The highest-placing Americans were Max Black (5th, 60 kg), Roberts (7th, 60 kg) Otto Black (5th, 67 kg), Bey (5th, 82 kg), and Payton Jacobson (87 kg, 5th).
2026 Muhamet Malo
February 27-March 1 — Tirana, ALB
TEAM USA FULL RESULTS
55 kg: Billy Sullivan (Army/WCAP) — 9th
LOSS Vishvajt More (IND) via fall
60 kg: Max Black (NYAC/NTS) — 5th
LOSS Nihat Mammadli (AZE) 8-0, TF
WON Yerbol Kamaliyev (KAZ) 2-1
LOSS Suner Konunov (UWW) 1-1 (criteria)
60 kg: Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP) — 7th
WON Kurmanbek Zhaparov (KGZ) 3-2
WON Ishkar Kurbayev (KAZ) 6-1
LOSS Sadyk Lalaev (UWW) 9-0, TF
63 kg: Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP) — 10th
LOSS Sakit Guliyev (AZE) 9-0, TF
LOSS Bakytzhan Kabdyl (KAZ) 12-9
67 kg: Otto Black (NYAC/NTS) — 5th
WON Ankit Ankit (IND) 9-0, TF
WON Yerzhet Zharlykassyn (KAZ) 4-1
WON Singh Karanjit (IND) 8-0, TF
LOSS Diego Chkhikvadze (GEO) 4-4 (criteria)
67 kg: Alston Nutter (Army/WCAP) — 8th
WON Tsuchika Shimoyamada (JPN) 13-4, TF
LOSS Diego Chkhikvadze (GEO) 9-0, TF
LOSS Erzu Zakriev (UWW) 9-0, TF
72 kg: Benji Peak (NYAC/Position WC) — 12th
WON Iuri Lomadze (GEO) 5-1
77 kg: Britton Holmes (Army/WCAP) — 21st
LOSS Kaharman Kissymetov (KAZ) 8-0, TF
82 kg: Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP) — 5th
WON Marjan Kola (ALB) via fall
WON Demeu Zhadrayev (KAZ) 3-3 (criteria)
LOSS Mohammadamin Hosseini (IRI) 7-0
LOSS Viktor Nemes (SRB) 2-0
82 kg: George Sikes (NYAC) — 16th
LOSS Prince Prince (IND) 7-0
87 kg: Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS) — 7th
WON Adam Gardziola (POL) via fall
LOSS Islam Aliev (UWW) 5-1
97 kg: Michial Foy (Army/WCAP) — 16th
LOSS Artur Sargsyan (UWW) 8-0, TF
LOSS Mahammad Ahmadiyev (AZE) 6-2
97 kg: Keith Miley (Arkansas RTC) — 21st
LOSS Artur Omarov (CZE) 8-0, TF
130 kg: Aden Attao (NYAC) — 14th
LOSS Sulkhan Buidze (GEO) 2-0
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