Friday begins the Greco-Roman portion of the 2026 Muhamet Malo “Ranking Series” tournament in Tirana, Albania. The United States will start off by sending two athletes to the mat, Britton Holmes (Army/WCAP) at 77 kg and ’25 U23 World bronze Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS) at 87 kg.
In total, 14 Greco-Roman athletes from Team USA are expected to compete throughout the weekend, including five wrestlers who were on last year’s World Team. The field in each weight category at the Muhamet Malo tournament is certainly formidable, even if in some cases the brackets are a bit more condensed when compared to the Grand Prix Zagreb Open earlier this month. The majority of Americans are paired with top-caliber opposition in their respective opening round match-ups, though it should be noted that is precisely why events such as this one are prioritized on the calendar.
2026 Muhamet Malo
Team USA Draws
*’25 US World Team
Friday, February 27
77 kg: Britton Holmes (Army/WCAP)
vs. Kaharman Kissymetov (KAZ) — Qualification round
*87 kg: Payton Jacobson (NYAC/NTS)
vs. Adam Gardziola (POL) — Round-of-16
Notes: This event marks Holmes’ return to international competition in over three years and he has a nice first-round assignment in the form of Kissymetov. If Holmes — reputably the toughest United States competitor pound-for-pound — can avoid surrendering an overflow of points from PT bottom, this could be a fun match for him. A victory over Kissymetov means dancing with Russian Sergey Stepanov in the round-of-16, which would require a stiffer approach and place even more of a premium on defending from bottom par terre. As for Jacobson, his side of the bracket is clustered. Should he get past Gardziola, he will have to then defeat one of three wrestlers’ whose first names are Islam: Islam Aliev (RUS/UWW), Islam Yevloyev (KAZ), or Islam Abbasov (AZE). Each would present a tough but doable test for the American upper-weight.
Saturday, February 28
63 kg: Ildar Hafizov (Army/WCAP)
vs. Sakit Guliyev (AZE) — Round-of-16
67 kg: Otto Black (NYAC/NTS)
vs. Ankit Ankit (IND) — Qualification round
*67 kg: Alston Nutter (Army/WCAP)
vs. winner between Sebastian Nad (SRB) & Tsuchika Shimoyamada (AUS) — Round-of-16
Notes: Hafizov will have the chance to wish Guliyev a ‘Happy Birthday’ since the Azer turns 32 on Saturday; Black could be staring at myriad scoring opportunities against Ankit but will have to step it up opposed by ’24 World silver Yerzhet Zharlykassyn (KAZ) in the proceeding round. If he can do that, he might have a more favorable match-up in the quarterfinal. Nutter’s potential opponent in the round-of-16, either way, will be an interesting one. Nad was a dynamo World champ at 63 ( in ’23) and is looking to firmly assert himself at 67. Shimoyamada — who American fans might remember from his winning consecutive Dave Schultz Memorial golds as a member of Team Japan — is still in the game and offers the type of open style that can mesh well with Nutter’s.
Sunday, March 1
55 kg: Billy Sullivan (Army/WCAP)
vs. Vishvajt More (IND) — Round-of-16
*60 kg: Max Black (NYAC/NTS)
vs. Nihat Mammadli (AZE) — Round-of-16
60 kg: Dalton Roberts (Army/WCAP)
vs. Kurmanbek Zhaparov (KGZ) — Qualification round
72 kg: Benji Peak (NYAC/Position WC)
vs. Iuri Lomadze (GEO) — Round-of-16
*82 kg: Kamal Bey (Army/WCAP)
vs. Marjan Kola (ALB) — Round-of-16
82 kg: George Sikes (NYAC)
vs. Prince Prince (IND) — Round-of-16
*97 kg: Michial Foy (Army/WCAP)
vs. winner between Artur Sargsyan (RUS/UWW) & Murad Ahmadiyev (AZE) — Qualification round
97 kg: Keith Miley (Arkansas RTC)
vs. Artur Omarov (CZE) — Qualification round
130 kg: Aden Attao (NYAC)
vs. Sulkhan Buidze (GEO) — Round-of-16
Notes: Sullivan gets to square off against two-time U23 World bronze More. A win here for Sullivan would not only insert a nice feather in his cap, it would also open the door for a trip to the quarterfinal against Rasul Jorayev (TKM), and another win would catapult him directly into the semis — likely against two-time World medalist Emin Sefershaev (RUS/UWW). Black has to deal with Mammadli, who is one of the more potent and established 60’s in the sport. It is the type of opponent Black needs on a consistent basis. Roberts, also at 60, gets going against young Zhaparov from Kyrgyzstan, and both him and Black have to navigate a deep bracket overall, just from opposite sides.
“Mr. Fantastic” Peak faces off with two-time Euro medalist Iuri Lomadze (GEO), a prolific arm-thrower on-the-feet and righty side-lifter from top par terre. Bey is up at 82 for this tournament and has a workable foe in Kola. A triumph for the multi-time US World Teamer would pit him against either ’24 Olympic silver Demeu Zhadrayev (KAZ) or Russian Dmitri Dzhioev. A healthy Bey is an unpredictable Bey, and an unpredictable Bey is potentially a big problem for the opposition. Just as Holmes’ is returning to international competition, so too is Sikes, who will try to get his sea legs back underneath him against Prince.
Whoever Foy faces in his first match, it is not going to be a gimme. He could draw either World silver (among other credentials) Sargsyan or World bronze Ahmadiyev. Sargsyan barely squeaked by Ahamdiyev via criteria in the semifinal round of the ’25 Worlds. Miley has an intriguing antagonist — ’23 World bronze Artur Omarov (CZE). 37-year-old Omarov is still viable; yet, Miley, who does himself require further refinement, could bring a physicality that makes this much more of a dogfight than Omarov might be expecting. Attao might have scoring windows to exploit at the expense of Buidze. After that, he will greet either ’25 World silver Dariusz Vitek (HUN, who lost to Cohlton Schultz in Zagreb), Belarusian Dmitri Zarubski, or Jokhar Uzarov (KAZ).
Schedule
The Muhamet Malo “Ranking Series” tournament will kickoff each day at 10:30am local time (4:30am ET). On Day 1 (Friday), the semifinals are scheduled for 2:30pm (8:30am ET) with repechage to follow at 3:30pm (9:30am ET). But for Saturday and Sunday, everything moves up a half-hour except for the finals/bronze-medal matches, which will begin at 6:00pm all three days of the tournament. FLOWrestling will carry the live broadcast for the US audience (subscription required).
Friday, February 27 (77 & 87 kg)
10:30am — Qualification rounds
2:30pm — Semifinals
3:30pm — Repechage rounds
6:00pm — Finals/bronze-medal matches
Saturday, February 28 (63 & 67 kg)
10:30am — Qualification rounds
2:00pm — Semifinals
3:00pm — Repechage rounds
6:00pm — Finals/bronze-medal matches
Sunday, March 1 (55, 60, 72, 82, 97, & 130 kg)
10:30am — Qualification rounds
2:00pm — Semifinals
3:00pm — Repechage rounds
6:00pm — Finals/bronze-medal matches
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