The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from Azerbaijan

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This page contains a list of the greatest Azerbaijani Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,027 Wrestlers, 10 of which were born in Azerbaijan. This makes Azerbaijan the birth place of the 20th most number of Wrestlers behind Ukraine, and Armenia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Azerbaijani Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Azerbaijani Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Azerbaijani Wrestlers.

Photo of Aydin Ibrahimov

1. Aydin Ibrahimov (1938 - 2021)

With an HPI of 47.49, Aydin Ibrahimov is the most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.

Aydin Ali oglu Ibrahimov (Azerbaijani: Aydın Əli oğlu İbrahimov; 17 September 1938 – 2 September 2021) was an Azerbaijani wrestler.

Photo of Namig Abdullayev

2. Namig Abdullayev (b. 1971)

With an HPI of 41.06, Namig Abdullayev is the 2nd most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Namig Yadulla Abdullayev (Azerbaijani: Namiq Abdullayev, born 4 January 1971) is a retired Azerbaijani freestyle wrestler, who won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics, as well as three gold medals at European championships and three silver medals at world championships. A three-time Olympian, Abdullayev won the silver medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in the 52 kg category and the gold in the 55 kg weight class at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He also competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but was eliminated early. Abdullayev retired in 2009.

Photo of Haji Aliyev

3. Haji Aliyev (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 35.73, Haji Aliyev is the 3rd most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Haji Aliyev (Azerbaijani: Hacı Azər oğlu Əliyev; born 21 April 1991), is an Azerbaijani freestyle wrestler. He competed at the 61 kg division in the 2014 European Wrestling Championships and won the gold medal after beating Bekkhan Goygereyev of Russia. Aliyev won his first world championship gold medal in the freestyle 61 kg class in the 2014 World Wrestling Championships in Tashkent. Moreover, Aliyev got his second and third gold medals in Las Vegas 2015 and Paris 2017. In June 2015, he competed in the inaugural European Games, for the host country Azerbaijan in wrestling, more specifically, Men's freestyle in the 61 kilogram range. He earned a bronze medal. He competed in the 57 kg division at the 2016 Summer Olympics and won the bronze medal after beating Vladimir Dubov of Bulgaria. He was the flag bearer for Azerbaijan during the closing ceremonies. His personal coach is Elman Azimzadeh. After this success, Haji Aliyev won the European Championship among juniors held in Dawgwils, Latvia. 17-year-old Haji Aliyev, who competed in 54 kg, confidently defeated all his rivals at the finals and defeated Georgian Vladimir Khincheashvili at the decisive game and was awarded the silver medal of the European Championship. On July 25, President of the Azerbaijan Wrestling Federation Fazil Mammadov received the wrestlers who won the European Championship among juniors, including Haji Aliyev. Haci Aliyev participated in his last race in Istanbul, Turkey in 2008. Haci Aliyev, who competed in the "Presidential Tournament", was not in the list of medalists. In 2009, Haji Aliyev won the first place in the Azerbaijani Youth Championship in February. Haci Aliyev, who tried hard in 60 kilograms, defeated Aghahuseyn Muradov in the finals and won the silver medal of the race. In March, Haji Aliyev joined the international tournament in Riga, Latvia and finished in the 5th place. Haji Aliyev has made his next achievements in 2009 in domestic competitions. He won the tournament in October among young people dedicated to the memory of the Azerbaijani National Hero Aliyar Aliyev and became the champion of the race. In December, Haji Aliyev has won the first place among adults. He defeated all his opponents in the Cup of Azerbaijan and became the winner of the tournament. In 2020, he won one of the bronze medals in the men's 65 kg event at the 2020 Individual Wrestling World Cup held in Belgrade, Serbia. In August 2021 in 2020 Summer Olympics, he defeated Daulet Niyazbekov to enter Semi Finals round. He lost his bronze medal match in the 65 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. He competed at the 2024 European Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan and he earned a quota place for Azerbaijan for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Photo of Elnur Mammadli

4. Elnur Mammadli (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 33.66, Elnur Mammadli is the 4th most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Elnur Mammadli (Azerbaijani: Elnur Məmmədli, born 29 June 1988, Baku, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani judoka. Mammadli won the gold medal during the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the ‍–‍73 kg division. In the final he beat the favorite Wang Ki-chun. On 14 September 2024, he was elected chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

Photo of Toghrul Asgarov

5. Toghrul Asgarov (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 33.39, Toghrul Asgarov is the 5th most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Toghrul Shahriyar oghlu Asgarov (Azerbaijani: Toğrul Əsgərov; born on September 17, 1992, Ganja, Azerbaijan) is an Azerbaijani wrestler. He is an Olympic and European champion in freestyle wrestling. In 2012 Summer Olympics Toghrul Asgarov won Olympic wrestling gold medal in men's 60-kilogram freestyle, beating Besik Kudukhov of Russia by a score of (1-0, 5-0). In May 2017, he was disqualified for one year due to the doping rules violation (higenamine).

Photo of Zafar Guliev

6. Zafar Guliev (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 33.15, Zafar Guliev is the 6th most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Zafar Safar oglu Guliyev (Azerbaijani: Zəfər Səfər oğlu Quliyev, Russian: Зафар Сафар оглы Гулиев; born June 17, 1972, in Lüvəsər, Azerbaijani SSR) is a Russian wrestler of Azerbaijani descent, who won a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Photo of Rovshan Bayramov

7. Rovshan Bayramov (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 32.67, Rovshan Bayramov is the 7th most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Rovshan Bayramov (Azerbaijani: Rövşən Bayramov; born 7 May 1987, Baku, Azerbaijani SSR) is an Azerbaijani wrestler. He is a European and world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. Moreover, he is a two-time Olympic silver medalist. In the 2011 World Wrestling Championship held in Istanbul, he was a world champion adding a gold medal to the combination of the silver and bronze medals obtained in the previous world championships. In addition, Bayramov holds two European titles.

Photo of Jabrayil Hasanov

8. Jabrayil Hasanov (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 31.24, Jabrayil Hasanov is the 8th most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Jabrayil Hasanov (Azerbaijani: Cəbrayıl Həsənov, born on 24 February 1990 in Suparibağ, Astara, Azerbaijan, Soviet Union) is a male freestyle wrestler from Azerbaijan who has competed in the 66, 74 and 79 kg categories. He is an Olympic bronze medalist and multiple World Championships medalist. He is the winner of Yasar Dogu Grand-Prix .

Photo of Rasul Chunayev

9. Rasul Chunayev (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 31.04, Rasul Chunayev is the 9th most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Rasul Abakar oghlu Chunayev (Azerbaijani: Rəsul Çunayev) is an Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestler. He was born 7 January 1991 in Yeni Şərif, Balakən, Azerbaijan, to Avar parents. He is a world champion and European vice-champion in men's Greco-Roman wrestling.

Photo of Emin Ahmadov

10. Emin Ahmadov (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 30.64, Emin Ahmadov is the 10th most famous Azerbaijani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Emin Ahmadov (born 6 October 1986, Baku) is an Azerbaijani wrestler. He won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Greco-Roman men's 74 kg event. Along the way he beat Neven Zugaj and Zurab Datunashvili, before losing to Arsen Julfalakyan in the semi-final. Because Julfalakyan reached the final, Ahmadov was a participant in the bronze medal repêchage, where he beat Aliaksandr Kikiniou in his bronze medal match.

People

Pantheon has 14 people classified as Azerbaijani wrestlers born between 1938 and 2001. Of these 14, 13 (92.86%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Azerbaijani wrestlers include Namig Abdullayev, Haji Aliyev, and Elnur Mammadli. The most famous deceased Azerbaijani wrestlers include Aydin Ibrahimov. As of April 2024, 4 new Azerbaijani wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Aydin Ibrahimov, Mammadali Mehdiyev, and Karamat Huseynov.

Living Azerbaijani Wrestlers

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Deceased Azerbaijani Wrestlers

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Newly Added Azerbaijani Wrestlers (2024)

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