WRESTLERS from Uzbekistan

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Uzbekistani Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Uzbekistani 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 Uzbekistani Wrestlers.

1. Rustam Kazakov (b. 1947)

With an HPI of 52.53, Rustam Kazakov is the most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages on wikipedia.

Rustem Kazakov (born 2 January 1947) is a former Soviet wrestler of Crimean Tatar heritage, Olympic Champion, born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR and affiliated with VS Tashkent. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich where he won a gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling, the bantamweight class. He is also two times world champion in 1969 and 1971.

2. Rafig Huseynov (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 43.27, Rafig Huseynov is the 2nd most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Rafig Huseynov (Azerbaijani: Rafiq Hüseynov; born 16 May 1988) is an Azerbaijani Greco-Roman wrestler. He defeated Hungarian Péter Bácsi for the gold medal in his respective division at the 2011 European Wrestling Championships in Dortmund, Germany. He won one of the bronze medals in his event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. In 2021, Rafig became the world champion; and in 2022 he was a three-time European champion. He competed in the 82 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia.

3. Rishod Sobirov (b. 1986)

With an HPI of 41.74, Rishod Sobirov is the 3rd most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Rishod Rashidovich Sobirov (Uzbek Cyrillic: Ришод Рашидович Собиров; born 11 September 1986) is an Uzbek judoka. He won the bronze medal in the Men's 60 kg at the 2008 Summer Olympics and two World Judo Championships in 2010 and 2011. Sobirov later won a bronze medal in the men's under 60 kg division at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and a bronze medal in the men's under 66 kg division at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

4. Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 39.03, Bekzod Abdurakhmonov is the 4th most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Bekzod Makhamadzhonovich Abdurakhmonov (Russian: Бекзод Махамаджонович Абдурахмонов; born 15 March 1990) is an Uzbekistani freestyle wrestler and mixed martial artist. He won the gold medal at the 2014 Asian Games in Men's 70 kg Freestyle wrestling. At the 2016 Olympics he beat former gold medalist Jordan Burroughs of the United States 11–1, but lost in the bronze-medal match to Jabrayil Hasanov of Azerbaijan. He won one of the bronze medals in the men's 74 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. In 2017, he won the gold medal in the men's 74 kg event at the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi, India. In the final he defeated Muslim Evloev of Kyrgyzstan. He competed at the 2024 Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and he earned a quota place for Uzbekistan for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Bekzod Abdurakhmonov also wrestled under folkstyle rules in America's NCAA D1 where he achieved All-American status for Pennsylvania's Clarion University in 2012, finishing in 3rd place.

5. Davlat Bobonov (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 37.38, Davlat Bobonov is the 5th most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Davlat Bobonov (born 7 June 1997) is an Uzbek judoka. He won one of the bronze medals in the men's 90 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He is the 2020 Judo Grand Slam Düsseldorf gold medallist in the −90 kg class. He won one of the bronze medals in his event at the 2022 Judo Grand Slam Paris held in Paris, France.

6. Elmurat Tasmuradov (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 36.00, Elmurat Tasmuradov is the 6th most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Elmurat Tasmuradov (Kazakh: Елмұрат Зұлыпқарұлы Тасмұратов born 12 December 1991) is an Uzbekistani Kazakh Greco-Roman wrestler. He competed in the 55 kg event at the 2012 Summer Olympics and was eliminated in the 1/8 finals by Péter Módos. He won a bronze medal in the 59 kg division at the 2016 Olympics. He won a gold medal four times at the Asian Championship (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018) and a silver medal (2012).

7. Gulnoza Matniyazova (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 34.56, Gulnoza Matniyazova is the 7th most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Gulnoza Jumaboy qizi Matniyazova (born 10 August 1994) is an Uzbekistani judoka. She competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the women's 70 kg event, in which she was eliminated in the first round by Katarzyna Kłys. She also competed in the women's 70 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. At the 2019 Asian-Pacific Judo Championships held in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, she won the silver medal in the women's 70 kg event. In the women's 70 kg event at the 2019 Military World Games held in Wuhan, China, she won one of the bronze medals. In 2021, she competed in the women's 70 kg event at the Judo World Masters held in Doha, Qatar.

8. Gulomjon Abdullaev (b. 1998)

With an HPI of 34.11, Gulomjon Abdullaev is the 8th most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Gulomjon Abdullaev (born 11 November 1998) is an Uzbekistani freestyle wrestler who competes at 57 kilograms. A 2016 Junior World Championship bronze medalist, Abdullaev qualified to represent Uzbekistan at the 2020 Summer Olympics after sweeping out the 2021 Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament. In 2022, he won the silver medal in his event at the Yasar Dogu Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey. He won the gold medal in his event at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games held in Konya, Turkey. He competed in the 57 kg event at the 2022 World Wrestling Championships held in Belgrade, Serbia. He also was a collegiate wrestler for Menlo College in California, USA, where he was a national champion winning 7–3 in the NAIA national championship match. He competed at the 2024 Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and he earned a quota place for Uzbekistan for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. He won one of the bronze medals in the men's freestyle 57 kg event at the Olympics.

9. Sharafuddin Lutfillaev (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 33.46, Sharafuddin Lutfillaev is the 9th most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 11 different languages.

Sharafuddin Lutfillaev (born 9 September 1990) is an Uzbekistani judoka who competes in the –60 kg weight category. He has participated in various international judo tournaments and earned medals in significant competitions, including the World Championships and Asian Championships.

10. Jalgasbay Berdimuratov (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 31.48, Jalgasbay Berdimuratov is the 10th most famous Uzbekistani Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 12 different languages.

Jalgasbay Berdimuratov (born 27 March 1997) is an Uzbekistani Greco-Roman wrestler. He is a two-time medalist at the World Wrestling Championships. He is a four-time medalist, including gold, at the Asian Wrestling Championships. He is also a gold medalist at the 2021 Islamic Solidarity Games.