Paris 2024 Wrestling Odds: Will Yazdani’s Legacy Grow?

Yazdani is Iran’s best chance to add a gold to the medal table at the Paris Games. He is strong as an ox and one of the toughest active wrestlers. This was on display in the Rio and Tokyo Games.

The 5-foot-11 native of Lapu Sahra, Iran, won the Rio 2016 gold medal at 74 kg. He moved up to 86 kg and came up short in the match for gold against the USA’s David Taylor at Tokyo 2020. It was a tough loss for Yazdani, but Taylor has had his number!

Since then, Yazdani has lost two matches, both against Taylor! He boasts a record of 22-2 at 86 kg following his defeat to Taylor at Tokyo 2020. In his latest major tournament, Yazdani captured the gold at the Asian Games in October.

Overall, Yazdani owns an incredible record of 124-8 across all his matches dating back to 2014. Like many Iranian wrestlers, he employs an unconventional style that values under hooks. He also has a solid double-leg takedown in his arsenal.

Yazdani is a master of exploiting his opponent’s mistakes. The 30-year-old world champion uses his brute strength to force pushouts. This is all included in a package that features tremendous cardio and flexibility. Yazdani’s lanky frame gives him an advantage over bulkier fighters in the 96 kg weight class!

Brooks has two losses to Taylor, but he defeated the fellow American in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials to reach Paris 2024 and deny a rematch between Yazdani and Taylor. The 2023 U23 World Champion and former Big Ten Wrestler of the Year owns an overall record of 22-7.

The 24-year-old St. Louis native is likely the only wrestler at Paris 2024 who can compete with Yazdani. He is in terrific form at the moment, with a 10-match win streak, which goes back to his first bout in the 2023 U23 World Championship.

Penn State’s Aaron Brooks takes down reigning Olympic Champion David Taylor to win Round 1 of the Championship Series. #WrestlingTrials24 pic.twitter.com/XZIj1ElyLT

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) April 20, 2024

However, he’ll have to be more aggressive and attack at Paris 2024. Countering and waiting for mistakes likely won’t happen against Yazdani. The Iranian legend doesn’t make many mistakes for Brooks to execute successful counters.

This strategy works well against inferior wrestlers and Taylor, who is 33 years old and out of his prime now. Failing to engage and take the initiative against Yazdani will result in a loss.

Micic was born in Mesa, Arizona, and attended the University of Michigan. He still decided opted to represent Team Serbia at Paris 2024. It’s a big win for the European nation, who gets a three-time All-American NCAA wrestler on their squad.

Last year, Micic reached the pinnacle of his career with a gold medal in the 2023 World Championships. He went 5-0, three of which were against previous world champions. Micic was in the best form of his career, with some extra motivation to win in Belgrade.

He did not have a great 2022 season, though. The Serb fell well below expectations but returned in 2023 to the best results of his career. Will Micic roll through the Olympics, or face stiff resistance from Lee?

Lee is coming for Micic and the rest of the field at Paris 2024. Despite entering the Olympics trailing Micic in the wrestling odds, Lee has just as strong of a chance, if not better than the favorite.

The 25-year-old Denver native is reaching his peak form at the right time as well. He is coming off a gold medal in the 57 kg class at the 2024 Pan American Games. Lee defeated Rakhat Kal to win the gold and maintain his perfect freestyle record of 27-0.

Spencer Lee Tech'd His Way To A Pan-Am Gold pic.twitter.com/9Ecgdq9VPI

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) February 26, 2024

In 2023, Lee suffered a stunning upset in the NCAA Championships against Matt Ramos. Since failing to win his fourth NCAA title, Lee has been rolling over the competition. He undoubtedly learned a lot from that loss, and I suspect he will be locked in for Paris 2024.

At +185, Lee winning the 57 kg gold is well worth considering in the Summer Games this August!

Zare is a mountain of a man that isn’t easy to push around. The Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist returns to the Olympics with a new perspective and experience. He was only 20 years old last time around, so the Iranian has gained much-needed time on the mat against elite foes since then.

He plowed through the competition to win the 2022 Asian Games, and then a year later captured gold in the 2023 World Championships. Zare cleared Georgian wrestler Geno Petriashvili in the final to win gold.

Currently, Zare has won 10 consecutive matches and owns an overall record of 42-5. He returns to the Olympics seeking to upgrade his bronze from Tokyo to a Gold in Paris. In my opinion, Zare has to be considered for your Olympic wrestling betting card!

Can Parris win an Olympic gold medal for Team USA? Oddsmakers believe that Parris has a 22.2% chance to pull it off! That appears about right, but he will need the tournament of his career to upset the surging Zare.

Parris is another wrestling product from the University of Michigan. In his fifth year in college, he steamrolled the competition for a 33-0 record. His international career has had some bumps along the way, but overall has been reliable.

Mason Parris cruised to gold in a ranking series bracket that included 8 Olympians and 10x World/Olympic medalist Geno Petriashvili! pic.twitter.com/omI9icgQWu

— FloWrestling (@FloWrestling) June 6, 2024

The 24-year-old is the defending gold medalist at the Pan American Championships. He’s won nine straight matches, including over Hayden Zillmer in the U.S. Team Trials to qualify for Paris 2024. That said, Parris had to settle for a bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships following a 6-8 loss to Petriashvili in the semifinals.

On the world stage against the elite wrestlers, Parris will likely run into a wall again. That wall is probably going to be Zare! I recommend backing the monstrous Iranian for your Paris 2024 wrestling betting picks.

Tazhudinov is coming off quite the season! He captured the 2023 Asian Games and 2023 World Championships gold medals. The Bahrain wrestler was able to defend his Asian Games title with another victory in 2024.

He’s on a roll with 23 consecutive wins, including over Snyder in September 2023 at the World Championships. Tazhudinov’s latest loss was in February 2023 against Vladislav Baitcaev. He’s torn through the competition ever since.

We had no other option but to put out the highlights of Akhmed TAZHUDINOV 🇧🇭

His run to the 97kg final at #WrestleBelgrade

SF: df. Abdulrashid SADULAEV (AIN), 9-2 (via inj. def.)
QF: df. Kyle SNYDER 🇺🇸, 11-0
1/8F: df. Maxwell LACEY 🇨🇷, 10-0
1/16F: df. Magomed IBRAGIMOV 🇺🇿, 10-0 pic.twitter.com/kypZm5eHSu

— United World Wrestling (@wrestling) September 18, 2023

Overall, Tazhudinov sports a near-perfect record of 28-2 in his international career! Snyder is out for revenge at Paris 2024, but it’s not going to be an easy chore to defeat this focused 21-year-old.

Snyder is entering the Olympics with confidence after winning the 2024 Pan American Games and cruising past the U.S. Team Trials. After losing to Tazudinov, Snyder went on a 10-match win streak. However, none of these wins were against wrestlers as creative as his main Paris 2024 rival.

Snyder’s strength is his aggression. It’s often too much for opponents that can’t counter as well as Tazhudinov. However, the world champion has an incredible knack for turning an opponent’s offense into points.

Snyder didn’t have the required range to compete with the fast-rising Tazhudinov, so he took an 11-0 loss!

Nevertheless, Snyder is still a legend of the sport of wrestling in the United States. He has collected countless Pan American, World Cup, World Championship, and Grand Prix gold medals.

On top of that, Snyder won the gold at Rio 2016 and silver at Tokyo 2020. I expect him to win another medal, but the gold likely belongs to Tazhudinov in a potential highly anticipated rematch!