Olympic Games Preview Series: 130 kg Greco-Roman

The race for gold at 130 kg is ultimately a two horse race. Riza Kayaalp and Mijain Lopez are by far the best two wrestlers in this weight class and possibly two of the best Greco-Roman heavyweights ever. Between the two of them they have 17 World and Olympic medals and if they do not get injured this year in Rio, two more medals will be added to that total.

Favorite:

Mijain Lopez Cuba: Over the past decade, no one at any weight class as been quite as dominant as Mijain Lopez. He has won two Olympic gold medals and five World titles in that ten year span . All together, Lopez has 10 Olympic and World medals in his trophy case. Even though Riza Kayaalp beat him last year in Las Vegas, Lopez still comes in as a slight favorite and will be looking to win a third Olympic gold medal.

Contender:

Riza Kayaalp Turkey- Kayaalp and only Kayaalp will be able to stop Lopez from winning his third Olympic gold. Considering that Kayaalp has defeated Lopez before, the task of stopping him from winning three straight Olympics does not seem impossible.

Dark Horses:

Heiki Nabi Estonia- From 2006 to 2015, only two World Championships were not won by Kayaalp or Lopez. Both of tournaments were won by Heiki Nabi. The two-time World champion and Olympic silver medalist is looking to add to his legacy by claiming one last medal in Rio.

Sergey Semenov Russia- Despite never wrestling in an Olympics or World Championships, the young Russian is poised to make a run at the podium on Monday. In 2014, Semenov won a Junior World title and was a runner-up at this year's World Cup. To go along with those accomplishments, Semenov also defeated fellow Russian and 8 time World/Olympic medalist Bilyal Makhov this year at Russian Nationals. It will be extremely interesting to see how Semenov stacks up against the two tyrants of Kayaalp and Lopez in Rio.

Robby Smith USA- Robby Smith could be the most friendly person in wrestling and resembles a man that one would like to sit down and have a beer with. Even though he might act jolly off the mat, when Smith enters that circle, he becomes a man on a mission. The 29 year-old American has been painfully close several times to winning a World medal and will be in the mix once

again for one in Rio.

Predictions:

With Mijain Lopez on the verge of turning 34, this could be the last time we ever get to see him and Riza Kayaalp wrestle. The two have battled for the better part of this decade and they have spoiled us with many great matches over the years. I think Lopez will take the final rubber match between the two and win his third Olympic gold medal. After Lopez and Kayaalp, this weight is somewhat wide open. With a good draw, someone could very well sneak their way onto the podium. In my opinion, I think those two guys will be Sergey Semenov and Robby Smith. Semenov has already proven that he can hang with the big boys by beating Makhov and Robby Smith can put up so many points that he is never out of a match.

Gold: Mijain Lopez

Silver: Riza Kayaalp

Bronze: Robby Smith

Bronze: Sergey Semenov

5th: Heiki Nabi

5th: Sabahi Shariati