The Most Famous

WRESTLERS from Iran

This page contains a list of the greatest Iranian Wrestlers. The pantheon dataset contains 1,027 Wrestlers, 20 of which were born in Iran. This makes Iran the birth place of the 15th most number of Wrestlers behind Cuba, and Germany.

Top 10

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

1. The Iron Sheik (1942 - 2023)

With an HPI of 71.31, The Iron Sheik is the most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages on wikipedia.

Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (March 15, 1942 – June 7, 2023), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, was an Iranian and American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. To date he is the only Iranian-born champion in WWE history, having won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1983. Vaziri's career peaked during the 1980s WWF wrestling boom, and his rivalry with Hulk Hogan turned Hogan into one of the greatest television heroes of the decade. He later formed a tag team with Nikolai Volkoff, which won the WWF Tag Team Championship at the inaugural WrestleMania event. In 2005, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. A heel throughout the 1980s, Sheik later gained popularity on the Kidd Chris show, The Howard Stern Show, Opie and Anthony, and the Internet due to his shoot interviews, vulgar language, and apparent intense dislike for some of his fellow professional wrestlers, particularly Hogan and Brian Blair; however, the true nature of his relationship with Hogan has been a subject of debate.

2. Gholamreza Takhti (1930 - 1968)

With an HPI of 60.29, Gholamreza Takhti is the 2nd most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Gholamreza Takhti (Persian: غلامرضا تختی; 27 August 1930 – 7 January 1968) was an Iranian freestyle wrestler and a practitioner of varzesh-e bastani (traditional Persian sport). He was a gold medalist at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1958 Asian Games, 1959 World Championships, and 1961 World Championships, as well as a three-time Pahlevan of Iran. Popularly nicknamed Jahân Pahlevân (Persian: جهان پهلوان, lit. 'World Champion') because of his chivalrous behavior and sportsmanship (Javanmardi in Iranian culture), he was the most popular athlete of Iran in the 20th century, although dozens of Iranian athletes have won more international medals than he did. Takhti is still considered a hero to many Iranians. He is listed in the UWW Hall of Fame.

3. Emam-Ali Habibi (1931 - 2025)

With an HPI of 55.40, Emam-Ali Habibi is the 3rd most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Emam-Ali Habibi Goudarzi (Persian: امامعلی حبیبی گودرزی, 1931 – 24 August 2025) was an Iranian freestyle wrestler. He won gold medals at the 1958 Asian Games; 1959, 1961 and 1962 world championships; and 1956 Olympics, placing fourth in 1960. In 2007 he was inducted into the FILA Hall of Fame. Habibi was the fourth and the last son in a large family. He lost his father at the age of 12.

4. Matt Ghaffari (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 50.46, Matt Ghaffari is the 4th most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Siamak "Matt" Ghaffari ( gə-FAR-ee; Persian: سیامک غفاری, Persian pronunciation: [siːɒːmæk-e ɢæˈffɒːɾiː]; born November 11, 1961, in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran) is an Iranian-born American Greco-Roman wrestler, MMA Fighter and professional wrestler. Ghaffari was a two-time USA Olympic team member, obtaining a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games. Ghaffari finished his career with the most Greco-Roman World and Olympic medals by a United States wrestler. Ghaffari is considered the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler in American history, and is regarded as the standard for Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. In all, he won six national championships, four World Cups, two Pan-American Games, seven Pan-American championships (including titles in 1990 and 1992 in freestyle wrestling), and 13 Grand Prix tournament titles. He further represented his adopted country six times in World Championships and was twice named the United States Olympic Committee Greco-Roman Wrestler of the Year, in 1996 and 1998.

5. Abbas Jadidi (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 45.57, Abbas Jadidi is the 5th most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Abbas Jadidi (Persian: عباس جدیدی; born 13 January 1969) is an Iranian wrestler who competed in the Freestyle Heavyweight (90–100 kg) category at the 1996 Summer Olympics, losing to Kurt Angle and winning the silver medal. He won the 1993 FILA World Wrestling Championships, but later tested positive for a banned substance. He was stripped of the title and suspended from competing for two years for doping. He was elected as a member of Tehran City Council in 2013 local elections.

6. Rasoul Khadem (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 45.31, Rasoul Khadem is the 6th most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Rasoul Khadem Azghadi (Persian: رسول خادم ازغدی, born March 18, 1972) is a former Iranian wrestler who has won a bronze medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics and a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics. He was also the 1994 and 1995 world champion and 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 Asian champion. He was trained by his father Mohammad Khadem, and he is also the younger brother of Olympic wrestling bronze medalists Amir Reza Khadem and Ebrahim Khadem. He was the president of Islamic Republic of Iran Wrestling Federation from January 4, 2014, to November 3, 2018. He was also the technical director of Iran's wrestling national teams and the head coach of Iran's freestyle national team from January 2012 to 2018. In addition, he was elected as an executive board member of National Olympic Committee of Iran on January 20, 2014, and served until January 2018.

7. Saeid Mollaei (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 45.13, Saeid Mollaei is the 7th most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Saeid Mollaei (Persian: سعید ملایی; Mongolian: Саид Моллай; Azerbaijani: Səid Mollayi; born January 5, 1992) is an Iranian-born Mongolian half-middleweight judoka. He was born in Tehran to ethnic Azerbaijani parents originally from Khoy. Iranian authorities ordered Mollaei to lose intentionally in the semi-final at the Tokyo 2019 World Championships, so as to avoid a potential match in the finals against Israeli 2019 world champion Sagi Muki. In August 2019, he moved to Europe with a two-year visa from Germany, saying he was afraid to return to Iran after exposing and criticizing its pressure on him to deliberately lose in the World Championships. In December 2019, he became a citizen of Mongolia. He dedicated his 2020 Olympic medal to Mongolia, to the Mongol people, and to Israel. From May 2022 on, Mollaei represents Azerbaijan.

8. Hassan Yazdani (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 44.14, Hassan Yazdani is the 8th most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Hassan Yazdani Charati (Persian: حسن یزدانی چراتی; born 26 December 1994) is an Iranian freestyle wrestler. Yazdani is an Olympic and World Champion in freestyle wrestling in two weight categories. He became Olympic champion in the 74kg category at the 2016 Summer Olympics after defeating Russian wrestler Aniuar Geduev in the final. The following year he became World Champion at the 2017 World Wrestling Championships in the Men's freestyle 86 kg category. He won his second world title at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in Kazakhstan and third at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships in Norway. Hasan Yazdani has been the sportsman of the year and the best wrestler of Iran several times

9. Askari Mohammadian (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 43.62, Askari Mohammadian is the 9th most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Askari Mohammadian (Persian: عسگری محمدیان, born 2 March 1963) is a retired Iranian freestyle wrestler. He won gold medals at the 1983 Asian Championships and 1986 Asian Games, placing second at the 1982 Asian Games, 1988 and 1992 Olympics, 1989 world and 1989 Asian Championships. His 1988 Olympic silver was the only medal for Iran at those Games. He is the father of World bronze medalist Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian.

10. Amir Reza Khadem (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 42.49, Amir Reza Khadem is the 10th most famous Iranian Wrestler. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Amir Reza Khadem Azghadi (Persian: امیررضا خادم ازغدی, born 10 February 1970) is an Iranian wrestler who won Olympic bronze medals in 1992 and 1996. He finished fourth at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and he won the 1991 World Championships, He also won a bronze medal at the 1990 World Championships and the 1992 and 1993 Asian Championships and a silver medal at the 1991 Asian Championships and the 1994 Asian Games. He was trained by his father Mohammad Khadem. His younger brother Rasoul Khadem is also a world champion and an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling. He is currently Vice Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in Legal, Parliamentary and Provincial Affairs, has been appointed for the position on 30 December 2013.

People

Pantheon has 27 people classified as Iranian wrestlers born between 1930 and 2001. Of these 27, 24 (88.89%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Iranian wrestlers include Matt Ghaffari, Abbas Jadidi, and Rasoul Khadem. The most famous deceased Iranian wrestlers include The Iron Sheik, Gholamreza Takhti, and Emam-Ali Habibi. As of April 2024, 8 new Iranian wrestlers have been added to Pantheon including Abbas Jadidi, Askari Mohammadian, and Amir Reza Khadem.