WRESTLERS from Israel

Top 10

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

1. Oren Smadja (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 43.26, Oren Smadja is the most famous Israeli Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Shay-Oren Smadja (Hebrew: אורן סמדג'ה; born 20 June 1970) is an Israeli judo coach and former competitive judoka. Smadja won an Olympic bronze medal in judo at the 1992 Summer Olympics, making him the first Israeli male to win an Olympic medal, and the second Israeli overall after Yael Arad who won silver in judo the day before.

2. Ariel Ze'evi (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 42.88, Ariel Ze'evi is the 2nd most famous Israeli Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Ariel "Arik" Ze'evi (Hebrew: אריאל "אריק" זאבי; born 16 January 1977) is an Israeli retired dan 6 black belt in judo. He had a long and successful career competing in half-heavyweight judo competitions. He won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the men's 100 kg judo competition.

3. Yarden Gerbi (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 39.08, Yarden Gerbi is the 3rd most famous Israeli Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Yarden Gerbi (or Jerbi, Hebrew: ירדן ג'רבי; born 8 July 1989) is an Israeli former judoka world champion. She won an Olympic bronze medal competing for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics, in women's 63 kg judo. Gerbi won the gold medal at the 2013 World Judo Championships in the ‍–‍63 kg category. She won the Israeli championship five times by the age of 24, and was a silver medalist in the 2009 Maccabiah Games.

4. Sagi Muki (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 38.60, Sagi Muki is the 4th most famous Israeli Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Sagi Aharon Muki (or Moki; Hebrew: שגיא אהרון מוקי; born 17 May 1992) is an Israeli Olympic and former world champion half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Champion. He also won the 2015 and 2018 European championships. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics mixed team event, Muki was a member of the Israeli team that won a bronze medal. In August 2011, Muki won the European Cup U20 in Berlin in the under 73 kilogram (161-pound) category. He won gold medals in February 2013 at the European Open in Tbilisi, Georgia, in June 2013 at the European Open Tallinn, and in October 2013 at the European Open Minsk in the under 73 weight class. He won the 2014 Baku Grand Slam in Azerbaijan in the under 73 kg category, and the following month he won another IJF World Tour gold medal, this time at the 2014 Havana Grand Prix in the under 73 kg category. Muki is a two-time Israeli judo champion. In June 2015, representing Israel at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan, he won the gold medal and the European championship in judo in the under 73 kg weight class. Competing for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics he came in 5th place in the men's 73 kg event. He was ranked No. 1 in the world in March 2019. Muki represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in judo in the men's 81 kg event, and came in ninth, and in the mixed team event, in which Team Israel came in ninth.

5. Or Sasson (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 38.47, Or Sasson is the 5th most famous Israeli Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Or "Ori" Sasson (Hebrew: אור "אורי" ששון; born 18 August 1990) is a retired Israeli Olympic judoka. He won a bronze medal in the +100 kg category at the 2016 Summer Olympics and another one at the mixed team event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He was the second Israeli to win two Olympic medals. In June 2015, representing Israel at the 2015 European Games in judo in the +100 kg category in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sasson won a silver medal at the 2015 European Championships which was held during the European Games.

6. Inbar Lanir (b. 2000)

With an HPI of 34.68, Inbar Lanir is the 6th most famous Israeli Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Inbar Lanir (Hebrew: ענבר לניר; born 3 April 2000) is an Israeli Olympic silver medalist judoka and 2023 world champion. She competes in the under 78 kg weight category. She also won a bronze medal in the mixed team event at the 2020 Olympic Games. In addition to winning the 2023 world championship, she won gold medals at the 2023 World Masters and the 2023 Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam. Lanir competed for Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics, and won the silver medal in the women's 78 kg, while she also represented Israel in the mixed team event, in which Team Israel came in ninth. As of November 2024, Lanir is the top ranked Israeli judoka.

7. Tohar Butbul (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 33.99, Tohar Butbul is the 7th most famous Israeli Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Tohar Butbul (Hebrew: טוהר בוטבול; born 24 January 1994) is an Israeli retired Olympic judoka. He competes in the under 73 kg weight category, where he won silver medals at the 2019 World Masters and the 2021 European Championships, and won bronze medals in the 2017 Paris Grand Slam and 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. As of March 2018 he was ranked #9 in the world in the 73 kg division. He was a member of the Israeli team that won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Butbul represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in judo in the men's 73 kg event in which he came in ninth, and in the mixed team event, in which Team Israel came in ninth.

8. Alice Schlesinger (b. 1988)

With an HPI of 33.87, Alice Schlesinger is the 8th most famous Israeli Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Alice Schlesinger (Hebrew: אליס שלזינגר; born 26 May 1988) is an Israeli-British retired judoka and sambo competitor. She is a shodan in Judo. Born in Israel, she competed for that country until 2014, but following a dispute with the national federation, in 2015 she started competing for Great Britain, of whom she is a citizen through her English-born mother. She is a World Judo Championships bronze medalist (2009), European Judo Championships silver (2019) and bronze (2008, 2009, 2012 & 2017) medalist, world champion in Sambo (2013, 2014 & 2021) as well as world champion in Kurash (2013).

9. Gefen Primo (b. 2000)

With an HPI of 30.00, Gefen Primo is the 9th most famous Israeli Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 14 different languages.

Gefen Primo (Hebrew: גפן פרימו; born (2000-03-26)26 March 2000) is an Israeli judoka. She competes in the under 52 kg weight category. She won a gold medal at the 2017 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival. She won individual bronze medals in the 2018 European Championships, 2021 World Championships and 2021 European Championships as well as a team bronze at the 2022 World Championships. Primo represented Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in judo in the women's 52 kg, in which she came in seventh, and in the mixed team event, in which Team Israel came in ninth.

10. Noam Dar (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 29.89, Noam Dar is the 10th most famous Israeli Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Noam Dar (Hebrew: נועם דר; born 28 July 1993) is an Israeli-Scottish professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE where he performs on the NXT brand and is a record-setting four-time NXT Heritage Cup Champion. Dar first wrestled for WWE in the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic, and is the first wrestler of Israeli origin to perform for the company. He has also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and on its British Boot Camp series, as well as Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW), Progress Wrestling, Preston City Wrestling (PCW), Dragon Gate UK (DGUK), Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW), Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw), Global Force Wrestling (GFW), and Ring of Honor (ROH). He's a two-time ICW 0-G Champion, a one-time PCW Cruiserweight Champion, and a one-time ICW World Heavyweight Champion, among other championships and accomplishments.