Iranian Wrestler Amirreza Masoumi Officially Chooses Azerbaijan, Could Have Competed for Armenia

On December 30, 2025, Iranian freestyle wrestler Amirreza Masoumi officially announced a change of his sporting nationality. In his statement, the athlete confirmed that starting from the new year he will represent Azerbaijan’s national team, expressing gratitude to all coaches and mentors for their support in Iran.

“From today, a new stage of my sports career begins. I am joining the Azerbaijani national team and will fight for success on the international stage,” Masoumi wrote on social media, noting that the decision was not motivated by financial reasons, but by the professional approach of the federation and respectful treatment from the very first days.

Earlier, it was reported that the 21-year-old wrestler held negotiations with the Wrestling Federation of Armenia and even considered the possibility of representing the country. Armenia could have strengthened its super heavyweight category, which has had almost no representation in recent years on the international stage: at the 2025 European Championship, Armenia’s representative in the up to 125 kg category was absent.

Amirreza Masoumi competes in the up to 125 kg category and has already established himself as one of the strongest wrestlers in the world in this weight class. However, in Iran’s senior national team, he could not break through due to competition with 24-year-old Amir Hossein Zare, a two-time world champion and Olympic silver and bronze medalist. Masoumi dreams of participating in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which led him to change his sporting nationality, ultimately choosing Azerbaijan.