Olympic gold medalist and World Freestyle wrestling champion Zaurbek Sidakov is reportedly considering a switch to MMA, according to UFC fighter Muhammadjon Naimov.
A three-time world champion, Sidakov won the gold in Men’s Freestyle Wrestling at 74 kilograms (163 pounds) at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. However, Sidakov isn’t eligible to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics as his name didn’t appear on the recently published list of Russian and Belarusian athletes approved to compete by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Russian and Belarusian athletes were initially banned from competing at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, the IOC later permitted the athletes to participate as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) approved by the Individual Neutral Athletes Eligibility Panel (AINERP). Athletes had to prove their dissociation from the war and their countries’ military forces to be eligible…