Turkiye Sweeps Team Title at 2026 Karakucak World Championships in Ankara

The er meydani—the traditional wrestling ground—in Ankara's Keçiören district turned into a fortress for the host nation this weekend. At the second annual Karakucak World Championships, Turkiye fiercely defended its home turf, capturing five gold medals to secure the overall team title with 200 points. They comfortably outpaced a loaded Iranian squad that finished second with 165 points, while Azerbaijan took third with 107. For a sport deeply embedded in Turkish cultural heritage, the sheer dominance of the home team sent a clear message: the rest of the world might be learning the ropes, but the masters still own the grass.[1][2]

If you aren't familiar with Karakucak, it is a raw, outdoor form of traditional Turkish wrestling contested entirely on grass. Unlike the slick, slippery battles of Kırkpınar oil wrestling, Karakucak competitors grapple dry, wearing a heavy traditional canvas garment known as a 'pirpit'. Matches consist of a single eight-minute period where points are accumulated continuously, and the first wrestler to score in a tiebreaker wins. It is a grueling test of grip strength, leverage, and endurance under the open sky.[1][2][4]

The stakes for this ancient sport have skyrocketed over the past two years. United World Wrestling (UWW) officially added Karakucak to its international calendar last year, transforming a regional tradition into a lucrative global battleground. With a massive $326,000 prize purse distributed among the competitors this weekend, the intensity on the pitch matched the massive financial incentives. The integration of local cultural festivals with a sanctioned world championship creates a unique, high-energy atmosphere that standard indoor arena tournaments simply cannot replicate, drawing massive crowds to the Keçiören district.[1][3]

The absolute pinnacle of the weekend arrived in the +90kg heavyweight division, where Turkish powerhouse Feyzullah Akturk put his crown on the line. Akturk, who won the inaugural championship in 2025, faced a brutal test against Mongolia's Altangerel Chinbat in the final. In a grinding, physical bout, Akturk executed a decisive 3-1 victory to claim his second consecutive world title. The win didn't just cement his legacy as the undisputed king of the heavyweights; it also earned him a staggering $100,000 winner's check, proving that traditional wrestling now offers some of the biggest single-day payouts in combat sports.[1][2]

Turkiye's gold rush started long before the heavyweights took the field. The host nation set a punishing pace in the lighter brackets, systematically dismantling international challengers. Saban Kiziltas ignited the crowd by securing Turkiye's first gold at 60kg, outlasting Iran's Sajad Salehpour in a tense final. The momentum was contagious. Hamza Zopali followed up with a decisive victory over Azerbaijan's Agha Gasimov at 65kg, and Ferhat Kilic kept the streak alive by shutting out Romania's Eduard Lenard 3-0 to capture the 70kg crown. Every time a Turkish wrestler stepped onto the grass, they dictated the pace and the physicality of the match.[1][3]

One of the most compelling storylines of the tournament emerged at 75kg, where 29-year-old Fazli Eryilmaz put on an absolute clinic to defeat Azerbaijan's Omar Gulmammadov for the gold. Eryilmaz isn't just a traditional wrestling specialist; he's a decorated freestyle wrestler with a pedigree of international medals. Coming from a family with a deep wrestling lineage, Eryilmaz recently transferred to the Bursa Buyuksehir Belediyespor club to elevate his training. For Eryilmaz, conquering the Karakucak world stage is just a stepping stone. His ultimate target is transitioning this momentum back to the freestyle mat to chase a medal at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.[1]

Despite the overwhelming success of the Turkish roster, the tournament highlighted the rapidly expanding international footprint of Karakucak. A staggering 145 athletes from 31 different countries descended on the Bağlum Şehit Hüseyin Demirtaş Stadium. Nations like Romania, Mongolia, and Iran successfully placed athletes on the podium, proving that the unique mechanics of the 'pirpit' and the outdoor grass format are being decoded by foreign wrestling programs. The fact that international competitors are pushing Turkish specialists to the brink in their own ancestral sport speaks volumes about the global talent pool UWW is tapping into.[1][2]

Organized by the Turkish Traditional Wrestling Federation (TGGF) with heavy backing from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the 2026 championships were a logistical and competitive triumph. Following the success of the inaugural 2025 event in Kahramanmaraş, this year's spectacle in Ankara proves that Karakucak has serious staying power on the world stage. UWW's strategy to elevate traditional wrestling styles is clearly paying off, drawing top-tier international talent with massive prize pools and elite production values. The event seamlessly blended high-level athletic competition with a celebration of Turkish heritage.[1][3][4]

High stakes, massive payouts, and a roaring, partisan home crowd—the 2026 Karakucak Championships delivered everything you want in a premier combat sports event. The fusion of ancient tradition and modern sports entertainment has created a thrilling new lane in the wrestling world. As the discipline continues to grow its global footprint, the challenge for the rest of the world is steep. Beating the Turkish squad on their own grass is going to take a monumental effort, but with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line, you can bet the international challengers will be back next year, hungrier than ever.[4]