Mammadaliyev’s Seoi-otoshi Decides Budapest -73 kg Final

Rashid Mammadaliyev of Azerbaijan claimed -73 kg gold in Budapest after a decisive final against Sweden’s Narek Vardanian. The contest turned with 30 seconds left, when Mammadaliyev used Ko-uchi-gari to provoke a reaction before dropping underneath Vardanian for a clean Seoi-otoshi and Ippon.

Vardanian, still only 18, arrived in the final with a growing list of junior and senior-level results. The Swedish judoka won silver at the 2025 European Junior Championships and finished fifth at the World Junior Championships in Lima. In 2026, he added bronze medals at the La Nucia/Benidorm European Open and Paks Junior European Cup, alongside a fifth-place finish at the Qingdao Grand Prix.

However, Mammadaliyev brought greater experience into the title contest. Ranked seventh in the world before the event, the Azerbaijani had already earned bronze at the 2025 European Championships and Paris Grand Slam, as well as silver at the Baku Grand Slam. He also took bronze at the 2026 Dushanbe Grand Slam.

From the opening exchanges, Mammadaliyev applied pressure and forced Vardanian to collect two Shido. The Swedish athlete remained in the fight, but the final sequence gave Mammadaliyev the finish he needed. His combination from Ko-uchi-gari into Seoi-otoshi ended the match without doubt.

One sharp opening was enough to settle the -73 kg final.

Mammadaliyev said he was happy with the Budapest victory and credited the work of his coaches and medical team. He also noted that it was his first competition with six fights and described every round as a battle. Aware of Vardanian’s strong leg techniques, he said his focus was on avoiding openings for the Swedish judoka.

The bronze medals went to Shusuke Uchimura of Japan and Ibrahim Demirel of Türkiye. Uchimura scored Waza-ari with a controlled Yoko-tomoe-nage against Messaoud Redouane Dris of Algeria, securing his fourth grand slam medal.

Demirel and Italy’s Giovanni Esposito produced a high-tempo contest. Demirel first led with Ko-soto-gari, Esposito equalised, and the Turkish judoka moved ahead again with an Ura-nage counter. Demirel then scored once more late in the contest, with the score upgraded from Waza-ari to Ippon.

The final -73 kg standings placed Mammadaliyev first, Vardanian second, and Uchimura and Demirel joint third.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation