David Taylor’s journey to the World Championship mats is nothing short of taking a rollercoaster in a wrestling wonderland! It all began during the U.S. Olympic Trials, when the Magic Man’s tricks failed and Aaron Brooks went on to defeat him. This unfortunate moment in history was followed by a surprising one. Taylor went on to announce his retirement and step in as the head coach of Oklahoma State University. Just when the world had started to believe that Taylor had traded his singlet for the whistle, he went on to announce something better!

The Magic Man decided to show the world his tricks one last time! In September, he came out of retirement and entered the U.S. World Team Trials. And boy-oh-boy, has it been a comeback for the ages! David Taylor stepped onto the mat and took down NCAA champion Michael Macchiavello first. Then he went on to make All-Americans Trent Hidlay and Marcus Coleman look like they haven’t been wrestling for long. Last but not least came the best-of-three finals against the returning World medalist Zahid Valencia. Taylor took Zahid down and made his way to the Worlds list. What lies ahead is even more exciting for Taylor!

Time for Taylor to go against the “Best in the World”!

The World Championships this time might just see one of the greatest matches in wrestling history go down! David Taylor’s long-time dream opponent, Abdulrashid Sadulaev of Russia, has also qualified for the Worlds. This rivalry is one that has been brewing for some time. But the moment that brought the wish to fight to light happened in 2020 when Taylor infamously called out Sadulaev for a fight.

Unfortunately, back then, the time and circumstances did not align. But now, all the stars have aligned for the most anticipated match. Talking about the same, Taylor went on to say, “I’ve been in a lot of big matches in my life and wrestled all the legends in our sport. And he’s just the one guy I hadn’t got to. So I really want to make it happen.” It is evident that for Taylor, this match was not just as another competition but as a career milestone. A chance to square off against the best in the world!

As Taylor himself puts it, “We’ve been considered two of two of the best in the world for a while, but there’s been that weight class separation and other things. It’s a pretty crazy series of events that have led to us both being in this weight category for this event, a very low statistical probability. But now we could get to wrestle.” Right on, David Taylor! It is truly an intriguing turn of events that has brought the greatest together in the 92 kg category.

And that, too, it is a weight-class switch that both Abdulrashid Sadulaev and Taylor only recently made! While the switch in itself could be a make-or-break move, Taylor has a significant disadvantage going into the match at 92 kg!

While it is the debut in 92 for Taylor, the same is not true for Sadulaev!

The 2024 World Championships will be the first time that the world will see David Taylor wrestling in a weight class above 90. He is boldly stepping into uncharted territory. On the other hand, Abdulrashid Sadulaev is no stranger to this weight! In fact, he has a history of competing in the 92kg category. In 2018, when Sadulaev made the switch, he created history by winning the World Championship! That’s not all he did that year. Sadulaev then went on to win the Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin, defeating 2012 Olympian Anzor Urishev. The experience and wins that Sadulaev comes with could potentially be a threat to Taylor. Additionally, Sadulaev has a history of frequent switches!

During the Rio 2016 Olympics, Abdulrashid Sadulaev competed in the 86 kg. Despite the switch, he went on to win Gold. Soon after, coming to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he made another change. He decided to compete in the 97 kg weight class. The surprise came when he went on to win Gold in Tokyo, too! There is no questioning the adaptability of Sadulaev. And that adaptability could become a threat to the Magic Man. However, David Taylor has a bigger mission here. As Taylor himself puts it, “Win or lose, I want to compete at that level so that I know I’m not holding on to something, and no what ifs. I just want to be present in the moment and enjoy feeling excited.”