World Judo Championships 2025: Who Are The Favorites?
by Joseph King
Like the 2024 Olympic Games, the 2025 Judo Championships sees a total of 15 events (7 mens, 7 womens, 1 mixed). A total of 93 countries will be represented at this year’s Judo Championships in Budapest with a massive pool of 568 total competitors. Hosts Hungary will have 21 participants alone, which represents the most of any competing nation.
What’s up for grabs? Not only will the winners earn a coveted gold medal, but they are also competing for a piece of the €998,000 prize pool as well as Olympic Games ranking points.
Remember, no matter the competition, SportyTrader’s experts in sports predictions have got you covered! We’ve broken the week-long event down day by day so you know exactly what the top storylines will be.
Day 1 (June 13th)
- Men’s 60kg
- Women’s 48kg
Kicking off the first day of the 2025 World Judo Championships is the Men’s 60kg and Women’s 48kg events. On the men’s side, Giorgi Sardalashvili will be looking to defend his crown after winning in the 2024 edition. Sardalashvili is not the favorite, though. That honour goes to Japan’s Ryuju Nagayama, who claimed the Bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Games. Nagayama is seeking his first world championship after having to settle for third place in both 2018 and 2019.
On the women’s side, the 48kg event feels like it’s truly up for grabs with the defending world champion, Bavuudorjiin Baasankhuu, and the reigning Olympic gold medalist, Natsumi Tsunoda, both absent from the 2025 World Championships. Could the path be clearing for the top-seeded Shirine Boukli to win her first senior world title? Watch this space.
Day 2 (June 14th)
- Men’s 66kg
- Women’s 52kg
2024 Olympic gold medalist Hifumi Abe is the one to beat in the Men’s 66kg division. Across many bookmakers, Abe ranks as the biggest favourite on the board across all weight classes. One of the sport’s all-time greats, Abe is a four-time world champion (2017, 2018, 2022, 2023) as well as a back-to-back Olympic gold medalist (2020, 2024). It’s hard to see past the 27-year-old who looks to be in his prime years. Can anyone stop him?
It’s a family affair on Day 2 as Hifumi Abe’s sister, Uta Abe, will be one of the top contenders to watch out for in the Women's 52kg division. Like her brother, Uta Abe is a four-time world champion (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023) and a one-time Olympic gold medalist (2020). However, she comes unseeded into this event. Top-seeded Amandine Buchard may feel a bit unlucky having drawn Uta Abe in Pool A. Will the Abe family dominate once again?
Day 3 (June 15th)
- Men’s 73kg
- Women’s 57kg
Undoubtedly one of the biggest storylines of this event is whether or not Hidayat Heydarov will continue with his recent dominance of the Men’s 73kg division and claim yet another title. Heydarov marks only one of two total competitors in the 2025 World Judo Championships to be the defending world champion, reigning Olympic champion, current world number one as well as the top seed.
For the Women’s 57kg division, Mi-mi Huh is the current world champion and her chances of repeating are boosted by the absence of 2024 Paris Games gold medalist and world number one Christa Deguchi. Eteri Liparteliani of Georgia is the top seed.
Day 4 (June 16th)
- Men’s 81kg
- Women’s 63kg
Arguably the most wide-open of the men’s events is the 81kg division. While defending champion Tato Grigalashvili comes in as the slight favourite to retain his crown, competitors such as reigning Olympic gold medalist Takanori Nagase, Timur Arbuzov and Lee Joon-hwan (the current world number one) will all feel they have a good shot at taking the title.
Another women’s event that feels like it’s there for the taking is the 63kg division. 2024 Olympic Games gold medalist Andreja Leski will miss out, as will silver medalist Prisca Awiti Alcaraz. As if that weren’t enough, the current world number one Clarisse Agbegnenou will also not be in attendance. Defending world champion Joanne van Lieshout, Paris Games bronze medalist Laura Fazliu and top-seeded Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard will battle it out for the title in Budapest in what looks to be a division ripe for an upset.
Day 5 (June 17th)
- Men’s 90kg
- Women’s 70kg
Japan’s Sanshiro Murao comes in as the top seed and the current world number one in the Men’s 90kg division. However, Lasha Bekauri will be playing the role as the favourite. The 24-year-old Georgian is the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal winner, setting up what is sure to be a highly-competitive weight class.
With reigning Olympic gold medalist Barbara Matic missing out on the women’s side, all eyes will turn towards the top seed and current world number one Lara Cvjetko. She’s certainly one of the favorites to claim the title this year but will have to go up against defending champion Margaux Pinot in a potential high-octane quarter-final flash.
Day 6 (June 18th)
- Men’s 100kg
- Women’s 78kg
The Men’s 100kg division sees the second judoka on this list to be the reigning Olympic gold medalist, defending world champion, top seed and current world number one. Zelym Kotsoiev had a glittering 2024 and it will be a fascinating watch to see if he can continue his run in Budapest. Despite his dominance, Kotsoiev comes in as a slight underdog at some of the best online betting sites. The favorite is world number three Matvey Kanikovskiy, who has recent wins over Kotsoiev as well as the third betting favourite Ilia Sulamanidze. This is sure to be a highly-competitive weight class and is one you won’t want to miss!
Paris 2024 Olympic gold medal winner Alice Bellandi arrives in Budapest looking to claim her first ever world title in the Women's 78kg event. After finishing second in the 2024 World Judo Championships, she’ll be one of the top contenders to watch. Standing in her way could be Portugal’s Patricia Sampaio, who comes in as the top seed and world number one.
Day 7 (June 19th)
- Men’s +100kg
- Women’s +78kg
World number one and top-seeded Inal Tasoev comes in as the heavy favorite to take home the Men’s +100kg title. The 27-year-old Russian is the second-largest favourite on the board in the men’s events and it’s understandable as to why. 2024 Olympic Games gold medalist Teddy Riner will not be participating, meaning that Tasoev has an excellent chance to add his second world championship in 2025, after previously winning in 2023.
For the Women’s +78kg division, many will be eager to see if Paris gold medalist Beatriz Souza can carry over her momentum from the Olympics into this event. Romane Dicko, the current world number one, and defending champion Wakaba Tomita are the other top contenders.
