Yianni Diakomihalis vs Nick Lee - Final X Preview & Prediction
Yianni Diakomihalis vs Nick Lee - Final X Preview & Prediction
A full preview and prediction for the 2023 Final X matchup between Yianni Diakomihalis and Nick Lee.
Final X 2023 presented by Tezos is set to go down on June 10 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This event will feature the best wrestlers in the United States as they seek to make Team USA’s 2023 World Team. The 65kg matchup between Yianni Diakomihalis and Nick Lee will be one of the best of the night. Check out the below article for a full breakdown of this incredible matchup!
Match History
Yianni Diakomihalis and Nick Lee have only wrestled twice in their competitive careers - once in folkstyle and once in freestyle. Their first match came all the way back at the 2017 Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open when Yianni was a true freshman and Lee was still in high school. In that match, Yianni controlled from start to finish with 4 takedowns, and a reversal while Nick Lee only scored 1 takedown.
Lee and Diakomihalis then wrestled 3 and a half years later at the Tokyo Olympic Trials in the third-place bout. After defeating Zain Retherford in the match prior, Nick Lee then went on to defeat Yianni in a wild, 16-8 bout. Video of that match does not exist on the internet, however, in that bout Lee got out to an 8-0 lead in the first period. The second period was full of scoring where each wrestler put up 8 points resulting in a 16-8 victory for Lee.
The 2017 Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open match:
What Does Nick Lee Need To Do To Take Out Yianni Again?
Since the Olympic Trials, Nick Lee has experienced mixed results on the senior level at 65kg. Lee wrestled at the 2022 world team trials where he made the semi-finals but fell short of reaching Final X after losing a high-scoring, wild match to Evan Henderson, 12-11. Then, Joey McKenna teched Lee in the consolation rounds 13-3 keeping Lee from placing at the trials.
Despite falling short at the trials, Lee wrestled in three senior-level tournaments from November 2022-April 2023. Lee placed second at the 2022 Bill Farrell, failed to place at the 2023 Zagreb Open, and then won the 2023 US Open. In the midst of those competitions, Lee has shown steady improvement - best displayed by his US Open Finals win over Joey McKenna. In that match, Lee came back from a 5-point deficit to win 10-5 and make Final X.
Lee's win over Joey McKenna at the 2023 US Open:
While Nick Lee is showing improvement, he has also shown defensive vulnerability throughout every competition. Lee was teched twice - once at the Bill Farrell by Tairybek Zhumashbekov (14-4) and once at the Zagreb Open by Ismail Musukaev (11-0). On top of those losses, Lee also surrendered 10 points in his US Open semi-final win over Beau Bartlett and 8 points in his win over Adlan Askarov at the Bill Farrell.
Nick Lee's loss to Ismail Musukaev in February 2023 at the Zagreb Open:
Simply put, in order to defeat Yianni at Final X, Lee will need to shore up his defense. At the US Open, Lee narrowly escaped defeat against Bartlett and was able to use his pace to wear down McKenna. However, Lee can’t keep playing with that kind of fire - those same tactics are unlikely to be as effective against Yianni at Final X or against the best in the world at 65kg. If Nick Lee can combine his offensive output with stingy defense, he’s capable of taking out Yianni once again and making his first world team.
Can Yianni Make His Third Straight World Team?
Since falling short at the Olympic Trials, Yianni Diakomihalis made two straight world teams at 65kg in both 2021 and 2022. While he failed to place in 2021, Yianni broke through in 2022 winning a world silver medal. With that medal, Yianni became the first world/Olympic medalist at the weight class for Team USA since 2006. Along with the world medal, in the past two years Yianni recorded impressive wins over the likes of Vazgen Tevanyan (U23 world champ), Bajrang Punia (Olympic bronze, 4X world medalist), Sebastian Rivera, Evan Henderson (2), Joey McKenna (3), and Ismail Musukaev (2X world bronze). It’s clear Yianni has made a huge jump into one of the top 65kg wrestlers in the world.
Yianni's win over Bajrang at the 2022 World Championships:
Despite losing to Nick Lee two years ago, Yianni is the favorite heading into Final X. Formerly, Yianni relied too much on scrambling and counter-offense allowing his opponents in on his legs, often resulting in high-scoring, wild matches. Since the Olympic Trials, Yianni has cleaned up his baseline defense and has increased his ability to finish off of his own offense. On top of that, Yianni has also developed his parterre offense with a proficient gut wrench and leg lace.
So, where are Yianni’s weaknesses? At times, he can fall back to his old ways of relying too heavily on his scrambling abilities, unnecessarily putting himself into dangerous positions. Beyond that, highly defensive wrestlers sometimes frustrate Yianni, causing him to take poor shots that result in points for his opponents. Those deficiencies were on display in his loss to Vazgen Tevanyan at the 2021 World Championships and his recent win over Agustin Destribats at the 2023 Pan-Am Championships.
Yianni's wild win over Agustin Destribats at the 2023 Pan-Am Championships:
Yianni's loss to Vazgen Tevanyan at the 2021 World Championships:
Prediction
Can Nick Lee defeat Yianni once again to make the world team at 65kg? I expect these matches to be ultra-competitive and there’s certainly a path to victory for Lee. What is that path? Defense. Nick Lee is at his best when he’s scoring points and, as seen in the match against Destribats above, Yianni can still fall into that trap of getting into those wild matches. If Lee is able to combine his point-scoring ability with stingy defense, he'll be tough to beat at Final X. It’s also worth noting that the Penn State/Nittany Lion Wrestling Club devised the game plan to defeat Yianni back in 2019 for Nick Lee’s teammate - Zain Retherford. We should expect Lee to come fully prepared to win against Yianni at Final X.
However, that’s not my pick. In my opinion, Yianni Diakomihalis is the best 65kg wrestler in the United States and will prove that once again on June 10 at Final X. Yianni’s steadily made improvements over the past 2 years and has proven he’s not just a great scrambler. He’s shown he has the ability to beat the best wrestlers in the world regardless of their defensive or offensive ability and I believe he’s a “more complete” wrestler than Nick Lee. With that in mind, Yianni’s my pick to win at Final X in two-straight matches.
Final X is the Beat the Streets New York Benefit
It is the second straight year Final X will serve as the Beat the Streets New York Annual Benefit. This year’s event will be the 13th BTSNY Annual Benefit. These unique and electrifying annual events help BTSNY raise more than $1 million each year to support local youth wrestling programs which empower young people in New York City. The BTSNY Annual Benefit after-party will follow the conclusion of Final X. Benefit tickets and sponsorship packages (Final X plus exclusive after-party celebration access), that also provide the best wrestling-event seats, are available at give.btsny.org/beatthestreetsbenefit2023. For more information on ticket packages, email Katrin Pokalyukhin at katrin@btsny.org. Event-only tickets for Final X without access to the BTSNY after-party celebration are available on Ticketmaster.