Who doesn’t love a good arm wrestling match? There’s just something so satisfying about watching two wrestlers battling it out, muscles bulging until one emerges victorious.
So, who is the best arm wrestler in the world? And who are his major competitors with the strength and strategy to defeat him?
With the perfect grip on point, let’s start.
Who is the Best Arm Wrestler in the World?
Arm wrestling is much more than just a sport in which the athlete’s strength is the most important factor. Instead, the best arm wrestler in the world considers his opponent’s body size and areas of strength when devising a winning strategy that includes tactics that rely on his intuition.
There are excellent arm wrestlers worldwide, but only a few are worth the title of the world’s best arm wrestler.
And who’s the best of them all?
10. Levan Saginashvili
Age: 33 years
Weight: 168 kg
Biceps: 60 cm
Forearm: 50 cm
Levan Saginashvili is one of the professional arm wrestlers who is successful with both his right and left hand.
He was the strongest arm wrestler in the World Arm-wrestling Championship seven times. The Georgian Hulk’s other notable accomplishments include being a six-time European arm-wrestling champion and winning the Top 8.
9. Dave Chaffee
Age: 45 years
Weight: 125 kg
Biceps: 52 cm
Forearm: 48 cm
Dave Chaffee works as a Maximum security corrections officer in the United States.
He has been in the arm-wrestling world since 2006 and is known by the moniker Easy Money. The Top roll is his favourite technique.
Chaffee was an arm-wrestling champion of the right hand Super Heavyweight class in two World ArmWrestling League (WAL) Regionals and one WAL Championship.
8. Denis Cyplenkov
Age: 40 years
Weight: 144 kg
Biceps: 60 cm
Forearm: 48 cm
The Ukrainian arm wrestler, bodybuilder and strongman champion started his career in arm wrestling in the late 90s.
His career records are just as strong as his hands. He is a multiple champion of the Armwrestling Professionals Nemiroff World Cup in different categories, including the left-hand above 95 kg and the right-hand category above 95 kg.
7. Andriy Pushkar
Age: 33, deceased
Weight: 125 kg
Biceps: 50 cm
Forearm: 45 cm
Andriy Pushkar was a Ukrainian bodybuilder and arm wrestler with incredible grip strength who beat his father, an arm wrestler when he was 14 years old.
He made his professional debut at the age of 17 at the European Championship, and after that, he just kept on winning. Some of his most significant achievements include winning the European Armwrestling Federation Championship in 2004, 2007 and 2013.
In addition, he secured his top place in the left and right-hand categories at the World Championships from 2006 to 2011.
6. Alexey Voyevoda
Age: 42 years
Weight: 116 kg
Biceps: 50 cm
Forearm: 43 cm
Alexey has been the strongest arm wrestler winning the final matches on the Zloty Tur, WAF Championship and the European Championship. His win against John Brzenk in 2004 was honoured in the legendary “Pulling John” documentary.
Aside from being next to the world’s best arm wrestler, he has also won two gold medals in bobsledding, representing Russia.
5. Travis Bagent
Age: 46 years
Weight: 120 kg
Biceps: NA
Forearm: NA
Travis Bagent is also known as “The Beast” for a good reason. He has been the best arm wrestling beast in many competitions. He is a seventeen times World Champion and a two-time left-hand WAL Champion.
He picked up the sport from your father, Jerry Boyd, who was a national arm-wrestling champion himself. His favourite arm-wrestling technique is the high-side pressure.
4. Gary Goodridge
Age: 56 years
Weight: 109 kg
Biceps: 50 cm
Forearm: NA
Gary Goodridge is a successful Canadian athlete that many sports fans know under the nickname of Big Daddy.
Goodridge is a multi-talented artist with excellent rankings in arm wrestling, kickboxing and mixed material arts.
His arm wrestling techniques brought him the world’s best arm wrestler’s title at the World Arm Wrestling Championship in 1987, 1990, and 1993.
3. Devon Larratt
Age: 47 years
Weight: 102 kg
Biceps: 43.5 cm
Forearm: 38 cm
Devon Larratt is another outstanding professional arm wrestler from Canada. With his number one rankings, Larratt holds the top spot in North America, and one reason for this is his high Table IQ.
His ability to execute any arm-wrestling technique allowed him to successfully earn WAL titles in both the right and left-hand heavyweight divisions nine times. His latest victories include winning the King Of The Table 1 and 2 and Backyard ArmWrestling League 204, both in 2021.
2. Cleve Dean
Age: 58 years, deceased
Weight: 180 – 210 kg
Biceps: 58 cm
Forearm: 46 cm
Dean is known for his incredible strength, size, and efficient arm-wrestling technique. Because he grew up on a farm, people also referred to Cleve Dean as the Strongest Farmer.
Cleve Dean was an arm wrestling champion on multiple occasions in different leagues.
He has been a World Champion Arm Wrestler for ten years in a row. Furthermore, he holds six World Wrestling Champion titles, eighth AAA Stand-Up National Titles, etc.
1. John Brzenk
Age: 57 years
Weight: 95 kg
Biceps: 44cm
Forearm: 41 cm
There are many arm-wrestling competitions in various organisations, and they all have one major champion. The best arm wrestler in the world is John Brzenk, and among many, he has five Arm Wrestling International champion titles and more than 20 World Wristwrestling Championship victories to prove it. He also holds the Guinness record as the “Most successful arm wrestler”.
Arm wrestling fans know him as “The Golden Boy” and “The Perfect Storm” and his best hook and top roll techniques.
Wrap Up
Arm wrestling is always an exciting sport to watch because of its competitiveness and intense matches.
Grab a friend, begin training for improved grip strength, and experiment with arm wrestling techniques with due caution. Who knows, maybe you will be the next best arm wrestler in the world.
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