2027 World Wrestling Championships head to Las Vegas

Article posted by Coliseum, June 2^nd, 2026

Image: Thomas & Mack Center, Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0

The 2027 World Wrestling Championships are heading to Las Vegas in the United States.

USA Wrestling and United World Wrestling have announced that the 2027 World Championships, which will also serve as the first Olympic qualifier for the 2028 LA Games, will be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas from September 11 to 19.

The Thomas & Mack Center is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada. It is home of the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels basketball team of the Mountain West Conference.

For ring events the arena has a capacity of 19,522 and for basketball, the capacity is 18,000.

The 2027 World Championships will mark a return of the mega event to the U.S. after the country last hosted the competition in 2015.

It will also award the first direct quotas for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The 72 medalists in 18 Olympic weight classes at the 2027 World Championships will earn quotas for their respective National Olympic Committees.

Rich Bender, USA Wrestling Executive Director, said, “USA Wrestling is thrilled to bring the World Championships back to U.S. soil for the first time since 2015.

“Las Vegas will provide an elite experience for our World-class athletes and spectators, while building great momentum for the sport leading into the 2028 Olympic Games down the road in Los Angeles.”

Earlier in January, UWW detailed how wrestlers can qualify their respective NOCs for LA 2028 through World Championships, Continental Olympic Qualifiers, UWW Rankings and the World Olympic Qualifiers.

The calendar for “Road to LA 2028” was also shared by UWW, detailing an expansive mix with World Championships, Continental Championships, UWW Ranking Events and World and Continental Olympic Qualifiers.

In addition to the Senior World Championships, UWW also announced the U17, U20 and U23 World Championships for 2027.

The World Championships season will kick off in Amman, Jordan, which will host the U17 World Championships from August 2 to 8. Two weeks later, Novi Sad, Serbia, will play host to the U20 World Championships from August 23 to 29.

Next up will be the Veteran World Championships, which will travel to the scenic town of Porec, Croatia, and will be held from October 5 to 10.

The last world event for the year will be the U23 World Championships, and Brasov, Romania, is scheduled to host it from October 18 to 24.

As previously communicated by UWW, the age-group World Championships will see a significant change starting in the 2028 calendar.

The U20 World Championships will be held earlier in the year and before the U17 World Championships. The U23 World Championships will also take place before the Senior World Championships.

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