| | Event type
Middleweight, Freestyle (≤82 kilograms), Men
| Date | 29 – 31 July 1980 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Legkoatletichesky manezh, Legkoatletichesky Futbolny Kompleks CSKA, Moskva | |
| Participants | 14 from 14 countries | |
| Format | Scoring by negative points, with negative points given for any result short of a fall. Accumulation of 6 negative points eliminated the wrestler, but a wrestler could not be eliminated after a victory. When three or fewer wrestlers remained, they advanced to a final round, with preliminary results carried forward. | |
The only top wrestler missing was American defending gold medalist John Peterson, who had won bronze at the 1978 World Championships, and silver in 1979, but he would not have been favored. There were three co-favorites – Bulgaria’s Ismail Abilov, the 1980 European Champion, Soviet Magomedkhan Aratsilov, the 1978 World Champion, and Hungarian István Kovács, the 1979 World Champion. The chalk held as those three made it to the final round. Abilov had defeated Aratsilov on points in round five, and when he threw Kovács in 1:48 in the finals, he won the gold medal. Aratsilov took silver on a superior decision over Kovács, 18-1.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | RE | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ismail Abilov |  BUL | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov |  URS | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | István Kovács |  HUN | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Henryk Mazur |  POL | – | – | |||
| 5 | Abdulah Memedi |  YUG | – | – | |||
| 6 | Zevegiin Düvchin |  MGL | – | – | |||
| 7 | Günter Busarello |  AUT | – | – | |||
| 8 | Mohamed El-Oulabi |  SYR | – | – | |||
| Armin Weier |  GDR | Eliminated r2/6 | 7,0 | ||||
| Sören Claeson |  SWE | Eliminated r2/6 | 7,0 | ||||
| Zachée N'Dock |  CMR | Eliminated r2/6 | 8,0 | ||||
| Abdul Rahman Bressam Mohammed |  IRQ | Eliminated r2/6 | 8,0 | ||||
| Vasile Țigănaș |  ROU | Eliminated r2/6 | 8,0 | ||||
| Ahmadjan Khasan |  AFG | Withdrew r2/6 | 4,0 |
Round One (29 July 1980 — 11:00)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Zevegiin Düvchin | MGL | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Henryk Mazur | POL | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Mohamed El-Oulabi | SYR | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Abdulah Memedi | YUG | 0,0 | |||
| 7 | István Kovács | HUN | 1.0 | |||
| 8 | Günter Busarello | AUT | 3.0 | |||
| =9 | Ahmadjan Khasan | AFG | 4,0 | withdrew | ||
| =9 | Zachée N'Dock | CMR | 4,0 | |||
| =9 | Armin Weier | GDR | 4,0 | |||
| =9 | Abdul Rahman Bressam Mohammed | IRQ | 4,0 | |||
| =9 | Vasile Țigănaș | ROU | 4,0 | |||
| =9 | Sören Claeson | SWE | 4,0 |
| Match #1 | István Kovács | HUN | criteria (3-3) | Günter Busarello | AUT |
| Match #2 | Mohamed El-Oulabi | SYR | fall (4:21) | Zachée N'Dock | CMR |
| Match #3 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | fall (4:01) | Sören Claeson | SWE |
| Match #4 | Henryk Mazur | POL | DQ (7:59) | Ahmadjan Khasan | AFG |
| Match #5 | Zevegiin Düvchin | MGL | fall (1:43) | Vasile Țigănaș | ROU |
| Match #6 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | fall (5:04) | Armin Weier | GDR |
| Match #7 | Abdulah Memedi | YUG | fall (7:31) | Abdul Rahman Bressam Mohammed | IRQ |
Round Two (30 July 1980)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Abdulah Memedi | YUG | 0,0 | |||
| =3 | Zevegiin Düvchin | MGL | 1,0 | |||
| =3 | Henryk Mazur | POL | 1,0 | |||
| =3 | István Kovács | HUN | 1.0 | |||
| 7 | Günter Busarello | AUT | 3.0 | |||
| 8 | Mohamed El-Oulabi | SYR | 4,0 | |||
| =9 | Armin Weier | GDR | 7,0 | eliminated | ||
| =9 | Sören Claeson | SWE | 7,0 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | Zachée N'Dock | CMR | 8,0 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | Abdul Rahman Bressam Mohammed | IRQ | 8,0 | eliminated | ||
| =11 | Vasile Țigănaș | ROU | 8,0 | eliminated |
| Match #1 | István Kovács | HUN | fall (4:48) | Zachée N'Dock | CMR |
| Match #2 | Günter Busarello | AUT | DQ (6:58) | Mohamed El-Oulabi | SYR |
| Match #3 | Henryk Mazur | POL | decision (11-5) | Sören Claeson | SWE |
| Match #4 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | fall (0:46) | Vasile Țigănaș | ROU |
| Match #5 | Zevegiin Düvchin | MGL | decision (14-11) | Armin Weier | GDR |
| Match #6 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | fall (1:48) | Abdul Rahman Bressam Mohammed | IRQ |
| Match #7 | Abdulah Memedi | YUG | bye |
Round Three (30 July 1980 — 11:00)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | 0,0 | |||
| 3 | Henryk Mazur | POL | 1,5 | |||
| 4 | István Kovács | HUN | 2.0 | |||
| 5 | Abdulah Memedi | YUG | 3,0 | |||
| 6 | Zevegiin Düvchin | MGL | 5,0 | |||
| 7 | Günter Busarello | AUT | 7.0 | eliminated | ||
| 8 | Mohamed El-Oulabi | SYR | 7,5 | eliminated |
| Match #1 | István Kovács | HUN | decision (4-3) | Abdulah Memedi | YUG |
| Match #2 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | fall (7:25) | Günter Busarello | AUT |
| Match #3 | Henryk Mazur | POL | decision (15-6) | Mohamed El-Oulabi | SYR |
| Match #4 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | DQ (5:49) | Zevegiin Düvchin | MGL |
Round Four (30 July 1980 — 19:00)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| =1 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | 0,0 | |||
| =1 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | 0,0 | |||
| 3 | István Kovács | HUN | 3.0 | |||
| 4 | Henryk Mazur | POL | 5,5 | |||
| 5 | Abdulah Memedi | YUG | 7,0 | eliminated | ||
| 6 | Zevegiin Düvchin | MGL | 8,0 | eliminated |
| Match #1 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | fall (4:19) | Abdulah Memedi | YUG |
| Match #2 | István Kovács | HUN | decision (6-4) | Zevegiin Düvchin | MGL |
| Match #3 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | fall (5:49) | Henryk Mazur | POL |
Round Five (31 July 1980 — 10:00)
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | Bad Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | 1,0 | |||
| 2 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | 3,0 | |||
| 3 | István Kovács | HUN | 4.0 | eliminated | ||
| 4 | Henryk Mazur | POL | 8,5 | eliminated |
| Match #1 | István Kovács | HUN | decision (7-4) | Henryk Mazur | POL |
| Match #2 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | decision (8-4) | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS |
Final Round One (31 July 1980 — 19:00)
| Match #1 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | fall (1:48) | István Kovács | HUN |
| Match #2 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | bye |
Final Round Two (31 July 1980)
| Match #1 | Magomedkhan Aratsilov | URS | decision (18-) | István Kovács | HUN |
| Match #2 | Ismail Abilov | BUL | bye |