| | Event type
Light-Heavyweight, Freestyle (≤90 kilograms), Men
| Date | 1 – 2 August 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia (Hall G) | |
| Participants | 21 from 21 countries | |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament with classification rounds for placements. | |
This class would be discontinued after 1996, as the International Wrestling Federation (FILA) shuffled weight limits to decrease the number of weight classes, as mandated by the IOC. The last two gold medals had been won by Russia’s Makharbek Khadartsev, and he was back and still tough, having won the 1995 European title and been runner-up at the 1994-95 Worlds. He was not as dominant as he had been, however, losing the last two World titles, which had been won by Iranian Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi. The two met again in the Atlanta final, with Khadem Azgadhi winning a workmanlike final, 3-0. His brother, Amir Reza Khadem Azgadhi, won a bronze medal in Atlanta, as a freestyle middleweight.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | CP | TP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi |  IRI | – | – | Gold | ||
| 2 | Makharbek Khadartsev |  RUS | – | – | Silver | ||
| 3 | Eldar K'urt'anidze |  GEO | – | – | Bronze | ||
| 4 | Jozef Lohyňa |  SVK | – | – | |||
| 5 | Dzhambolat Tedieiev |  UKR | – | – | |||
| 6 | Victor Kodei |  NGR | – | – | |||
| 7 | Melvin Douglas |  USA | – | – | |||
| 8 | Kim Ik-Hui |  KOR | – | – | |||
| 9 | Ričardas Pauliukonis |  LTU | 9 | 24 | |||
| 10 | Péter Bacsa |  HUN | 8 | 17 | |||
| 11 | Islam Bayramukov |  KAZ | 7 | 11 | |||
| 12 | Heiko Balz |  GER | 5 | 12 | |||
| 13 | Kaloyan Baev |  BUL | 5 | 9 | |||
| 14 | Bayanmönkhiin Gantogtokh |  MGL | 5 | 9 | |||
| 15 | Scott Bianco |  CAN | 4 | 5 | |||
| 16 | Bashir Bhola Bhala |  PAK | 3 | 7 | |||
| 17 | Robert Kostecki |  POL | 2 | 6 | |||
| 18 | Bob Renney |  AUS | 2 | 4 | |||
| 19 | Tatsuo Kawai |  JPN | 1 | 2 | |||
| =20 | José Betancourt |  PUR | 0 | 0 | |||
| =20 | Louis Purcell |  ASA | 0 | 0 |
Round One (1 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU | grand superiority (11-0) (1:12) | Louis Purcell | ASA |
| Match #2 | Eldar K'urt'anidze | GEO | grand superiority (11-0) (1:59) | Kaloyan Baev | BUL |
| Match #3 | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR | decision (2-1) (8:00) | Péter Bacsa | HUN |
| Match #4 | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | decision (5-0) (5:00) | Tatsuo Kawai | JPN |
| Match #5 | Bayanmönkhiin Gantogtokh | MGL | decision (5-0) (5:00) | José Betancourt | PUR |
| Match #6 | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | decision (6-1) (5:00) | Victor Kodei | NGR |
| Match #7 | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ | decision (5-2) (5:00) | Scott Bianco | CAN |
| Match #8 | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR | decision (5-4) (5:00) | Robert Kostecki | POL |
| Match #9 | Heiko Balz | GER | grand superiority (11-1) (2:28) | Bob Renney | AUS |
| Match #10 | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | grand superiority (10-0) (2:37) | Bashir Bhola Bhala | PAK |
| Match #11 | Melvin Douglas | USA | bye |
Round Two (1 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Melvin Douglas | USA | decision (5-0) (5:00) | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU |
| Match #2 | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR | decision (3-2) (5:00) | Eldar K'urt'anidze | GEO |
| Match #3 | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | decision (5-3) (5:00) | Bayanmönkhiin Gantogtokh | MGL |
| Match #4 | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | decision (4-3) (5:00) | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ |
| Match #5 | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR | decision (4-1) (5:00) | Heiko Balz | GER |
| Match #6 | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | bye |
Quarter-Finals (2 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | decision (4-1) (5:00) | Melvin Douglas | USA |
| Match #2 | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | decision (3-0) (6:09) | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR |
| Match #3 | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | bye | ||
| Match #4 | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR | bye |
Semi-Finals (2 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS | decision (7-1) (5:00) | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK |
| Match #2 | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | decision (3-0) (6:41) | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR |
Final Round (2 August 1996)
| Match 1/2 | Rasoul Khadem Azgadhi | IRI | decision (3-0) (5:00) | Makharbek Khadartsev | RUS |
| Match 3/4 | Eldar K'urt'anidze | GEO | decision (5-0) (5:00) | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK |
| Match 5/6 | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR | fall (12-0) (0:48) | Victor Kodei | NGR |
| Match 7/8 | Melvin Douglas | USA | decision (6-0) (5:00) | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR |
Classification Round Two (1 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Kaloyan Baev | BUL | fall (4-0) (1:09) | Louis Purcell | ASA |
| Match #2 | Péter Bacsa | HUN | decision (5-2) (5:29) | Tatsuo Kawai | JPN |
| Match #3 | Victor Kodei | NGR | grand superiority (10-0) (2:43) | José Betancourt | PUR |
| Match #4 | Scott Bianco | CAN | decision (3-2) (5:00) | Robert Kostecki | POL |
| Match #5 | Bashir Bhola Bhala | PAK | decision (7-3) (5:00) | Bob Renney | AUS |
Classification Round Three (1 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Péter Bacsa | HUN | decision (7-5) (5:00) | Kaloyan Baev | BUL |
| Match #2 | Victor Kodei | NGR | decision (7-0) (5:00) | Scott Bianco | CAN |
| Match #3 | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU | grand superiority (12-0) (1:22) | Bashir Bhola Bhala | PAK |
| Match #4 | Eldar K'urt'anidze | GEO | decision (6-1) (5:00) | Bayanmönkhiin Gantogtokh | MGL |
| Match #5 | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ | decision (3-0) (5:00) | Heiko Balz | GER |
Classification Round Four (2 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Victor Kodei | NGR | decision (7-4) (6:19) | Péter Bacsa | HUN |
| Match #2 | Eldar K'urt'anidze | GEO | decision (5-1) (5:00) | Ričardas Pauliukonis | LTU |
| Match #3 | Melvin Douglas | USA | decision (3-0) (7:29) | Islam Bayramukov | KAZ |
| Match #4 | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR | bye |
Classification Round Five (2 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Victor Kodei | NGR | decision (7-0) (5:00) | Kim Ik-Hui | KOR |
| Match #2 | Eldar K'urt'anidze | GEO | decision (1-0) (8:00) | Melvin Douglas | USA |
Classification Round Six (2 August 1996)
| Match #1 | Jozef Lohyňa | SVK | grand superiority (10-0) (2:09) | Victor Kodei | NGR |
| Match #2 | Eldar K'urt'anidze | GEO | decision (10-4) (5:00) | Dzhambolat Tedieiev | UKR |