East vs West: Who Actually Dominates Arm Wrestling's Biggest Rivalry Right Now
2026-08-06 · 4 min read
In most sports "East vs West" is just a lazy headline. In arm wrestling it's literal — East vs West (EVW) is the name of the sport's biggest promotion, and the rivalry it's built around is real: pullers from Georgia, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan on one side, North America and Western Europe on the other. So who's actually winning?
We pulled the current official EVW rankings — the same ones synced into ArmProgress's Events hub — and the answer is more lopsided than the marketing suggests.
The current #1 in every weight class
| Weight class | Arm | Current #1 | Country | Side |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Heavyweight (115kg+) | Right | Levan Saginashvili | Georgia | East |
| Super Heavyweight (115kg+) | Left | Vitalii Laletin | Russia | East |
| Heavyweight (115kg) | Right | Ivan Matyushenko | Russia | East |
| Heavyweight (115kg) | Left | Alizhan Muratov | Kazakhstan | East |
| Light Heavyweight (105kg) | Right | Oleg Petrenko | Ukraine | East |
| Light Heavyweight (105kg) | Left | Alizhan Muratov | Kazakhstan | East |
| Middleweight (95kg) | Right | Todd Hutchings | USA | West |
| Middleweight (95kg) | Left | Oleg Petrenko | Ukraine | East |
| Welterweight (85kg) | Right | Oleksandr Telyatnik | Ukraine | East |
| Welterweight (85kg) | Left | Oleg Zhokh | Ukraine | East |
| Lightweight (77kg) | Right | Artur Makarov | Russia | East |
| Lightweight (77kg) | Left | Daniel Procopciuc | Moldova | East |
| Featherweight (70kg) | Right | Danil Ustinov | Kazakhstan | East |
Count it up: 12 of 13 current #1 rankings belong to the East. The lone Western name at the top of any division is Todd Hutchings, holding middleweight right. Everywhere else — both arms, every weight class from featherweight to super heavyweight — the East currently owns the top spot.
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It wasn't always this one-sided
The rankings snapshot makes it look settled, but the actual results swing hard. At East vs West 22 in Vienna, Vitalii Laletin beat Devon Larratt 4-0 to take the West's biggest name off the top of super heavyweight. Six weeks later at EVW 23 in Wuppertal, Larratt came back and beat Laletin 4-0 in the rematch — while in the same event, Ivan Matyushenko took the heavyweight world title off Dave Chaffee 4-1, extending the East's grip on that division instead.
That's the actual texture of the rivalry: it's not a steady march, it's a back-and-forth between a handful of elite pullers, and right now the swing happens to favor the East almost everywhere except Larratt's own weight class fights.
Why the East's dominance runs deeper than the top spot
It's not just the #1s. Scroll past the top of almost any EVW ladder and the depth is Eastern European and Central Asian: Georgian names (Saginashvili, Chikadze, Zirakashvili, Tavberidze), Ukrainian names (Petrenko, Kalinichenko, Bubenko, Babayev), Russian and Kazakh names stacked through nearly every weight class. The West's strongest presence is concentrated in a smaller group of stars — Larratt, Todd, Chaffee, Cadorette — rather than deep ranks behind them.
The one Western holdout
Todd Hutchings' #1 in middleweight right is the exception that proves the point — and worth watching, because it's the only division where the West currently has anything to defend. If that division flips East too, EVW's next round of rankings could show a clean sweep.
Follow it as it changes
EVW rankings move after almost every event, and ArmProgress's Events hub tracks them directly — pick a weight class and arm, see the current ladder, and follow upcoming and completed EVW events without digging through the promotion's site yourself.
The takeaway
"East vs West" isn't just branding — right now it's an accurate scoreboard, and the East is winning it 12-1 across every weight class in the sport. Whether that holds through the next round of events, or Todd Hutchings' middleweight title turns out to be the last Western foothold, is exactly what makes the rivalry worth following.
Frequently asked questions
What is East vs West (EVW) in arm wrestling?
East vs West (EVW) is one of arm wrestling's top promotions, built around a rivalry between pullers from Eastern Europe/Central Asia and pullers from North America and Western Europe. It runs regular ranked events across multiple weight classes.
Who is currently #1 in arm wrestling rankings?
It depends on weight class and arm — there's no single overall #1. As of the latest EVW rankings, East European and Central Asian pullers hold 12 of 13 weight-class #1 spots, with Todd Hutchings (USA) as the sole Western #1, in middleweight right.
Is Devon Larratt still ranked #1?
Not currently in super heavyweight, where Levan Saginashvili (right) and Vitalii Laletin (left) hold the top spots after Laletin beat Larratt at EVW 22. Larratt beat Laletin back in their EVW 23 rematch, but rankings reflect the broader ladder, not just head-to-head results.
How does ArmProgress track EVW rankings?
ArmProgress's Events hub syncs the official EVW rankings by weight class and arm, alongside upcoming and completed events and a leaderboard, so you can follow the rivalry without leaving the app.
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