To start off the year (January), Zhamalov got a series of victories over high level opponents at the Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin, such as '19 European Championship medalist Timur Bizhoev, '19 World Championship runner-up and '19 Asian Champion Nurkozha Kaipanov, and '16 World Champion Magomed Kurbanaliev, before being defeated in the finals by two-time World Champion Magomedrasul Gazimagomedov, to claim the silver medal. After being unable to compete for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Zhamalov came back on October to claim the 2020 Russian National Championship, when he defeated '14 World Champion Khetag Tsabolov in the finals. After his championship showdown at the Russian Nationals, Zhamalov was selected as the Russian representative for the '20 Individual World Cup of December (replacement for the World Championships). At the tournament, he compiled a combined score of 21-0 against three opponents to reach the finals, where he faced the accomplished two-time World Champion Frank Chamizo, whom he was able to edge with a comeback win in the last seconds of the match with a two-point takedown, to become the champion of the biggest tournament of his career.