In 2017, Snyder defeated Abdulrashid Sadulaev at the 2017 World Championships, marking Sadulaev's first loss in his last 75 matches and the second one in his whole career. This come-from-behind victory earned Team USA its first World Championship in over 20 years and Snyder his third consecutive individual World or Olympic championship, and led to Snyder being ranked as the best pound for pound freestyle wrestler on the planet by Flowrestling in September 2017, a title he would retain in their June 2018 rankings. He ended his collegiate career as the first wrestler to win the NCAA, World, and Olympic championships as a student athlete.