[1] Considered one of Turkey's most prominent wrestlers of his decade, Yildiz has produced a full set of three career medals in different color, including his prestigious gold from the 1997 World Wrestling Championships, and later represented as part of the Turkish team in two editions of the Olympic Games (2000 and 2004).

[2][3] Yildiz emerged himself into a sporting fame at the 1997 Mediterranean Games in Bari, Italy, where he ousted his former Yugoslav rival Senad Rizvanović for the bronze medal in the 54-kg division.

Two months later, Yildiz celebrated his first victory for the Turks with a prestigious gold medal over Armenia's Vahan Juharyan on his final match 1–0 at the World Championships in Wrocław, Poland.

In the prelim pool, he lost his opening match 10–0 to eventual Olympic silver medalist Lázaro Rivas of Cuba on technical superiority, but picked up a tremendous victory over New Zealand's Jotham Pellew by a rare 16–0 thrashing.

He bounced back to dismantle Lithuanian teen Svajūnas Adomaitis with a 3–1 verdict, but his performance was not enough to put him again into the medal rounds, leaving the Games empty-handed in twelfth position.