Tag: sumo wrestling

Ura Goes Flying in Exceptional Sumo Wrestling Match

Ura Sumo Wrestling ?? ??Ura Kazuki is a fan favorite in the sumo wrestling community as he is well-known for his exciting style….

Ura Sumo Wrestling ?? ??

Ura Kazuki is a fan favorite in the sumo wrestling community as he is well-known for his exciting style. In the Kyushu basho, November sumo wrestling tournament, he had quite a matchup against Hiradoumi.

Ura And Sumo Wrestling

Each year, Sumo wrestling hosts six tournaments throughout the calendar in which only one champion can walk away with the ultimate victory. Each Grand Sumo Tournament is called a basho, the champion is the yusho, the top league is makuuchi and the second highest league is juryo. Each Grand Sumo Tournament lasts for fifteen days and a sumo wrestler will have one match on each day.

An unusual and dramatic situation unfolded during the bout between Ura and Hiradoumi on Day 11 of the current tournament. During the match, two mono’ii were called. A mono’ii is a conference of judges called when there’s uncertainty about the outcome of a bout. Having two mono’ii in a single match is extremely rare. The match had to be restarted twice. This is unusual in sumo wrestling. But led to quite a photo of Ura, with all three hundred pounds of him, tilted entirely horizontally and flying through the air.

Essentially, sumo wrestling matches are won by pushing an opponent out of the ring or making the opponent crash to the ground. But, if sumo A pushes sumo B out of the ring while crashing the ground, the match is still won by sumo A due to intent, even if he hit the ground first. But if it is not clear who landed on the ground or went out first, or it is not clear who had the intent, then the match is restarted by the referees and judges. In the case of Ura and Hiradoumi the match had to be restarted twice as the referees could not agree on what was going on.

Ura’s career has been a rollercoaster ride of success and setbacks. He reached the top makuuchi division in March 2017, but his progress was halted by two serious injuries that led to extended layoffs. These setbacks caused his rank to plummet to the lowest levels since his debut, and it took him three and a half years to return to top-level competition. In sumo wrestling, Ura is considered small at 313 lbs and 5’9″.

Ura Sumo Wrestling ?? ?? 1
ura sumo 2

Hawaiian-born Sumo legend Akebono Taro dies at the age of 54 in Tokyo, Japan

MixCollage 11 Apr 2024 12 38 PM 4751Sumo wrestling great Akebono Taro has died. He was 54. Akebono, born Chad Rowan in 1969, was the first…

MixCollage 11 Apr 2024 12 38 PM 4751

Sumo wrestling great Akebono Taro has died. He was 54.

Akebono, born Chad Rowan in 1969, was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach the level of “yokozuna” — or grand champion — in Japan. Growing up on the rural side of the Koolau Mountains in Honolulu, Hawaii, he moved to Tokyo in the late 1980s and won his first grand championship in 1993. At the peak of his career, he reportedly weighed in at 500 pounds and stood 6’8″ tall.

Akebono Taro

“It is with sadness that we announce Akebono Taro died of heart failure earlier this month while receiving care at a hospital in the Tokyo area,” the family said in a statement.

His wife Christine Rowan, revealed that he died “within the past week” but declined to give details in an email to The Associated Press. “I had to tend to personal matters that needed to be done prior to publicly announcing my husband’s death,” she said.

According to local media, the Sumo legend had been battling illness since collapsing in the city of Kitakyushu seven years ago. He succumbed to his ailments earlier this month at a Tokyo hospital.

Akebono Taro

Millions Pay Their Respect to Akebono Taro

The United States ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, offered his condolences on X, writing:

“I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Akebono, a giant in the world of sumo, a proud Hawaiian and a bridge between the United States and Japan.

“When Akebono became the first-ever foreign-born grand champion, sumo’s highest rank, in 1993, he opened the door for other foreign wrestlers to find success in the sport. Throughout his 35 years in Japan, Akebono strengthened the cultural ties between the United States and his adopted homeland by uniting us all through sport. I send my sincerest condolences to his family and friends and to sumo fans everywhere.”

Akebono Taro

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green wrote in a Facebook post that Akebono had “inspired untold numbers of our youth that with determination and hard work, attaining your dreams is possible.”

“A champion in both the land of his birth and his adopted island home, he served as an ambassador for Hawai‘i in Japan and his legacy will live on,” Green wrote.

The 11-time grand tournament winner retired in 2001 due to repeated knee injuries. More than 11,000 spectators attended his leaving ceremony.

He briefly worked with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2005, competing in a sumo match with WWE Superstar Big Show at WrestleMania 21. Akebono won the kayfabe clash with a koshinage, throwing his opponent entirely out of the ring.

Akebono vs. Big Show

Must See: 400-Pound Sumo Wrestler Gets Ragdolled, Causes Minor Earthquake

(Warning: Shrill audio and excessive fat-guy ass-crack. Props: Andbabcock via Reddit_MMA)

We usually don’t give sumo wrestling much attention on this site — look, if I wanted to see two fat guys try to push each other out of the way, I’d go to a Golden Corral five minutes before closing time — but this was too incredible not to post. The above video was taken yesterday at the US Sumo Open in Los Angeles, where Mongolian beast Byamba Ulambayar took on Kelly “Man of Fat Steel” Gneiting, a 400+ pound sumo, swimmer, and marathon runner. Gneiting’s athletic accomplishments are stunning for a man of his girth, but on this particular Sunday he was tossed like a disobedient puppy. The moment of impact produces a shockwave through the earth, visibly rattling the camera, and it is absolutely wonderful. Enjoy.


(Warning: Shrill audio and excessive fat-guy ass-crack. Props: Andbabcock via Reddit_MMA)

We usually don’t give sumo wrestling much attention on this site — look, if I wanted to see two fat guys try to push each other out of the way, I’d go to a Golden Corral five minutes before closing time — but this was too incredible not to post. The above video was taken yesterday at the US Sumo Open in Los Angeles, where Mongolian beast Byamba Ulambayar took on Kelly “Man of Fat Steel” Gneiting, a 400+ pound sumo, swimmer, and marathon runner. Gneiting’s athletic accomplishments are stunning for a man of his girth, but on this particular Sunday he was tossed like a disobedient puppy. The moment of impact produces a shockwave through the earth, visibly rattling the camera, and it is absolutely wonderful. Enjoy.