TOKYO YOKOZUNA BATTLE: MONGOLIAN WRESTLER ROBBERY?

Onosato touches first, yet beats Hoshoryu to win 1st championship as a yokozuna

ASAHI
September 29, 2025

Onosato forces Hoshoryu out with a powerful frontal crush-out in a decisive yokozuna-versus-yokozuna playoff at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Sept. 28 at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan. (Tetsuji Asano photos

Sumo fans got the showdown they have long waited for as newly promoted yokozuna Onosato beat yokozuna Hoshoryu in a dramatic playoff to win the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament on Sept. 28.

Both yokozuna were seeking their first championship after being promoted to the sport's highest rank.

The victory at Tokyo’s Ryogoku Kokugikan marked Onosato's fifth career title and his first since being promoted after the summer tournament.

Onosato secured the championship in a winner-take-all playoff bout after both finished the regular 15-day tournament with 13-2 records.

Earlier in the day, Onosato was overwhelmed at the initial charge and lost to Hoshoryu in regulation, setting up the rare yokozuna-versus-yokozuna playoff.

It marked the first such clash on the final day of a tournament since 2009, when Asashoryu, Hoshoryu’s uncle, defeated Hakuho.

It was also the first time since 1949 that two yokozuna met on the final day with both seeking their first title at sumo’s top rank.

Despite the initial crushing loss, Onosato bounced back with determination in the playoff.

“That was one of the worst sumo of my life,” he admitted about the first bout, where he was driven out of the ring by Hoshoryu's aggressive thrusts.

But in the decisive rematch, Onosato seized the initiative, drove forward with his right arm under Hoshoryu’s, withstood an attempted throw and forced his rival out with a powerful frontal crush-out.

The closeness of the bout forced a brief meeting of the ringside judges in the dohyo before upholding the referee's decision that Onosato had won.

"Both of us as East and West yokozuna were able to carry the tournament forward and excite the fans," Onosato said, expressing pride in writing a new chapter in sumo history.

For Hoshoryu, it was a bitter end to what could have been an uplifting comeback triumph.

Since his promotion to yokozuna four tournaments ago, he has only made it through to the final day twice, with injuries limiting his performance.

Though he entered the tournament nursing lower back pain, Hoshoryu had enough strength to defeat Onosato in regulation, making his playoff loss all the more painful.