Newly promoted ozeki Terunofuji dug deep to see off sekiwake Tochiozan and cement his place among the leading pack at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Thursday.
Terunofuji had his hands full as Tochiozan (4-1) twice went in for the kill, but the ozeki stood firm and after working Tochiozan up to the edge of the ring. Terunofuji got a right-handed grip on the back of his opponent's mawashi and deployed a beltless arm throw to send him over the ridge.
Terunofuji, who improved to 5-0 against Tochiozan, pulled off a stunning championship victory at the summer meet in May.