Record-breaking yokozuna Hakuho zeroed in on his 39th championship title by easily seeing off ozeki Goeido on Saturday, the penultimate day of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
The Mongolian, who collected his 1,048th career win on Friday, was in total control at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, getting both hands on the back of ozeki Goeido's neck and yanking him down in a flash.
Hakuho (13-1) remained one win ahead of No. 8 maegashira Aoiyama and can secure the tournament hardware by beating yokozuna rival and countryman Harumafuji on Sunday.
Aoiyama stayed in title contention, outgrappling Takekaze (8-6) at the charge and after getting a left-handed grip on his belt, surging forward to knock the 12th-ranked maegashira off the raised ring.
Aoiyama will need to beat Yoshikaze, against whom he is 7-10, on Sunday and hope defeat for Hakuho will give him a crack at the title in a playoff against the yokozuna.
Harumafuji (11-3) made quick work of ozeki Takayasu (8-6), locking on to his left arm and sending him out with a tottari (arm-bar throw).