Yokozuna Hakuho moved one away from the career wins mark of the late yokozuna Chiyonofuji on Sunday, when he improved to 8-0 at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.
Hakuho, who won May's grand tournament with a perfect 15-0 record, is unbeaten in 23 straight matches since he withdrew injured in March. By winning his 1,044th career bout, he moved within one of Chiyonofuji, whose 1,045 are second on the all-time list.
Hakuho, now three wins shy of Kaio's record of 1,047 victories, started the day tied for the lead with No. 8 maegashira Aoiyama. But the Bulgarian bruiser suffered his first defeat to fall into a two-way tie for second with ozeki Takayasu.