On the back of his overpowering championship run in January, Georgian wrestler Tochinoshin will compete in March at sumo's third-highest rank of sekiwake, according to the rankings published Monday by the Japan Sumo Association.

When the 30-year-old takes to the ring at Edion Arena Osaka for the March 11-25 Spring Grand Sumo Tournament, it will be his second grand tournament as a sekiwake. The last time, in September 2016, Tochinoshin was demoted after going 6-9.

The March tourney will mark his first appearance as a sanyaku wrestler, meaning he will fight in one of the three ranks below yokozuna, since January 2017, when he pulled out after suffering a meniscus injury in his right knee.