New Year Grand Sumo Tournament champion Daieisho will return to sumo's elite ranks for the March Grand Sumo Tournament, the Japan Sumo Association said when the latest rankings were released on Monday.

The 27-year-old, who went 13-2 in January as a top-ranked maegashira to capture his first grand tournament, will compete in this month's basho at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan — from March 14 to 28 — as one of three komusubi wrestlers. It will be his first time in sumo's three sanyaku ranks below yokozuna since he went 5-10 as a sekiwake in September.

Forty-four-time champion Hakuho sits atop the rankings as the east yokozuna, where he will be competing in his 100th grand tournament since joining the elite makuuchi division without ever dropping back down to juryo, something no other wrestler has accomplished.