Yokuzuna Terunofuji survived a close contest against slippery No. 2 maegashira Ura on Wednesday to improve to a perfect 4-0 at the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
Bidding for his third straight championship, Terunofuji needed patience and poise on Day 4 against the nimble rank-and-filer, who upset ozeki Takakeisho the previous day.
Terunofuji snared Ura (1-3) in an arm lock on his second attempt, but the maegashira snuck out of the hold, knocked the Mongolian-born grand champion off balance and drove him to the edge.