Overnight leader and No. 1 maegashira Nishikigi fell to a surprise second defeat Thursday at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament, where No. 9 Hokutofuji rejoined his fellow rank-and-filer in pole position for the title after 12 days.
Nishikigi (10-2) was facing makuuchi-division debutant No. 14 Shonannoumi (8-4), and each wrestler quickly secured a left underarm belt hold. Nishikigi, broke the deadlock first, sought the same hold with his right but missed, left his body overextended, and fell victim to an armlock throw.
Hokutofuji (10-2) had an impressive win over ozeki-promotion-chasing sekiwake Hoshoryu (9-3) at Dolphins Arena. Hokutofuji stayed low while pushing forward en route to a shove-out win — his first victory over the nephew of former Mongolian great Asashoryu in six career attempts.