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03/02/10 - Japan: Sumo champ retires, move to MMA very likely
Sumo grand champion Asashoryu has announced his retirement from the sport after becoming involved in yet another scandal, this time relating to assault on a waiter. The two big Japanese MMA promotions DREAM and Sengoku are now expected to scramble to get his signature on a fight contract.
Asashoryu, 29, is from Mongolia and was the first wrestler from that country to earn Sumo’s highest honour, the title of Yokozuna. But he has dirtied his halo numerous times in the course of his career in the highly conservative sport.
In 2007 he was served with a two-tournament ban for pretending to be injured and unable to take part in a Japanese regional tour, then popping up on Mongolian state television shortly afterwards as he took part in a charity football match.
He has also broken the strict protocols of the sumo world by wearing a suit instead of traditional Japanese dress, engaging in backstage fights with rivals and yanking the hair-knot of one adversary in what by traditional Japanese standards was a grievous insult.
Today Asashoryu announced his retirement after meeting with the commission that governs the sport of Sumo wrestling. "I am grateful for everything. I will retire. I have caused a lot of trouble in the world. Right now, my head is clear."
Fighters Only reported this possibility earlier this week and noted that Sengoku or DREAM would be very anxious to sign him should he quit Sumo. While his name (and viability as a fighter) are of no interest to western MMA fans, the profile-boost he could give to MMA in Japan could help the sport return to prominence it once enjoyed in the glory days of PRIDE.
Japanese fans and promoters love freak show matches and Asashoryu’s presence in the newspapers and gossip pages would ensure massive publicity for whichever promotion snares him. The situation would be akin to any top mainstream sports figure in your country quitting at the peak of his career in order to step into MMA.
The legendary PRIDE FC, while home to some of the greatest names in the mixed martial arts world, in fact owed a lot of its popularity and prominence to figures such as Asashoryu fighting on their shows, and other figures from the world of Japanese pro-wrestling.
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