Sumo wrestling to rumble into Santa Cruz in September

SANTA CRUZ — Just like shiko, the traditional leg-lifting and stomping exercise performed by sumo wrestlers, World Elite Sumo is hoping to send shockwaves throughout Santa Cruz County, the Monterey Bay region, and the Greater Bay Area with its announcement.

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The organization, a U.S.-based professional sumo wrestling league, will hold a one-day tournament featuring 12 larger-than-life athletes at Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the NBA G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors, on Sept. 26.

Keep Santa Cruz Weird? Egypt’s Abdelrahman Shalan, the first pro sumo wrestler from Africa and founder and CEO of World Elite Sumo, is hoping to create momentum for another popular slogan in Surf City: “Keep Santa Cruz Sumo.”

“It’s a great destination, culturally,” Shalan said. “There’s a lot of diversity, and, in my impression, free-spirited people. It’s got a history of artists and thinking types, deep thinkers. And it’s a popular geographic location for martial arts, which is, you know, what sumo is.”

(Santa Cruz County has more than 25 martial arts and combat sports gyms and is the old stomping grounds of former Strikeforce and UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold.)

The event will kick off the World Elite Sumo’s 2026 Fall season. Other tournaments will be held in Orlando in October and Washington in November.

It’ll be the first televised sumo event held in California. Previous World Elite Sumo events have taken place in Jersey City and Newark, New Jersey, and Orlando.

Given Santa Cruz’s numerous beaches, it seems only fitting that sumo found its way to the Central Coast. Shalan, who checks in at 6-foot-3, 350 pounds, competed in Japan under the ring name Ōsunaarashi Kintarō, meaning “Great Sandstorm.”

Shalan will compete in the single-elimination tournament. The field is still being filled out, but three other sumo veterans have committed. Rui Junior (5-11, 381), aka “The Brazilian Behemoth,” Brazil’s most decorated sumo with 22 national titles; Asahishō Kōta (5-9, 310), who enjoyed a successful, 16-year career as a Japanese sumo; and Russia’s Soslan “Big Bear” Gagloev will also take part in local history. Gagloev (6-5, 350) fought as “Wakanoho Toshinori” in Japan and has competed in the sport for more than two decades.

Mike Afromowitz, CEO of Fajador Media Group, the public relations and business development agency that works with World Elite Sumo, not only helped select and book the venue in Santa Cruz, he’s filling out the field, with Shalan’s approval.

Afromowitz, who got his start in the fight game while working as Strikeforce’s director of communications, said he has several qualified candidates to complete the field.

Shalan said he’s expecting a commitment from a Georgian sumo, and that there will be as many as five “local” sumos competing. Afromowitz said there are multiple candidates in San Francisco and noted that Santa Cruz has a tournament prospect, as well.

“In a one-night tournament, it’s any fighter’s game,” Afromowitz said. “Anything can happen in a tournament. It’s very unpredictable.”

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Given that the event is two months away, there’s plenty still in the works.

Shalan said that he’s hoping to get commitments from two women for an exhibition match ahead of the tournament. The organization has plans to feature tournaments for women in 2027.

Afromowitz anticipates that pre-tournament weigh-ins will be held on the Santa Cruz Wharf, next to the iconic Beach Boardwalk, a day before the tournament.

KP Arena has hosted a multitude of mixed martial arts competitions over the years, including Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Legacy Fighting Alliance events, but nothing like this.

“This is a historic first for our venue and our local community,” said David Kao, the Santa Cruz Warriors’ Chief Operating Officer. “World Elite Sumo puts on an unbelievable show with world-class athletes, live taiko drumming, and electric energy. We look forward to introducing sumo wrestling to our fans and welcoming another packed house this fall.”

The first recorded sumo match took place in 23 BC, according to the ancient Japanese historical text Nihon Shoki.

While Shalan is doing his best to honor the sport’s traditions and history, his promotion is, admittedly, new school.

“It’s the oldest sport in the history,” Shalan said. “We’re bringing it to you in a new fit. You’ll not see anything but pure combat, pure sport in front of you.”

Competitions take place in a dohyō, a 15-foot circular boundary. But unlike their Japanese counterparts, who enter the dohyō, aka ring, only wearing a loincloth, World Elite Sumo competitors are wear skin-tight shorts under their traditional mawashi, a sumo belt.

Shalan said he wants fans to focus on the action and not be distracted by the athletes’ exposed backsides.

Matches are won by forcing an opponent out of the ring or making them touch the ground with any body part other than the soles of the feet. Strikes with closed fists, hair-pulling, and eye-poking are prohibited.

Sumo must win two of three rounds to win a match.

Shalan likened sumo to a chess match. He said speed, power, balance, footwork, flexibility, and technique are integral to success.

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“Sumo is much more athletic and technical than people think,” Shalan said.

IF YOU GO

World Elite Sumo

When: Sept. 26

Where: Kaiser Permanente Arena, Santa Cruz

Tickets: Ticketmaster