{"id":6224,"date":"2026-08-03T15:07:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6224"},"modified":"2026-08-03T15:07:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:07:36","slug":"sumo-wrestling-to-rumble-into-santa-cruz-in-september","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6224","title":{"rendered":"Sumo wrestling to rumble into Santa Cruz in September"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CRUZ \u2014 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.<\/p>

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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\u2019s Santa Cruz Warriors, on Sept. 26.<\/p>\n

Keep Santa Cruz Weird? Egypt\u2019s 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: \u201cKeep Santa Cruz Sumo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great destination, culturally,\u201d Shalan said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of diversity, and, in my impression, free-spirited people. It\u2019s got a history of artists and thinking types, deep thinkers. And it\u2019s a popular geographic location for martial arts, which is, you know, what sumo is.\u201d<\/p>\n

(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.)<\/p>\n

The event will kick off the World Elite Sumo\u2019s 2026 Fall season. Other tournaments will be held in Orlando in October and Washington in November.<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n

Given Santa Cruz\u2019s 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 \u014csunaarashi Kintar\u014d, meaning \u201cGreat Sandstorm.\u201d<\/p>

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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 \u201cThe Brazilian Behemoth,\u201d Brazil\u2019s most decorated sumo with 22 national titles; Asahish\u014d K\u014dta (5-9, 310), who enjoyed a successful, 16-year career as a Japanese sumo; and Russia\u2019s Soslan \u201cBig Bear\u201d Gagloev will also take part in local history. Gagloev (6-5, 350) fought as \u201cWakanoho Toshinori\u201d in Japan and has competed in the sport for more than two decades.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s filling out the field, with Shalan\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n

Afromowitz, who got his start in the fight game while working as Strikeforce\u2019s director of communications, said he has several qualified candidates to complete the field.<\/p>\n

Shalan said he\u2019s expecting a commitment from a Georgian sumo, and that there will be as many as five \u201clocal\u201d sumos competing. Afromowitz said there are multiple candidates in San Francisco and noted that Santa Cruz has a tournament prospect, as well.<\/p>

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\u201cIn a one-night tournament, it\u2019s any fighter\u2019s game,\u201d Afromowitz said. \u201cAnything can happen in a tournament. It\u2019s very unpredictable.\u201d<\/p>

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Given that the event is two months away, there\u2019s plenty still in the works.<\/p>\n

Shalan said that he\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n