Into the home stretch now and I think we have a very interesting ending ahead of us for this tournament. There are more than a handful of guys still in this thing. There are two or three who I might have picked before the tournament started. I feel like one of them will probably by the last person standing, but who knows? We might just see another improbable contender lift the cup.
Day 11 results, analysis and highlights are up on The Fight Site (link).
Takayasu vs. Atamifuji was one of my favourite bouts of the tournament so far. I also really enjoyed Kotozakura vs. Meisei, Ura vs. Daieisho, Takanosho vs. Hokutofuji and Midorifuji vs. Tobizaru.
This day also gave us Hoshoryu vs. Onosato (on Hoshoryu’s 25th birthday). Hoshoryu has beaten Onosato on the two previous occasions they have faced each other, both times executing a sensational reactive judo throw. Onosato has grown a lot since the last tournament, though, and has shown a lot more nuance in his game.
Head over to The Fight Site now and you’ll see what went down.
Bonus gif today is the effortlessly cool Takayasu.
Takayasu seems like the biggest "what if" of this basho. Without the missed days from injury, he would be a serious shot to win the whole thing.
I'm a big fan of Takayasu. If I was fighting him, though, I'd grab a big fistful of all that body hair and pull.