Sumo has a new champion — and for the first time in years, he's Japanese

Japan has a new sumo grand champion — or yokozuna — and the big news is he's Japanese.

TOKYO — Japan has a new sumo grand champion — or yokozuna — and the big news is he’s Japanese.

Onosato, the new grand champion, weighs 421 pounds and is the first Japanese competitor to reach the top rank since 2017. By comparison, the average weight of an NFL lineman is just over 300 pounds.

The sport has recently been dominated by Mongolians and prior to Onosato, six of the previous seven yokozunas have been from Mongolia.

“I’ll devote myself to training so that I will not disgrace the title of yokozuna,” Onosato said Wednesday, dressed in a formal kimono and bowing as he sat on the floor. “I will aim to become a one-and-only yokozuna.”

Onosato, whose real name is Daiki Nakamura, is only 24 and was promoted Wednesday to sumo’s top rank by the Japan Sumo Association. Onosato was promoted by winning last week’s Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which came after he won another prestigious tournament in March.