The marquee matchup of the day was Hakuho vs Ichinojo and it lived up to its billing. Ichinojo thrilled the crowd and stunned Hakuho. The two engaged in a strong tachiai but it seemed that as Hakuho settled in to grab for his compatriot’s belt, Ichinojo used his higher position to push straight down, forcing Hakuho to catch himself to keep from falling into the clay.

Harumafuji went back to basics with his quick, side-stepping win over Tochiozan. All of the ozeki looked strong in their wins. Kotoshogiku used UPPER body strength this time to throw Tochinoshin.

The big surprise of the day was Terunofuji’s Day 1 loss to M3 Sadanoumi. Terunofuji picked Sadanoumi up and moved him close to the edge of the dohyo but Sadanoumi was able to make use of better position and force the sekiwake out. Ozeki promotion may have to wait. The pressure is now on Terunofuji to grab wins. He faces a tough one in Oosunaarashi tomorrow.

Oosunaarashi got a quick win over Chiyootori which is to be expected with the latter’s knee injury. Endo and Aminishiki also lost their bouts as they struggled without the ability to plant and effectively counter their opponents. Aside from Oosunaarashi, Ikioi and Myogiryu benefited from the injured trio.