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World Championship Sumo announced:
Five-time European Champions Badri Khatiskatsi and Lasha Jeladze, both of whom hail from the Republic of Georgia, will bring their world-renowned talents to this month’s World Championship Sumo (WCS) event in New York sponsored by the International Sumo League (ISL). Joining the European champion duo will be 6-foot , 525-pound Dominus “Domzilla” Davis-Williams, the current U.S. Super-Weight champion and bronze medal winner at the 2025 World Games in Thailand.
Scheduled to take place 8 p.m. Friday night, January 30, 2026, at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, NY, this landmark event marks a new chapter in global sumo competition, bringing together 12 elite athletes and international media partners to elevate sumo as a global sport and to celebrate the sport’s ancient tradition and modern evolution.
Times Square will briefly become ‘Sumo Square’ for the official weigh-in with all 12 sumos taking place two days before the championship bouts on Wednesday morning, January 28, 2026, at 11 a.m. at the Hard Rock Café. George Shea, the long-time master of ceremonies for Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, will serve as special guest emcee for the weigh-in.
The World Sumo Championship is the largest sumo event outside Japan. Tickets are currently on sale via wcsumo.com and Ticketmaster.
“We are extremely excited to bring some of the world’s most premier sumo wrestlers to the Westchester County Center for the first time ever to compete in the World Championship Sumo,” said Noah Goldman, International Sumo Founder and CEO. “All eyes from Japan will be on White Plains as its leader in sports coverage ABEMA LIVE will broadcast this event to Japan live on Pay-Per-View. Fans can expect to see the world’s biggest athletes battle all night until we crown a WCS champion. I guarantee all fans will be amazed by these outstanding athletes as they compete for championship glory.”
The 2025 silver medal World Games winner and five-time world cup champion Badri Khatiskatsi, among many other accolades, is listed at 6-foot, 350 pounds while Lasha Jeladze, a 2024 gold medal World Games winner, five-time European Champion and USA Open Champion (LA, Texas) is 6-3, 375 pounds. Among the other sumo wrestlers taking their talents to Westchester include:
Gilberto De La Torre (6-3, 400), a 2025 silver medal winner in the World Games.
Angel De La Torre (6 foot, 350), a U.S. National champion and Olympia gold medalist.
Hayden “Sumo Slapper” Southall (6-3, 415), USA Heavyweight Champion.
Rob “Samoan Bulldozer” Fuimaono (6-1, 380), a long-time WCS competitor.
Kofi Miller (6 foot, 352)
Josh Ortiz (5-7, 275), a long-time WCS competitor, wrestling instructor and body builder.
Danny “Big Dan” Avila (6-2, 305), a long-time WCS competitor.
Josh “Judo Josh” Wade (6-5, 220), the 2025 Grand Champion of the Inaugural Empire Cup Open Sumo Tournament.
Kendell Perry (6-foot, 265), Olympia Sumo champion winner in 2024.
Davis-Williams is the largest sumo in the field but being the biggest doesn’t guarantee a WCS title.
Expected to get a “home mat” treatment from the Westchester County crowd will be four local sumo wrestlers, all members of the New York Sumo Club in Manhattan: Miller, a resident of Brooklyn who is a computer science teacher; Ortiz, a bodybuilder and sumo instructor who resides in The Bronx; Wade, also known for his judo expertise is from Brooklyn; and Perry hails from New Jersey.
The night of sumo wrestling is highlighted by 30-40 plus matches to crown a WCS event champion. The event will be available as a pay-per-view broadcast on ABEMA Live in the United States. The Japanese online streaming television network expands sumo’s reach to global audiences and it’s the first time a sumo championship in the United States has been broadcasted in Japan. Japan’s QSO, a premier promoter of sports and music events, is also a partner in this event.
The Rules of Sumo and the Competition:
Rules are simple – either force the opponent to the mat or outside an 18-foot circle. The athletes are enormous in size, strength and talent and when the event is over, they immediately display sportsmanship and welcome interaction with fans.
Moreover, there are no weight classes as it’s a contest of strategy, strength, and speed.
Athletes will be seeded 1-12 with first-round matches featuring No. 1 vs. No. 12, No. 2 vs. No. 11, etc. Each match consists of the best two out of three until the top two sumo wrestlers remain for the championship to win the top prize of $3,000 and a WCS title.
Founded by Goldman, ISL is the first organized professional sumo wrestling league outside of Japan. The league has previously hosted acclaimed sumo events at both the Theater at Madison Square Garden and The Prudential Center, making this its third major event in the New York area within the past 24 months.
With the launch of WCS, ISL is building a multi-city tour, raising capital for league expansion, and laying the foundation for the first-ever professional sumo circuit in the Americas and Europe. ISL has exclusive agreements in place with over half of the top 100 amateur sumo wrestlers in the world. ISL is also currently in Series A investment discussions. For more information, please visit wcsumo.com.
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