WORLD ELITE SUMO ANNOUNCES NEW DATE – SATURDAY, MAY 16 – FOR LIVE PROFESSIONAL SUMO EVENT AT PRUDENTIAL CENTER
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 31 Mar 2026
Newark, NJ – March 30 – World Elite Sumo (WES) today announced a new date – Saturday, May 16 – for its previously announced, live professional sumo wrestling event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
WES also announced the complete lineup of competitors for the event’s headlining, one-night, single-elimination 12-man tournament that had previously been scheduled to take place on April 18.
Tickets for the WES live event at Prudential Center on May 16 are on sale at both PruCenter.com and Ticketmaster.com.
Tickets purchased for the April 18 event will still be valid for the new date of May 16. Ticket purchaser’s tickets will automatically roll over to the new date.
“In order to put together a tournament like this with the best possible group of fighters and to make this an unforgettable night for fans, the new event date was imperative. It’s full steam ahead on May 16,” said Abdelrahman “Sandstorm” Shalan, CEO of WES and a renowned sumo athlete who will compete in the 12-man elimination tournament.
The 33-year-old Shalan, a resident of Waldwick, N.J. and a native of Egypt is the first sumo wrestler in history from The Middle East and African regions of the world.
Including Shalan, eight of the nine professional sumo wrestlers previously announced as tournament participants will be in action on the new May 16 date.
Of the original nine fighters, only Brennen Moorefield has been forced to withdraw from the event due to injury.
Moorefield will be replaced in the tournament by sumo veteran Sensho Hideki of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Announced today as additions that complete the 12-man tournament field were strongman champion Joshua Ortiz of The Bronx, N.Y.; Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Matt Kramer of Bayonne, N.J.; and former amateur sumo champion Mark Jones of Daytona Beach, Fla.
Ortiz is a member of the Queens-based New York Sumo Club, a prestigious training center for the sport that helped Ortiz, who used to suffer from obesity and who had never played traditional sports while growing up, find a new calling in life.
When he is not training or competing in sumo, Ortiz competes in strongman contests, most notably winning the Summer Solstice Viking Battle in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 2024.
Kramer, a U.S. Army veteran, holds a black belt in the Brazilian martial arts discipline under master trainer Thiago Rela, and is a two-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) No-Gi Pan American Championship tournament winner.
Jones was an offensive lineman for Coastal Carolina University and went on to play semi-professional football after his NCAA stint.
In 2021, Jones entered the world of sumo and, in the same year, placed as runner-up in the North American U.S. national sumo tournament.
The brackets for the single-elimination tournament will be determined one day before the live event.
The 12 fighters will all compete in the first stage of the bracket-style tournament, with the six first stage fight winners advancing to the next stage of the tournament.
Those winners will be joined in the quarterfinal stage of the tournament by two of the fighters who lost their respective first stage matches, but are each granted a wild card to re-enter the tournament as a result of their strong performances in the initial stage of combat.
The eight remaining sumo competitors will battle it out across quarterfinal, semifinal and championship stages of single-elimination competition until there is one tournament champion at the end of the night.
All WES tournament matches are contested in a best-of-three format, increasing competitive stakes and maintaining a rapid, exciting pace of action.
WES, first independent professional sumo wrestling league established outside of Japan’s traditional sumo universe in 800 years, brings together top-level athletes from around the world, featuring live taiko drumming, dramatic entrances, and an immersive fight-night production that blends athleticism, intensity, and spectacle.
Doors for the WES event open at 6:00 p.m. on May 16, and the event begins at 7:00 p.m. For more information on WES, visit www.prucenter.com or www.worldelitesumo.com.
The following is a summary of the 12 athletes who will compete in the WES one-night, 12-man tournament:
Abdelrahman “Sandstorm” Shalan
Nationality: Egyptian
Fighting out of: Waldwick, N.J.
Age: 33
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 340 pounds
Fighting Style: Tsuki/Oshi (thrusting and pushing) and tsuki dashi (thrusting an opponent out of the ring)
Career Accolades: Tied for the fourth fastest climb to the makuuchi, or the top tier division for sumo wrestlers in Japan and earned his first tournament championship with a perfect record of 7-0 during his first year of competing in 2012; Defeated two yokozuna (the highest rank in sumo wrestling) in back-to-back matches in 2014.
Soslan “Big Bear” Gagloev
Nationality: Russian
Fighting out of: Orlando, Fla.
Age: 35
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 350 pounds
Fighting Style: Yotsu-zumo (When opponents grab each other’s belt with both hands) specialist with dominant migi-yotsu (when a wrestler secures an inside grip on the opponent’s belt with the right hand, while the left hand is outside) belt control
Career Accolades: Competed in Japan’s top professional divisions and is known for powerful yorikiri (driving the opponent out backward while maintaining a constant grip on the opponent’s belt) force-outs and polished technique.
Robert “The Samoan Bulldozer” Fuimaono
Nationality: Samoan
Fighting out of: Kansas City, Mo.
Age: 34
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 390 pounds
Fighting Style: Heavy power sumo with dominant forward pressure and strength-based control
Career Accolades: A four-time U.S. National Champion and a three-time USA National Team representative. Represented the U.S. at the 2019 World Sumo Championship, the 2022 World Games and the 2023 World Combat Games.
“Rui Junior”
Nationality: Brazilian
Fighting out of: Londrina, Paraná, Brazil
Age: 32
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 381 pounds
Fighting Style: Dominant power sumo
Career Accolades: The most decorated Brazilian champion with 22 national titles, and a 10-time South American champion. Earned 5 medals at the World Championships and served as head coach of the Venezuelan National Sumo Team for three years. A cornerstone of South American sumo, respected for both competitive dominance and leadership.
Alejandro “El Caiman” Santana
Nationality: Puerto Rican
Fighting out of: Miami, Fla.
Age: 36
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 360 pounds
Fighting Style: Uses aggressive push-outs and upper body striking
Career Accolades: A former NCAA Division II, dual-sport athlete in football and track and field; A leader and mentor within Florida’s sumo wrestling community.
Jared “ParHammerTime” Parham
Nationality: American
Fighting out of: Coppell, Texas
Age: 34
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 260 pounds
Fighting Style: A body-grappling focuses yotsu-zumo style emphasizing morozashi (double inside underhooks) and gaburi-yori (driving torso pressure) with quick, explosive throws
Career Accolades: Winner of multiple titles, including the 2024 Mighty Eagle Team Tournament, the 2025 Texas Classic Openweight Tournament and the 2025 Olympia Sumo Tournament.
Jared “The Long Shot” Tadlock
Nationality: American
Fighting out of: Arlington, Texas
Age: 37
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 340 pounds
Fighting Style: Technical and tactical, emphasizing discipline, timing and precision
Career Accolades: The 2022 Texas State Sumo Wrestling Champion. Placed fourth in the 2023 national sumo wrestling championship’s open weight division and placed fourth in the 2021 national sumo wrestling championship’s light heavyweight (251 pounds) division.
Edobor Konyeha
Nationality: Hungarian American
Fighting out of: Jacksonville, Texas
Age: 24
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 202 pounds
Fighting Style: Unorthodox attack style
Career Accolades: A two-time U.S. national champion
Joshua Ortiz
Nationality: American
Fighting out of: The Bronx, N.Y.
Age: 39
Height: 5-foot-7
Weight: 275 pounds
Fighting Style: A strong belt fighter, who uses throwing techniques when he grabs his opponent by the belt, and is known for tsuridashi (picking up an opponent and walking him out of the dohyō)
Career Accolades: Was a U.S. Sumo Federation heavyweight competitor in 2025
Matt Kramer
Nationality: American
Fighting out of: Bayonne, N.J.
Age: 40
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 250 pounds
Fighting Style: Utilizes power and pushing techniques rather than throws and trips; Relies on his significant physical strength
Career Accolades: Placed third in both the heavyweight and open weight classes in the 2025 “Empire Cup” sumo tournament.
Mark Jones
Nationality: American
Fighting out of: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Age: 37
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 350 pounds
Fighting Style: Uses oshi dashi (frontal force out); chest-to-chest wrestling more so than belt wrestling; known for being aggressive from the outset of a match
Career Accolades: A former, two-time amateur sumo champion; the 2021 North American placed fifth at the 2023 world championship tournament in Japan where he represented the U.S. in the event
Sensho Hideki
Nationality: Mongolian
Fighting out of:
Age: 42
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 305 pounds
Fighting Style: A yotsu-zumo wrestler, who prefers a hidari-yotsu (when a wrestler secures an inside grip on the opponent’s belt with the left hand, while the right hand is outside); utilizes yorikiri and uwatenage (an overarm throwing technique)
Career Accolades: A two-time tournament champion who holds a strong career win-loss-draw record of 300-250-41
*All participants are subject to change*
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