Promotion-seeking sekiwake Hoshoryu remained on top of the leaderboard in a three-way tie after outmaneuvering agile No. 4 maegashira Ura at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday.
Newly promoted ozeki Kirishima, meanwhile, suffered an upset loss to No. 3 Midorifuji in a marathon bout that was paused midway so officials could re-tie the ozeki's belt.
Hoshoryu, who is looking to move up to the second-highest rank of ozeki, shares the top rung at 7-1 with No. 1 Nishikigi and No. 9 Hokutofuji after eight days of action at Dolphins Arena.
The 24-year-old Mongolian grappler was prepared for a low opening charge from Ura (4-4), grabbing the maegashira from above and quickly slapping him to the clay.
In the final bout of Day 8, Kirishima (2-4-2) locked up in an awkward position against the fast-moving Midorifuji (2-6) and eventually succumbed to an underarm throw.
The Mongolian formerly known as Kiribayama has looked less than 100 percent since sitting out the first three days with sore ribs.
Nishikigi, who held the outright lead before losing on Saturday, bounced back by pushing out fellow No. 1 Tobizaru (4-4).
The 32-year-old is on track for his first promotion to the distinguished "sanyaku" ranks and will only face lower-ranked opponents for the remainder of the 15-day tournament, having taken on and beaten most of the big names in the opening week.
The two other sekiwake stayed in the title hunt by improving to 6-2. Wakamotoharu showed great strength to force out 176-kilogram komusubi Kotonowaka (5-3), while Daieisho earned a forfeit win against No. 4 Asanoyama (4-4), who withdrew with a biceps injury.
Related coverage:
Sumo: Nishikigi loses to Kotonowaka, joined by Hoshoryu in 1st place
Sumo: Nishikigi beats Abi to take outright lead in Nagoya
Sumo: Top-flight debutant Gonoyama stampedes to 5th straight win
