Ozeki Chiyotaikai knocked a huge monkey off his back by mugging nemesis Musoyama on Friday to take sole possession of the lead at 12-1 in the New Year Grand Sumo Tournament.
Overnight co-leader Tochiazuma, however, appeared to have lost his strength along with his stubble as the new ozeki slipped to his second straight loss at the hands of fellow ozeki Kaio with two days left in the 15-day meet at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan.
Tochiazuma, aiming to become the first wrestler in 33 years to win the Emperor's Cup on his ozeki debut, dropped to 11-2 and joins sekiwake Kotomitsuki, who boosted his chances of promotion to ozeki with a hard-fought win over Tosanoumi.