Veteran ozeki Kaio beat maegashira Kyokutenho to surpass former yokozuna Chiyonofuji for the most career wins with his 1,046th victory at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Thursday.
Kaio lost his first three bouts but matched Chiyonofuji's record on Wednesday before moving to the top of the all-time list with a "yorikiri" force-out defeat of his opponent at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.
Kyokutenho (1-4) put up a brave fight and forced a prolonged mid-ring stalemate, but Kaio bided his time and surged forward to bundle the second-ranked Mongolian out of the dohyo.