On a day when yokozuna Hakuho all but sealed his 43rd Emperor's Cup, the biggest news out of Fukuoka concerned a man in sumo's third division.

Terunofuji clinched the makushita title with a perfect 7-0 record and will be back in the salaried ranks in January for the first time in over a year and a half.

After missing four straight tournaments through injury from July 2018 on, the former ozeki had fallen all the way down to the second-lowest division (jonidan).