"Big Mak" is taking another crack at sumo wrestling.
California's Makini "Big Mak" Manu, the number one-ranked super heavyweight in Dana White’s Power Slap organization, was named as one of the initial competitors for World Elite Sumo's one-night, 12-man, open weight tournament at Caribe Royale Orlando on Saturday, Nov. 21.
Standing 6-feet tall, the 32-year-old, 400-pound Manu of Carson, Calif., is a former professional football player turned Power Slap competitor, who made his professional sumo wrestling debut in the WES tournament back on Sept. 26 in Santa Cruz, Calif.
Manu turned in an exceptional performance in his first tournament bout, defeating Juicy Manu, a near-500-pound competitor, by a score of two rounds to zero in the best-of-three rounds matchup.
Two other wrestlers were announced for the Nov. 21 event: WES tournament champion Hidenoumi “The Iron Wall” Takuya of Japan; and Orlando-based MMA fighter Brennen Moorefield.
“We are bringing what will be our most competitive and action-packed tournament in World Elite Sumo history to Orlando on November 21,” said World Elite Sumo spokesperson Alaa Okasha.
Takuya, a 34-year-old, 6-foot, 350-pound resident of Fukushima, Japan, is coming off a stellar victory at WES' tournament in Santa Cruz, where he defeated three consecutive opponents, including championship opponent and fellow sumo superstar Abdelrahman “Sandstorm” Shalan to earn the grand prize.
The Japanese wrestler, known for his unrelenting, forward-pressure style of combat, is a former competitor in the “makuuchi”, the elite division of sumo wrestling in Japan.
Born and raised in Orlando, where he still resides, the 31-year-old, 5-foot-10, 230-pound Moorefield is a former high school football and wrestling standout, who took up Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after his student career ended and gradually moved toward competing in the sport of MMA, where he scored first round knockouts on each of his first three opponents.
Moorefield, who trains at Fusion X-Cel Performance in Orlando, entered his first sumo wrestling tournament as a professional, rather than as an amateur, and shocked the sumo world by defeating his first opponent, a seasoned competitor with a 150-pound weight advantage over Moorefield.
Additional entrants for the Orlando tournament will be announced soon.