The 2026 Olympia Sumo championships were held as part of the 2026 Olympia World Fitness Expo in the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV on September 25-26. Hosted by “Sumo Dan” Kalbfleisch for the 21st year, athletes from around the country and internationally gathered to take part in this annual Olympia tradition with hopes to leave Las Vegas as champions.
Kalbfleisch shared that the event was a success and was thankful for the athletes who competed, the fans who watched, sponsors, and the Olympia promoters for their support in making this event happen.
Kalbfleisch said, “I would like to thank all the sumo athletes who came out and fought hard to show the true athleticism of the sport of sumo, the crew who worked hard to set up our tournament and helped it run as smooth as possible, the fans of sumo, old and new, who cheered for our athletes during every match, our sponsors who helped produce the tournament and gave our athletes some goodies and prizes, and the crew of Mr Olympia and the Olympia Expo for including the sport of sumo amongst the featured strength sports.”
Chef Andre Rush even stopped by to see the athletes and watch some of the action along with the live audience and viewers on their livestream. The results for each division as well as the anticipated Openweight tournament are below.
Lightweight (85 kg/187 lbs)
Matt Cox, representing Honu Sumo in San Diego, was the defending champion in this weight class, and he managed to successfully leave Las Vegas as a repeat titleholder. Cox was also a 2026 United States Sumo Federation (USSF) silver medalist prior to this event. David Nabbimba and Mike Bubeska took silver and bronze, respectively.
Middleweight (100 kg/220 lbs)
Scott Cho may not have been seen as a favorite in the middleweight division, but he managed to pull off an upset and take gold in the 100-kilogram class over current USSF national champion Joshua Wade. Ryan White rounded out the top three.
Light-Heavyweight (115 kg/253 lbs)
Ruslan Mukhamadiyarov has been active in the sport for several years now. The 2020 US Sumo Open silver-medalist was able to take first over runner-up Eric Underhill and 2025 champion Cornelius Booker, who settled for bronze in 2026.
Heavyweight (+115 kg/+253 lbs)
Like Cox in Light-Heavyweight, Angel Delatorre was the defending Heavyweight champion and managed to go back-to-back in Las Vegas. Dyson Dunki leaves Sin City with silver, and Larry Velasquez rounded out the top three for the second consecutive year.
Openweight (no weight limit)
The Openweight category is always popular because lighter competitors get to square off against the bigger athletes, and size is not always the deciding factor. Despite Wade not winning his own division, he managed to upset heavyweight winner Delatorre to take the Openweight crown.
Replays of several matches from the 2026 Olympia Sumo event are available to watch on the Sumo Dan YouTube channel. To learn more about Olympia Sumo, follow @olympiasumo and @sumodanusa on Instagram.
