World Elite Sumo (WES) today announced the historic addition of a four-woman professional tournament to its previously announced, first-ever live event in the state of California at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz on Saturday, Sept. 26.
The women’s tournament, which will be produced in a round-robin format, will take place immediately before the championship stage of the already announced, one-night, 12-man, open weight tournament that will headline the show.
Priced from $50, tickets for the World Elite Sumo event are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com.
Slated for action in the women’s field are Kellyann Ball, “Tanro” Perez, Yaleidy “Jolly” Toro Graniela, and Haley Cartmill.
Ball is a 33-year-old resident of Chino, Calif. and a six-time medalist in the annual Sumo World Championships amateur event.
The 23-year-old Perez fights out of Dallas, Texas and is a two-time bronze medalist in the Sumo World Championships.
Toro Graniela is a 42-year-old native of Whittier, Calif., residing in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. She is a six-year veteran of amateur sumo competition, and was the runner-up in the open weight division at the 2024 SoCal Open amateur sumo tournament in San Diego, Calif.
Fighting out of Portland, Oregon, Cartmill is a 29-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and was a second-place finisher in the super heavyweight division in this year’s annual Rain City Open sumo event in Seattle, Wash.
Each of the four women will compete against the other three female athletes once in a best-of-three round matchup.
Based on the number of wins each secures, the top two athletes will advance to face each other in the championship stage of the round robin tournament.
If any two of the women sumo wrestlers are tied in terms of number of matches won, they will compete in a tie-breaker matchup, with the winner of this bout advancing to the championship stage of the tournament.
If there is a tie among three of the women prior to the championship stage, a three-way playoff will be utilized to determine the two finalists.
The previously announced athletes for the World Elite Sumo one-night, 12-man, open weight tournament are number one-ranked Power Slap super heavyweight star and former amateur sumo champion, Makini “Big Mak” Manu of Carson, Calif.; international sumo superstar, Abdelrahman “Sandstorm” Shalan of Egypt via Waldwick, N.J.; Gilberto De La Torre, the Los Angeles-based first Mexican professional sumo wrestler in history; professional wrestling star, Juicy Finau of Chino; three-time African national freestyle wrestling champion Ahmed Khalil of Egypt; Japanese powerhouse Hidenoumi “The Iron Wall” Takuya; six-hundred-pound American sumo Mathew Westwood; Polynesian American martial artist and pro wrestler, Josh “Siua” Tuitupou; former Japanese sumo champion Asahisho Kota; Brazilian sumo star “Rui Junior”; seasoned Russian technician Soslan “Big Bear” Gagloev; and American strongman athlete, Josh “The Ox” Ortiz.
World Elite Sumo live events bring together top-level athletes from around the world and feature live taiko drumming, dramatic entrances, and an immersive fight night production that blends athleticism, intensity, and spectacle.
All World Elite Sumo men’s and women’s tournament matches will be contested in a best-of-three format, increasing competitive stakes and maintaining a rapid, exciting pace of action.
Doors for the World Elite Sumo event at Kaiser Permanente Arena will open at 6:00 p.m. local time on September 26, and the event will begin at 7:00 p.m.
For more information on World Elite Sumo, log onto www.worldelitesumo.com.
