World Elite Sumo today announced that it has signed five-time professional powerlifting champion Eli Flecha to compete in the previously announced one-night, 12-man, open weight tournament at Caribe Royale Orlando on Saturday, Nov. 21.
Tickets for “World Elite Sumo: Pro Era V” event at Caribe Royale Orlando are on sale at VBO Tickets.
“Eli Flecha has been on the World Elite Sumo radar because of his achievements in the sport of powerlifting, so we are excited to see how his strength, speed and experience fare in the dohyō (sumo wrestling competition ring) in Orlando on November 21,” said Alaa Okasha, spokesperson for World Elite Sumo.
A lifelong resident of Orlando, Flecha, whose heritage is Puerto Rican, is a 33-year-old, 5-foot-10, 300-pound athlete who has placed as high as eighth in the annual USA Powerlifting Nationals tournament in 2024.
In that tournament, Flecha lifted a combined 1,725 pounds across three different competitions – squats, bench press and deadlifts.
His participation in the World Elite Sumo tournament will be Flecha’s sumo wrestling rules debut.
As a teenager, Flecha was a football player for Orlando Christian Prep, competing as both an offensive and defensive lineman.
Also announced today as a new entrant to the one-night tournament, was another Orlando resident, World Elite Sumo veteran Soslan “Big Bear” Gagloev.
The 6-foot-5, 350-pound Gagloev is a native of the former Soviet Union and former collegiate football player who was one of the youngest competitors in history to reach Japan’s top-flight sumo wrestling division over the course of a three-year tenure in sumo’s homeland.
In the World Elite Sumo tournament, Flecha and Gagloev join previously announced Makini “Big Mak” Manu, who also recently made his sumo debut and is the number one-ranked super heavyweight in Dana White’s Power Slap organization, fighting out of Carson, Calif.; former Japanese top-division sumo wrestler Hidenoumi “The Iron Wall” Takuya of Tokyo; and Orlando-based MMA fighter, Brennen Moorefield.
Additional World Elite Sumo tournament participants will be announced soon.
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.
The World Elite Sumo one-night tournament begins with a qualifying round comprised of single-round matches.
After the qualifying stage, all subsequent tournament matches are contested in a best-of-three round elimination format that produces a fast-paced, high-stakes event.
Doors at Caribe Royale Orlando will open at 6 p.m. local time for the World Elite Sumo event on November 21. The first bout will begin at 7 p.m.
For more information on World Elite Sumo, log onto www.worldelitesumo.com.
The post Powerlifting Champion Added To World Elite Sumo At Caribe Royale Orlando appeared first on FightNews.
