Sumo Wrestling Legend, MMA Fighter Akebono Taro Dies at 54

Hawaiian-born sumo wrestling star Akebono Taro has died at the age of 54 due to heart failure.

On Wednesday night, news broke that Akebono had died in a hospital in Tokyo. Born Chadwick Haheo Rowan, Akebono was raised in his home state of Hawaii and competed in various sports including dabbling in sumo wrestling when he was young. While checking in as one of the largest sumo practitioners in the sport’s history, measuring 6-foot-8 and well over 500 pounds, this proved to his advantage as he won multiple championships over the years. His sumo career culminated in his earning the rank of yokozuna in 1993, where he became the first non-Japanese wrestler to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

As he competed at the top echelon of the sport, he moved to Japan in 1996, where he became a Japanese citizen and changed his name to Akebono Taro. He retired from sumo wrestling in 2001 due to injury, and he began to transition to other sports. Akebono joined the kickboxing world in 2003, where he famously fought Bob Sapp at K-1 Premium 2003 Dynamite!! That event in Nagoya, Japan, drew a rating of 42.5 in the country, accounting for nearly 54 million viewers, or almost 43% of the entire nation.

The other combat sports careers for Akebono did not go as well as his time as a sumo wrestler, as the Hawaiian racked up a combined MMA and kickboxing record of 1-13. Akebono made his MMA debut in 2004 against Royce Gracie, and the Brazilian landed an omoplata on him in the first round. Three subsequent outings in 2005 and 2006 did not go his way, as Bobby Ologun prevailed via decision while Don Frye and Paulo Cesar Silva tapped him. His lone win as a pro came in the kickboxing ring in 2005, as he picked up a decision victory over Nobuaki Kakuda in a one-night tournament. Akebono lost later that night to Hong Man Choi, starting an unsuccessful trilogy with the “Techno Goliath.”

In addition to kickboxing and MMA, the Hawaiian shifted gears to professional wrestling for over a decade, working with organizations including a brief stint in the WWE along with stretches with New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Akebono last fought in 2015, dropping a technical decision to Sapp in their rematch 12 years in the making. His final wrestling match took place in 2017. A few years later, Akebono succumbed to a heart problem, one that ended up putting him in coma and placed him a wheelchair until his passing.