Sumo wrestlers are most often defined by their incredible size, with some of the most famous competing at weights of over 400 and even 500 pounds.

But one recently-retired wrestler has undergone a weight loss so drastic that he doesn’t even look like the same person anymore.

Takanobu Satō, who competed in professional sumo for over a decade as “Takekeisho Takanobu” retired this past September following a series of injuries. He had been a four-time Grand Sumo champion, and had achieved the prestigious rank of “Ozeki” – the second-highest in the entire sport.

While competing in professional sumo, Takekeisho maintained a regular weight of over 350 pounds and was officially listed at 183 kilograms (~403.5 pounds) back in 2021. For a man standing 5-foot-9, that’s a ton of extra weight to be carrying around and his body might have suffered for it.

However, in the nine months since he called it a career, Takakeisho has slimmed an incredibly slim weight that might be in the mid-200s. That means he must have lost somewhere between 100-150 pounds in just the past eight months.

To put it into context, this is what Takakeisho looked like during the height of his wrestling career:


This is what he looked like shortly after retiring in September 2024:


This is how he looked in January 2025:


And this is what he looks like now, though (on the far left):


You can barely even tell that the person on the left is even the same man in the previous three posts.

Takakeisho, who now goes by the sumo elder name Minatogawa-oyakata, has not revealed what techniques he’s used to enjoy such a rapid slimming down. Though given that sumo wrestlers reportedly consume around 10,000 calories per day to maintain their fighting shape, a simple reduction in calories over the past year probably would have done most of the hard work for him.

Takakeisho would finish his career with an in-ring record of 441-254. While he repeatedly fell short of being promoted to Yokozuna, the highest rank in sumo and a rank awarded only 74 times in over 300 years, he has remained a fan favorite by fans for a decade.