Ryutei Weifu - 龍帝 衛福 (born June 2, 1986) is a former Chinese professional sumo wrestler from Laiyang, Shandong. He made his debut in March 2004 and last wrestled for Nishonoseki stable. His highest rank was sandanme 3 and he retired in January 2013.
Career[]
Weifu Li of Shandong, China, joined Nishonoseki stable in March 2004. Weighing at 192 kg he was one of the heaviest newest recruits in sumo history. In comparison, Orora, who is the heaviest sumo wrestler in sumo history, joined sumo at the weight of 190 kg (419 Ib) and ozeki Konishiki joined sumo at the weight of 175 kg (386 Ib). He made his debut under the shikona "Ryutei" alongside Beijing-native Manazuru.
In his debut, he produced a losing record, but bounced back with an impressive 6-1 record in July 2004. He continued his strong performance by producing two more winning records which sent him to the sandanme division in January 2005. Although he posted a losing record in his sandanme debut, he returned to the division two tournaments later and established himself in the division.
In September 2006, he sat out of a tournament for the first time and as a result fell back down to jonidan. He immediately returned to sandanme and would not fall back to jonidan for the remainder of his career. In July 2007, Ryutei produced a 6-1 record where his only loss came from fellow heavyweight Yamamotoyama. Nonetheless, he was promoted to a career-best sandanme 3 in September 2007.
Ryutei acquired Japanese nationality on January 5th, 2010, and this allowed his stable to recruit a Mongolian into the stable. Immediately after this, the Japan Sumo Association revised the rule to close this loophole.
Retirement from Sumo[]
In October 2012, Ryutei's stablemaster became sick, so his stable became difficult to manage. He announced his retirement after the January 2013 tournament, which coincided with his stable's closure. According to his Facebook, Ryutei currently resides in Osaka, Japan.
Personal Life[]
- Ryutei obtained Japanese citizenship on January 5, 2010. He changed his legal name from Weifu Li to his shikona name of Weifu Ryutei.
- Coincidentally, from July 2006 to his retirement, he did not wrestle on the 14th or 15th day and would always wrestle his last match on the 13th day (excluding the September 2006 and January 2008 tournaments where he sat out).
- At his heaviest, Ryutei weighed 212 kg which makes him the 23rd heaviest sumo wrestler in sumo history.
Fighting Style[]
Ryutei defeats Maegunzan by kotenage (armlock throw)
Ryutei was an oshi-sumo wrestler who prefers pushing and thrusting techniques to fighting on the mawashi. His most common kimarite used was a straightforward oshidashi, or push out. He was also fond of employing kotenage, or armlock throw.
Record[]
Division Results[]
- Total: 181-168-15/348 (53 basho)
- Sandanme: 148-152-15/299 (45 basho)
- Jonidan: 24-11/35 (5 basho)
- Jonokuchi: 9-5/14 (2 basho)
Shikona History[]
- Ryutei Weifu (2004.03 - 2013.01)
Gallery[]
