Rizin is doing the lord’s work. The Japanese MMA promotion just signed former Sumo wrestler Ōsunaarashi Kintaro and we already can’t wait for all the training montages they will bless us with.
Birth name Abdelrahman Shalan, the rough Japanese to English translation of “Ōsunaarashi” is “Great Sandstorm”. Yes.
We neeed training footage of Ōsunaarashi Kintaro shadow boxing a small dust devil and him rolling in sand dunes punching at the ground to train his MMA ground n’ pound. Please Rizin give us. All of this.
Shalan announced his move to Rizin this week.
日本のみなさんこんにちは。
大砂嵐です。発表にもある通り、私はRIZINでMMAファイターとしてデビューすることになりました。
デビュー戦にむけてアメリカでジョシュ・バーネット先生に厳しく指導してもらいます。
飛行機を降りた時、エジプトからはじめて日本に来た時の気持ちを思い出しました。 pic.twitter.com/46uzUcsGrK
— Oosunaarashi 大砂嵐 (@Oosunaarashi) May 2, 2018
Per the old Google translate Ōsunaarashi Kintaro said
“Hello Japan.
It is a great sandstorm.
As is the announcement, I decided to debut as a MMA fighter in Rizin.
In the United States, Mr. Josh Barnett is strictly guided for his debut match. When I got off the plane, I remembered the feeling I had when I first came to Japan from Egypt.”
It should be noted that Ōsunaarashi Kintaro’s exile from the world of Sumo is batshit crazy. Per the reliable Wikipedia machine.
“He withdrew from the January 2018 tournament after he was suspected of causing an accident in Yamanouchi, Nagano on January 3 while driving without a license, defying the Japan Sumo Association’s ban on wrestlers driving. Although Ōsunaarashi said he had an international driving license, it had apparently expired. His lawyer initially claimed it was Ōsunaarashi’s pregnant wife who was driving, but police established that it was Ōsunaarashi after studying surveillance camera footage. Ōsunaarashi was placed under “house arrest” by the Sumo Association on February 1, pending the decision of the public prosecutor on whether to file charges against him. The police referred the case to prosecutors on Feb 7, and the summary court fined him 500,000 yen on February 16. On March 9 the Japan Sumo Association formally requested his retirement, the harshest punishment short of outright dismissal, and Ōsunaarashi indicated that he would comply.”
Amazing.
As it stands it looks like Ōsunaarashi Kintaro will be beating up much smaller men inside a Rizin ring on their scheduled September card.
