Baruto Kaito
| Baruto Kaito | |
|---|---|
| 把瑠都 凱斗 | |
 |
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| Personal information | |
| Born | Kaido Höövelson 5 November 1984 Väike-Maarja, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia |
| Height | 1.99 m (6 ft 6 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 183 kg (403 lb; 28.8 st) |
| Career | |
| Stable |
Mihogaseki (05.2004 - 07.2006) Onoe (08.2006 - 09.2013) |
| Record | 431-213-102 |
| Debut | May 2004 |
| Highest rank | Ōzeki (May, 2010) |
| Retired | September 2013 |
| Championships | 1 (Makuuchi) 3 (Jūryō) 1 (Makushita) 1 (Jonidan) 1 (Jonokuchi) |
| Special Prizes | Fighting Spirit (5) Outstanding Performance (1) Technique (1) |
Baruto Kaito (把瑠都 凱斗, born 5 November 1984 as Kaido Höövelson) is a former professional sumo wrestler and current mixed martial arts fighter from Estonia. Making his debut in May 2004, he was one of only two Estonians ever to join sumo in Japan. He reached the top division after just two years in sumo in May 2006. After suffering a number of injury problems in 2007 which delayed his progress, he reached the third-highest rank of sekiwake in November 2008, and was promoted to ōzeki rank after finishing the March 2010 tournament with a score of 14–1. He was a tournament runner-up four times before recording a top division championship in the 2012 January tournament. During his career Baruto also earned five special prizes for Fighting Spirit, one for Outstanding Performance and one for Technique. He lost his ōzeki rank after more injury problems at the end of 2012, and having fallen greatly in rank after withdrawing from the May 2013 tournament, he announced his retirement in September of that year at the age of 28.
Höövelson was born in Väike-Maarja, but grew up in the nearby Rohu village in current Laekvere Parish. His family owned a cattle farm and he became accustomed to hard physical labour as a child. His father died when Höövelson was sixteen years old and he worked as a nightclub bouncer to earn a living.
He played basketball as a teenager and also won a national judo championship in Estonia.
He was introduced to amateur sumo when he was a little boy. Through his judo coach Riho Rannikmaa, and an official from the Kagoshima Prefecture Sumo Association, Kazuo Kurazono, encouraged him to join the professional sport. Due to the restrictions on foreigners entering sumo, the only stable with a place available was Mihogaseki. He was given the shikona or fighting name of Baruto, a reference to the Japanese name of the Baltic sea, and made his professional debut in May 2004. He moved very quickly up the rankings, reaching the jūryō division after only 8 tournaments (tied for the third-fastest rise to sekitori status since 1958 when the current six-tournament-a-year format was adopted) and compiling a record of 41–8 on the way.
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