 He moved through the lower divisions quickly, winning the championship in the "jonidan" division in May 2005 with a perfect 7–0 record.It took him a year to climb up the third "makushita" division and in November 2006 a 4–3 record at "Makushita" 1 East earned him promotion to the second "jūryō" division and elite "sekitori" status.At 18 years and five months, he was the youngest foreign-born wrestler to do so.