he's won many fans in all age categories. ♪ >> reporter: another ace up ikioi's sleeve is his talents a singer. last month, he threw a karaoke party for his fans. more than 1,300 people from around japan applied to be among the ten singers at the event. >> translator: after today, i like him even more. >> translator: i'll continue rooting for him for a long time. >> reporter: ikioi has come to play an important role in promoting sumo and increasing the number of fans. in the upcoming nagoya tournament, he's hoping to secure a promotion to the rank of san yack you, the rank just below yokozuna and the second highest rank of ozeki. to achieve his objective, he'll need to win at least 8 of the 15 bouts. that will be no easy task, as he competes against other top-ranking wrestlers. >> translator: my goal is to unsettle the yokozuna and the ozeki with my technique. it's all about taking them head on and not letting them brush me aside. >> reporter: ikioi's kind and cheerful, but once he steps inside the ring, he turns into a formidable foe. now he's set to fight his way up through the ran