Yutakayama Ryōta

Yutakayama in 2017

Oyanagi won no major titles in his amateur career,[1] being somewhat prone to lapses in concentration and overconfidence against some of his key rivals.[2] However, having finished in the top eight at the All-Japan Sumo Championship he was granted sandanme tsukedashi which allowed him to skip the lower divisions and start at sandanme 100. He won his debut basho with a 7–0 championship, he matched this performance the following tournament to win the makushita division. After two more winning tournaments he made his sekitori debut by being promoted to jūryō in November 2016.

Following three successful tournaments in jūryō he was promoted to the top makuuchi division in May 2017.[3] To mark the occasion he changed his shikona or fighting name from his own surname of Oyanagi to Yutakayama, a prestigious name at Tokitsukaze stable that had previously been used by the former ōzeki and head of the Japan Sumo Association Yutakayama Katsuo and former komusubi Yutakayama Hiromitsu. He could only manage four wins at the rank and was demoted back down to the second division for the next tournament. He managed a runner-up performance and was promoted back up the following tournament only to match his record for May 2017. After coming back to the makuuchi division for the third time he was finally able to get a winning record of 9–6 at maegashira 14 and followed that performance with a 10–5 at maegashira 11, which saw him promoted to the upper maegashira ranks for the first time, at maegashira 3. Fighting all the top ranked wrestlers for the first time he could manage only a 2–13 record, but in the following July tournament he produced his best performance to date, with a 12–3 runner up performance including a final day victory over the tournament winner Mitakeumi. He was awarded his first special prize, for Fighting Spirit. Promoted to maegashira 2 in September 2018, he withdrew from the tournament on Day 5 after sustaining an elbow injury in his Day 3 defeat to Kisenosato.[4] He returned to the tournament on Day 9 and won three bouts out of his remaining seven matches for a 3–10–2 record. Three more losing records saw him demoted from makuuchi after the March 2019 tournament. He returned to the top division in September 2019 and four straight winning records saw him climb to maegashira 1 for the July 2020 tournament, his highest rank to date. However, he then had five straight losing records and was demoted back to jūryō for the May 2021 tournament.

Oyanagi did not remain with the Sumo Association upon his retirement, and became a personal trainer in Tokyo.[6] His gym, Personal Gym OYG, officially opened its doors in Akihabara, Tokyo at the end of June.[7]

On October 16, 2023, Oyanagi competed in the Legacy Tokyo half marathon after physical preparation in which he lost 60 kg (130 lb), now weighing 110 kg (240 lb). He finished the race with a score of 2 hours 8 minutes and 25 seconds. Inspired by Yuki Kawauchi, he also announced his goal of reaching a weight of 90 kg (200 lb) and competing in the Tokyo Marathon in March 2024.[8]