Micah Parsons Goes Head-to-Head With a Sumo Wrestler

Highlights

Micah Parsons squared off against a sumo wrestler in Tokyo.
Parsons struggled initially but ultimately overpowered the wrestler.
Parsons showed off his determination and strength outside the football field.

Star pass-rushers are accustomed to having to take on some of the largest guys in professional sports in pursuit of the quarterback. Micah Parsons is no different, and he’s found great success during his three years in the NFL.

The Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker has already been an all-pro twice in his young NFL career, but he recently tackled a new challenge. Bleacher Report posted a video of Parsons going head-to-head with a sumo wrestler during a trip to Tokyo, Japan. It’s a definite change of scenery from a football field, but Parsons didn’t shy away from the challenge.

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Round One

Parsons’ first battle against the wrestler

Micah Parsons celebrates a sack — Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Parsons immediately charges the sumo wrestler, but is met by a brick wall. Accomplishing a feat that many offensive linemen fall short of, the wrestler stops Parsons in his tracks, and keeps him at bay. Parsons continues to push, but fails to move his opponent much at all.

After a few seconds of battling, the sumo wrestler tosses Parsons to the side, eliciting a smile from both individuals. They look around the room while Parsons settles into what looks to be mild disbelief. This is to be expected, as all-pro talents aren’t too familiar with being stonewalled in that manner.

Looking to incite more action, Houston Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud steps into the ring and playfully assists the wrestler in taunting Parsons. Stroud puts his hand down to suggest that Parsons is too little, before rocking an imaginary baby.

The wrestler picks up on the celebratory actions, and begins to rock his own invisible baby. He also indicates Parsons was too small, much to Stroud’s delight. Now highly motivated, Parsons requests a second attempt to take down the wrestler. He also suggests he’ll work to improve his abilities by saying he’s going to “hit legs every day.”

While his team likely wouldn’t mind if he did so, it wasn’t necessary to accomplish his goal.

Round Two

Parsons gets his redemption

Dallas Cowboys ED Micah Parsons CB Trevon Diggs — Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Parsons gets a better launch in his do-over, but is quickly stopped once again. He’s held in place, churning his legs in hopes of getting some sort of movement from his opposition. Then, in an instant, all his years of pass rushing kicked in, as he used his arms to turn the sumo wrestler.

The two spin around before Parsons powerfully drives and gets the wrestler on his heels. Parsons then takes advantage, using his strength to bulldoze the wrestler out of the ring. The room begins to cheer, as Parsons immediately turns around to celebrate his triumph.

Parsons yells into one of the phones recording the match, before locating Stroud in order to make things even. The competitor in Parsons continues to shine through, as he retaliates with the same hand signal to indicate that the wrestler was too small, much to the amusement of the crowd.

It’s a bizarre scene as a whole, but a fun one to keep football fans entertained during the offseason. It’s also a testament to the strength needed in both roles, as neither man was easily outclassed by the other. It’s obviously no small task to contain Parsons, as a sumo wrestler joins the long list of people he’s managed to push through.

Source: Bleacher Report

All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference and all contract information courtesy of Spotrac unless stated otherwise.