Taylor Wily (born Teila Tuli, June 14, 1968) is an American actor, former sumo wrestler and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. He is from

Laie, Hawaii Laie ( haw, Lāie, ) is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the Koolauloa District on the island of Oahu () in Honolulu County, Hawaii, United States. In Hawaiian, means " leaf" ( is a climbing screwpine: ''Freycinetia arborea''). The p ...

and is of American Samoan descent. He is commonly known for his recurring role as Kamekona Tupuola on ''

Hawaii Five-0 Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an Ame ...

''.

Sumo career

In March 1987, Wily was recruited by former ''sekiwake''

Takamiyama Daigorō is a former sumo wrestler, the first foreign-born wrestler to win the top division championship (in 1972). His highest rank was ''sekiwake''. His active career spanned twenty years from 1964 to 1984, and he set a number of longevity records, i ...

, another Hawaiian, and joined

Azumazeki stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Takasago group of stables. It was founded in February 1986 by the Hawaiian born Takamiyama of the Takasago stable in Higashi–Komagata, Sumida, Tokyo. It was the first stable ever to be run by a fo ...

, which Takamiyama had founded the previous year. He was given the ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the '' rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' ...

'' (sumo name) of Takamikuni. He was unbeaten in his first 14 official bouts, winning two consecutive ''

yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Y� ...

'' or tournament championships. Weighing nearly , he was one of the largest wrestlers in sumo. In March 1988, he was promoted to the third highest ''makushita'' division, and became the first foreign born wrestler to ever win the championship in that division. In the same month, future ''yokozuna''

Akebono Tarō is an American-born Japanese former professional sumo wrestler and professional wrestler from Waimānalo, Hawaii. Joining sumo in Japan in 1988, he was trained by pioneering Hawaiian wrestler Takamiyama and rose swiftly up the rankings, r ...

, also from Hawaii, joined Azumazeki stable. As the highest ranking wrestler in the stable, he was a mentor to Akebono and gave him advice on how to adjust to life in Japan. In March 1989 Takamikuni reached his highest ever rank of ''makushita'' 2, and even fought two bouts with elite ''jūryō'' ranked wrestlers (one of whom, Tōryū Kenji, was a former ''sekiwake''). Takamikuni was never to reach ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fra ...

'' status himself. He did not compete in the following tournament, and retired from sumo in July 1989 due to knee problems.

Sumo career record

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After leaving sumo, Wily went to

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...

in September 1990 and joined

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. ...

's stable, Dragon Bombers, as a trainee, alongside fellow former sumo

Nankairyū Tarō Nankairyū Tarō (born 22 February 1965 as Kilifi Sapa) is a former sumo wrestler from Samoa. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 2. He was the third foreign-born wrestler to reach the top ''makuuchi'' division after Takamiyama and Konishiki. How ...

. However, the stable dissolved in 1992 and he left NJPW. He continued his training, which evolved into mixed martial arts, preparing him for the first-ever

Ultimate Fighting Championships The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He competed as Teila Tuli in the first bout of the

UFC 1 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship'' (later renamed ''UFC 1: The Beginning'') was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on November ...

in November 1993, facing

savate Savate (), also known as boxe française, savate boxing, French boxing or French footfighting, is a French kickboxing combat sport that uses the hands and feet as weapons combining elements of English boxing with graceful kicking techniques. ...

expert

Gerard Gordeau Gerard Gordeau (born March 30, 1955) is a Dutch former Savateur, Karateka, Kickboxer, and mixed martial artist. He is the 1991 World Champion Savate and holder of the Dutch Champion Karate title for 8 consecutive years, but foremost known inte ...

. Tuli rushed forward, but lost his balance and was met with a brutal kick to the head that knocked a few of his teeth out, and a punch that broke Gordeau's hand, with the referee stopping the fight as a TKO win for Gordeau. This was Tuli's only MMA fight. The match has been described as one of the top five

David and Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified King Saul's ...

match-ups in MMA history.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, TKO (head kick and punch) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 ,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Acting career

Credited as Taylor Wily, he had a role in the comedy film ''

Forgetting Sarah Marshall ''Forgetting Sarah Marshall'' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand. The film, which was written by Segel and co-produced by Judd Apatow, was released b ...

'' as a hotel worker who befriended the main character played by

Jason Segel Jason Jordan Segel ( ; born January 18, 1980) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Marshall Eriksen in the CBS sitcom '' How I Met Your Mother'', as well as for his work with director and ...

. He also has a recurring role on the television series ''

''. Wily made a cameo on the 20th edition of ''

The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...

'', and handed out clues to racing contestants. He also appeared as an extra in ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980 to May 8, 1988 during its first-run broadcast on ...

''s 1982 episode titled "The Eighth Part of the Village" in a street scene near a pool hall. He also appeared as a sumo wrestler in "Battle of the Titans", an episode of ''

One West Waikiki ''One West Waikiki'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on CBS from August 4, 1994 until September 8, 1994, and then in first-run syndication for its second season from October 15, 1995 until May 25, 1996. The series was set ...

'', another TV show filmed in Hawaii starring Cheryl Ladd. In that series, he had hair, unlike his character in ''Hawaii Five-0'', wrapped in the sumo style.

Select filmography

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wily, Taylor 1969 births Living people Male actors from Honolulu American male film actors American male television actors American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Hawaii American sumo wrestlers Actors of Samoan descent Sportspeople from Honolulu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo