quality:correction
A professional sumo bout

At the initial charge, both wrestlers must jump up from the crouch simultaneously after touching the surface of the ring with two fists at the start of the bout. The referee (gyōji) can restart the bout if this simultaneous touch does not occur.

Upon completion of the bout, the referee must immediately designate his decision by pointing his gunbai or war-fan towards the winning side. The winning technique (kimarite) used by the winner would then be announced to the audience. The wrestlers then return to their starting positions and bow to each other before retiring.

The referee's decision is not final and may be disputed by the five judges seated around the ring. If this happens, they meet in the center of the ring to hold a mono-ii (a talk about things). After reaching a consensus, they can uphold or reverse the referee's decision or order a rematch, known as a torinaoshi.

A winning wrestler in the top division may receive additional prize money in envelopes from the referee if the matchup has been sponsored. If a yokozuna is defeated by a lower-ranked wrestler, it is common and expected for audience members to throw their seat cushions into the ring (and onto the wrestlers), though this practice is technically prohibited.

In contrast to the time in bout preparation, bouts are typically very short, usually less than a minute (most of the time only a few seconds). Extremely rarely, a bout can go on for several minutes.