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Thai legend Buakaw saw something in Masaaki Noiri's eyes as the Japanese star made his way to the ring for his first shot at ONE Championship gold.
Noiri walked into ONE 172 as a massive underdog against Tawanchai, one of the hottest fighters in all of combat sports. However, none of that meant anything to Noiri, who was determined to flip the script and add 26 pounds of ONE gold to his collection.
Noiri did exactly that, blitzing Tawanchai in the third round and putting the reigning ONE featherweight Muay Thai world titleholder down to claim the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing crown.
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Looking back on Noiri's impressive performance, Buakaw knew from the moment he stepped into the ring, we were seeing a different version of Noiri.
"When Noiri walked out, he looked all focused," Buakaw said via his YouTube channel. "Really confident."
Now sitting as the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world titleholder, Masaaki Noiri has set the stage for a clash with the division's current top dog, Superbon.
Masaaki Noiri knows he's one win away from greatness
Even after his big win over Tawanchai inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena, many are already counting out Noiri when he inevitably meets reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon in a title unification clash later this year.
Of course, none of that means anything to Noiri, who knows that he's one win away from being the P4P best in the world and an undisputed champion on martial arts' biggest global stage.
"I'm sure there are still many fighters out there in the world who are better than me," Noiri told My Navi News following ONE 172. "But there is only one fighter who is ranked above me at the moment. So for now, that's my only goal [facing Superbon].
Are you excited to see Noiri and Superbon go toe-to-toe later this year?
If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.
