“I have a clear vision” - Masaaki Noiri recalls the attitude he had when he stopped Tawanchai at ONE 172

Masaaki Noiri knew he wasn't letting any pre-fight notions stop him from claiming a piece of ONE Championship gold.

The Japanese superstar silenced the doubters when he stopped Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title at ONE 172 in March at the historic Saitama Super Arena.

The majority in the combat sports community predicted that Tawanchai, the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion, would get the win over Noiri in ONE Championship's return to Japan.

Noiri, however, blasted through those early predictions when he scored a stunning third-round technical knockout win over Tawanchai in front of his home fans.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Masaaki Noiri said:

"Everyone thinks that, in this fight, Tawanchai is guaranteed to defeat me. It's more of a matter of how he's gonna beat me. On the other hand, I'm seen as the guy with nothing to lose. If I win, it will be a massive upset. In the end, I have a clear vision of me defeating him and standing victorious."

Noiri was a two-division K-1 Kickboxing champion before he signed with ONE Championship, and he unleashed that pedigree when he fought in his homeland for the first time since 2023.

Steadily building his momentum in the first two rounds, Noiri relied mostly on his boxing to deal significant damage to the head of Tawanchai.

Noiri then went into overdrive in the third round and clocked Tawanchai with a textbook left hook that felled the Thai megastar.

Sensing victory was within reach, Noiri continued the onslaught and bludgeoned Tawanchai with an unrelenting flurry that forced the referee to stop the match 1:55 into the third.

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Masaaki Noiri surprised with a sudden surge in his fanbase after his win over Tawanchai

Masaaki Noiri didn't just capture a piece of ONE Championship gold at ONE 172, he also earned a massive surge in fan support after his shocking TKO victory over Tawanchai PK Saenchai.

In an interview with My Navi News, the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion said his social media following exploded after his victory over Tawanchai in March.

He said:

"I've always had many fans and supporters. But since competing in ONE Championship, I think my fanbase has grown. I’ve had a lot of reaction from overseas fans and they have been incredible. After this match, I think I had 20,000 followers all at once. Every time I open my Instagram, my followers kept increasing and increasing. Most of them are foreigners."