"I don't know if he was a bit nervous" - Chatri reacts to Masaaki Noiri's ONE debut

Masaaki Noiri came into his ONE Championship debut with high expectations following his career in Japan.

His signing came with a lot of promise and potential, but unfortunately, he wasn't able to hit the ground running.

Noiri looked to announce himself at the top of the ONE featherweight kickboxing division by taking out a veteran of the game in Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong.

Unfortunately for the new addition, the Thai legend was able to turn back the clock in this fight to rebound from back-to-back defeats.

He earned the decision win following a fantastic performance from the Impact Arena, where his counterstriking off the back foot caused his opponent plenty of problems.

In the post-fight press conference, ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong gave his take on Noiri's debut and his first performance inside the Circle.

He questioned why the Japanese striker was less willing to engage than in his previous fights:

"I was surprised that Noiri didn't really dare to strike much in the first and the second round. Only the last thirty seconds of the second round did he really try to strike more. I don't know if he was a bit nervous or he had fear. I'm not really sure."

Watch the full post-fight press conference below:

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Masaaki Noiri wasn't able to get going

As Chatri Sityodtong stated, Masaaki Noiri only started to open up in the latter half of the fight once he started to get into his groove.

The fight could have been very interesting had it been a five-round main event but at the end of three, it was clear that the fight had gone the way of his opponent.

Sitthichai was so sharp and accurate with his strikes whenever Noiri did step in to try and land shots of his own that it could have thrown the Japanese stand out of his game.

All the action from ONE 167 is free to watch back in full via Prime Video for US and Canadian fans with an active subscription.