"I could not meet your expectations" - Japanese star Masaaki Noiri apologizes for falling short against Sitthichai

A lot of fans had high hopes for the ONE Championship arrival of Japanese star Masaaki Noiri.

His reputation from competing in Japan had followed him into his new promotion ahead of his debut at ONE 167.

Unfortunately, things didn't play out in his favor once he stepped inside the Circle for the very first time this past weekend at the Impact Arena.

Noiri was beaten on the scorecards following a fantastic performance from his opponent Sitthichai.

Whilst there is no shame in losing to a highly regarded competitor like the Thai veteran, it was obviously not how the new addition to the roster wanted to get things started.

Noiri posted a long message on his Instagram page shortly after fight night where he spoke to his fans and coaches about what went down.

He also spoke about his emotions after the fight and whether he let people down that were cheering him on at ONE 167:

"Reflecting on my fight against Sitthichai on June 8th. Thank you all for your tremendous support. I feel apologetic and frustrated that I could not meet your expectations."

Masaaki Noiri will be back stronger

Things may not have worked out perfectly for Masaaki Noiri on his debut but this wasn't one and done for the new signing.

For a start, he was beaten by a Sitthichai that looked back to his best in this fight and when he's firing on all cylinders, he can beat anyone in the world.

Noiri will go back to the drawing board ahead of planning his next move but you can be sure that this will only light a fire underneath him.

He will want to bounce back in style and prove to the ONE Championship fans that he is here to stay by getting the victory at the second time of asking.

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