“I had three fights in one day” - Masaaki Noiri recalls his career-defining triumphs to claim K-1 Welterweight World Title

Japanese kickboxing star Masaaki Noiri once KO'd three men in the same night.

After making a name for himself under the K-1 banner, capturing both the World GP super lightweight and welterweight championships Noiri will kickstart a new chapter of his career when he steps inside the Circle at ONE 167 for a showdown with Thai icon Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong.

It will be Noiri's first time sitting on martial arts' biggest stage but don't be fooled. He has plenty of big-fight experience, including one particular evening where he fought not one, not two, but three opponents in the same night en route to claiming gold. In an interview with ONE Championship, he said:

"Well, I am proud of when I won the welterweight belt where I had three fights in one day, and I won all three by KO. It was technically a "world title" belt, but it was an all-Japanese fight because foreign fighters couldn't come due to COVID-19 at that time."

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Sitthichai determined to turn things around against Masaaki Noiri

Standing in Masaaki Noiri's way of a successful promotional debut will be one of the world's most accomplished strikers. As a former eight-time titleholder, Sitthichai's success is undeniable. However, the Thai superstar has struggled to find the win column as of late, dropping two of his last three, including a brutal knockout loss to three-time GLORY Kickboxing champion Marat Grigorian at ONE 165.

Determined to keep himself relevant in the featherweight title picture, Sitthichai knows that a win over Noiri will go a long toward securing his spot in the rankings and bringing him back into the pound-for-pound conversation. Speaking to ONE, he said:

"This fight is very important to me. I need to bounce back to the winner’s side because I want to become one of the best fighters in the world again".

ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7.