![Masaaki Noiri in his fight against Tawanchai and Liam Harrison (circle inset). [Photos from ONE Championship]](https://staticd.sportskeeda.com/editor/2025/04/d640a-17453311166664-1920.jpg)
![Masaaki Noiri in his fight against Tawanchai and Liam Harrison (circle inset). [Photos from ONE Championship]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg%20xmlns='http%3A//www.w3.org/2000/svg'%20xmlns%3Axlink='http%3A//www.w3.org/1999/xlink'%20viewBox='0%200%2010%206.6666666666667'%3E%3Cfilter%20id='b'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20stdDeviation='.5'%3E%3C/feGaussianBlur%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncA%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20type='discrete'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20tableValues='1%201'%3E%3C/feFuncA%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Cimage%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20filter='url(%23b)'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
They may have shared a bloody match in the past, but Liam Harrison couldn't be any prouder after watching his old nemesis Masaaki Noiri claim ONE Championship gold.
Noiri shocked the world 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.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Harrison said he was ecstatic watching Noiri silence all the doubters and score a stunning third-round technical knockout win over the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion.
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Liam Harrison said:
"I really like Noiri. Me and him fought years ago in Japan and I’ve always been close and friendly with him. So I was happy for him that he won that fight because I obviously thought Tawanchai would cruise to a points win. And it was looking like that’s how it was going to go."
Harrison and Noiri squared off more than a decade ago at Glory 8: Tokyo for the 65kg Slam Tournament quarterfinals in 2013.
Noiri eliminated Harrison from the tournament with a second-round TKO win due to a massive cut near the British legend's eye.
The Japanese star then captured the K-1 Kickboxing super lightweight and welterweight titles in 2016 and 2021 before arriving in ONE Championship in June 2024.
After a slow start in the promotion, Noiri earned his shot at gold when he broke Shakir Al-Tekreeti's right leg at ONE 170.
Noiri's inspiring journey to ONE 172 culminated in an absolute shocker when he stopped Tawanchai in the third round for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title in front of his home fans in Saitama.
Watch Harrison's entire interview below:
Liam Harrison says Masaaki Noiri's stunning upset of Tawanchai was a testament to his power
Liam Harrison knew Masaaki Noiri always deserved his spot at the top end of the ONE 172 billing.
In an interview with Nick Atkin, the British legend said Noiri's shocking upset of Tawanchai in Japan was visual proof of just how dangerous the Japanese star is.
Harrison said:
"That just proved how good he is under the kickboxing ruleset. But yeah, I can say that I'm glad Noiri won. He's a proper, nice guy. I've known him for a while as well. We fought a long time ago in Japan."
