“Just the way I wanted it to be” - Masaaki Noiri says he couldn’t have imagined a better way to capture world title vs Tawanchai

Masaaki Noiri reflected on his pre-fight mindset heading into ONE 172.

On March 23, Noiri faced a massive opportunity in his home country of Japan. The former two-division K-1 world champion was matched up against Tawanchai for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title.

Despite having world-class experience, Noiri was seen as an underdog due to Tawanchai's aura of invincibility in ONE.

Noiri silenced the doubters by securing a shocking third-round knockout win. Tawanchai had previously not been finished in eleven fights with the promotion.

During an interview with My Navi News, Noiri had this to say about his upset win:

"I was confident that if I fought according to the strategy. I had planned for this fight, it would turn out just like that. And I’m thankful, it really did turn out just the way I wanted it to be."

Masaaki Noiri was one of four fighters to receive a $50,000 performance bonus at ONE 172 alongside Adrian Lee, Yuya Wakamatsu, and Rodtang.

Similar to Noiri, Wakamatsu claimed ONE gold for the first time in his home country of Japan. He defeated Adriano Moraes by first-round TKO to capture the vacant flyweight MMA world title.

Watch Noiri's entire interview with My Navi News below:

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Masaaki Noiri focused on dethroning Superbon for undisputed gold

Masaaki Noiri's title-winning performance at ONE 172 will lead to a featherweight kickboxing world title unification bout against Superbon.

During the aforementioned interview with My Navi News, Noiri had this to say about being solely focused on dethroning Superbon:

"How much I have improved? I'm sure there are still many fighters out there in the world who is better than me. But there is only one fighter who is ranked above me [Superbon] at the moment. So for now, that's my only goal."

Superbon claimed the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title with a unanimous decision win against Marat Grigorian in April 2024.

The Thai superstar was later upgraded to the division's world champion due to Chingiz Allazov remaining inactive with the promotion.

Superbon now looks to end Masaaki Noiri's momentum. The Japanese kickboxer has won consecutive bouts by knockout after starting his promotional tenure with back-to-back unanimous decision losses.