Masaaki Noiri admits he was 'pumped with excitement' leading up to historic Tawanchai finish at ONE 172

Masaaki Noiri couldn't wait to get his hands on Tawanchai PK Saenchai in their ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title showdown at ONE 172 on March 23 inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

The former K-1 champion said that he was just consumed by the excitement and adrenaline of fighting on such a massive magnitude on the global stage. During his interview with My Navi News, Noiri said:

"Before the match, I was just pumped with excitement. After I woke up, on the morning of the fight, and even the day before, I was just excited."

Watch Masaaki Noiri's full interview here:

This excitement was translated by the Japanese striking maestro into a big upset win via first-round TKO finish to capture the coveted 26-pound golden belt and set the stage for a unification battle against ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon.

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Masaaki Noiri almost hung up the gloves after losing his first two fights in ONE Championship

Prior to his current success, the Team Vasileus representative said that he almost retired from the sport after suffering back-to-back losses under the world's largest martial arts organization in his first two fights.

Noiri was defeated by Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong and Liu Mengyang, but he brushed it off and continued to compete until he was able to earn his breakthrough victory at the expense of Shakir Al-Tekreeti in January 2025 at ONE 170 via second-round knockout.

That win over the Iraqi contender helped Noiri to regain confidence and eventually capture the interim belt. During his recent interview with My Navi News, he said:

"When I lost two fights in a row, of course, I thought about what I wanted to do, and even contemplated retirement. But it all changed when I got my comeback fight in January and won by KO."

Fans can rewatch all the action from the ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang card via watch.onefc.com.