Masaaki Noiri admits he “was concerned” with his timing during his interim title match against Tawanchai at ONE 172

Masaaki Noiri walked into his clash against Tawanchai with some very real concerns. Nearly two minutes into the third round of their fight at ONE 172 in Japan, all of those concerns went out the window.

Noiri delivered one of those most shocking moments of the night—and of the year—when he landed a stunning TKO over Tawanchai inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena to capture the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship.

Speaking with My Navi News, Noiri admitted that ahead of his first title tilt on martial arts' biggest global stage, he was worried that his timing, particularly with counters, would be no match for an opponent like Tawanchai:

"I had always practiced on my counters. But there were parts in the fight where I was concerned on the timing and such."

As it turns out, nothing could have been further from the truth, but it wasn't just Noiri's striking that won him the fight. The former two-division K-1 titleholder believes it ultimately came down to who wanted it more.

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Masaaki Noiri believes his desire to win was stronger than Tawanchai's at ONE 172

Adding to his comments, Masaaki Noiri suggested that his desire to win was stronger than that of his opponent:

"I guess my desire to win was the strongest factor to surviving Tawanchai’s attacks and getting the win. But I knew, if it was a test of endurance, I definitely would be stronger. I also knew that if one of us was going to give up first, it would definitely be Tawanchai who would give up first."

After snapping the Thai's nine-fight win streak and claiming his first 26 pounds of gold, a showdown with reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon is likely next for Noiri.

When and where that fight takes place is yet to be determined, but after doing something Superbon couldn't—defeat Tawanchai—fans will be chomping at the bit to see the two kickboxing icons square off.

If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.