Masaaki Noiri amazed by how fanbase has grown since stunning Tawanchai in Saitama: “Truly a global stage”

Masaaki Noiri's popularity has exploded since his stunning knockout of Tawanchai at ONE 172.

The former two-division K-1 titleholder shocked the world inside the iconic Saitama Super Arena, finishing Tawanchai in the third round to claim the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship.

Since his highlight-reel finish, Noiri has seen his fanbase grow exponentially—and not just in his native Japan.

"And the messages I have been getting are in languages other than Japanese, mainly English," Noiri to My Navi News during a recent interview. "And because I don’t speak English, I can’t read in. But yeah, getting messages in other languages, it really makes me realize that the stage I’m fighting on is truly a global stage."

After starting his ONE run with back-to-back losses, Noiri has scored knockouts in his last two outings and is a ONE world champion.

Next up for Noiri will likely be a title unification clash with reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing king Superbon.

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Masaaki Noiri knows he has some work to do if he hopes to defeat Superbon

Even with defeating one of the best pound-for-pound strikers in combat sports, Masaaki Noiri knows that if he hopes to beat Superbon, he'll have to continue honing his skills. During the aforementioned appearance, he said:

"As I said, there are areas I need some improvements in," Noiri said. "But I'm ready to work on it and improve my plan when I do get that match [against Superbon]."

Superbon, like Noiri, has won his last two kickboxing bouts, besting Tayfun Ozcan and Marat Grigorian. With other noteworthy wins over Sitthichai and Giorgio Petrosyan, Noiri will need to be at his absolute best if he hopes to turn his interim title into undisputed gold.

Are you excited to see Noiri and Superbon go toe-to-toe in 2025?

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