Masaaki Noiri believes he will be ‘an unfavorable matchup’ for Sitthichai: “He’ll want to keep his distance”

Japanese kickboxing star Masaaki Noiri believes Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong will attempt to keep his distance when the two step inside the Circle at ONE 167.

Emanating from the iconic Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, ONE Championship will deliver its biggest event of the year thus far, featuring a slew of the world's greatest combat sports athletes in a series of can't-miss matchups.

Aside from a massive ONE world title main event and the return of 'The Iron Man,' fight fans will be treated to the debut of former two-division K-1 world champion Masaaki Noiri.

Ready to make an impact right out of the gate and thrust himself into the featherweight kickboxing rankings, Noiri will square off with eight-time world champ Sitthichai.

Speaking of his upcoming clash with the Thai superstar in enemy territory, Noiri expects Sitthichai to try and keep his distance making for an unfavorable matchup.

“He won’t want to fight at my range, he’ll want to keep his distance," he told the promotion during a recent interview. "So from his perspective, it may be an unfavorable matchup.”

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Masaaki Noiri faces an incredibly tough test in his first outing with ONE Championship

Masaaki Noiri is one of the most accomplished strikers from Japan.

Aside from claiming both the K-1 World GP super lightweight and welterweight titles, he also held gold under the GLORY Kickboxing and Krush banners.

Next on the list is 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold, but he'll have to get past one of Thailand's most feared fighters first.

With 128 wins to his credit, Sitthichai has squared off with some of the biggest names in the game, including reigning ONE world champions Tawanchai and Chingiz Allazov, former three-time GLORY titleholder Marat Grigorian, a former ONE featherweight kickboxing king Superbon.

That experience will prove invaluable as he welcomes the Nagoya, Japan native at ONE 167. The only question that remains is, will experience be enough to get the job done?

ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch ONE 167 live and for free via Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime on Friday, June 7.