Masaaki Noiri pleased to put two-match skid to bed with bone-crushing KO at ONE 170: “It was redemption for me”

Veteran Japanese kickboxer Masaaki Noiri is happy to have finally chalked up a breakthrough victory in ONE Championship after opening his campaign with back-to-back losses. The Nagoya native barged into the win column at ONE 170 on Jan. 24 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand.

He defeated Shakir Al-Tekreeti of Iraq by way of knockout in the second round. The latter suffered a broken leg after absorbing punishing kicks from Noiri right from the get-go.

The win was Noiri's first win under the ONE banner after he kicked off his promotional run with back-to-back losses in June last year.

In a post-fight interview with combat sports journalist Nick Atkin, the former two-division K-1 champion opened up about putting his two-fight slide aside, highlighting how it was an unfamiliar situation for him.

He said:

"Yes, it was the toughest experience in my career because the two losses in a row were the first time in my career. So, I was at the bottom. I knew I needed to bounce back. So, it was redemption for me."

Check out what he had to say below:

Masaaki Noiri decided to take his talents to ONE Championship last year after making a name for himself in Japan through organizations like K-1 and Glory.

The full replay of ONE 170 is available on watch.ONEFC.com.

Masaaki Noiri wants to be part of marquee Japan card in March

There is no word yet on when Masaaki Noiri's next match will be but if given the opportunity, he would like to be part of ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang in his home country of Japan in March.

Set to take place at the Saitama Super Arena on March 23, the card will be headlined by the long-anticipated featherweight kickboxing showdown between martial arts superstars Takeru Segawa and Rodtang Jitmuangnon.

In a post-fight interview following his impressive KO win at ONE 170 last week, Masaaki Noiri signified his interest in being part of ONE 172, saying:

"Of course, in ONE 172, the big evetn in Japan, I would love to be on that fight card. But when it comes to my opponent, I know that once I signed with ONE Championship, my goal is the ONE featherweight belt. But today, I just made one win. So, anyone would work. I just want to show a fight that would connect me to that belt."

ONE 172 will mark the second straight year that ONE Championship will hold an event in Japan following ONE 165 in Tokyo in January last year, which Takeru also headlined along with Thai superstar Superlek Kiatmoo9.