"The tears from this loss won't last" - Masaaki Noiri believes ONE 167 despair will be a catalyst for him to come back stronger

Japanese kickboxing veteran Masaaki Noiri believes there is a lot he can learn from his forgettable debut outing at ONE 167 last week.

Though the 31-year-old headed into his promotional bow with plenty of confidence, his performance inside the sold-out Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand, did not match up to his usual standards. That, coupled with Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong's classic display, showed on the judges' scorecards after a nine-minute battle.

Still, he refuses to look too much into the negative sentiments following his defeat. Instead, the Nagoya native vows to take the positives and turn them into fuel for redemption for his next battle.

In an Instagram post, Masaaki Noiri wrote:

"The tears from this loss won’t last - I'll become much stronger to be the world's number one fighter. More challenges await, but I'll need your support."

The former two-division K-1 world champion will need to ensure he patches up any flaws within his game. After all, the stacked featherweight kickboxing division of the promotion houses only the best in the class. And due to that, he can expect to be paired with another tough assignment for his sophomore outing in ONE.

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Sitthichai says doubters steered him to a trademark win over Masaaki Noiri

On the opposite corner, Sitthichai entered his ONE 167 showdown with his back against the wall.

The Sitsongpeenong Muay Thai Camp athlete endured back-to-back defeats to Marat Grigorian and Mohammad Siasarani that left many doubting his abilities to continue fighting at the highest level of martial arts. However, he was eager to shut the critics and showcase that he still has plenty left in the tank. Thankfully, he went on to accomplish just that in a dominant showing over the debuting Masaaki Noiri.

Speaking on where his gameness stemmed from, 'Killer Kid' told the South China Morning Post previously:

"Of course, I did notice people were doubting me about my performances. But I feel like I collected all those doubts and used it as a motivation for this fight to prove them wrong."

North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE 167 card via replay for free.