WATCH: Get an up-close ringside view of Masaaki Noiri's stunning finish of Tawanchai in front of his home fans in Saitama

Japanese kickboxing megastar Masaaki Noiri achieved a dream this past March that only a handful of fighters have ever done in their careers: win a world championship in front of their countrymen.

In the co-main event of ONE 172, Noiri battled ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai over the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship.

With his compatriots cheering him on inside the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, the 31-year-old did the improbable by finishing the seemingly unstoppable Tawanchai in an unforgettable sequence of events in the third round.

Watch Masaaki Noiri's crowning achievement from ringside in a video shared by ONE on Instagram:

Along with capturing his first ONE world championship, Noiri snapped Tawanchai's formidable nine-fight winning streak that dated back to January 2022. He also earned the distinction of being the first fighter to finish the PK Saenchai Muay Thai Gym product in his otherwise stellar ONE tenure.

The Team Vasileus representative is now set to collide with ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon in a winner-takes-all unification bout very soon.

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Masaaki Noiri sheds light on when he knew he had Tawanchai's number

Masaaki Noiri struggled to keep up with the Thai superstar early in their interim world title tilt, a fact that he and his corner understood all too well. This prompted a simple, but highly effective, shift in his game plan that ultimately brought him to victory.

Speaking with My Navi News following ONE 172, Noiri shared how shifting stances and focusing on calf kicks became his keys to sucess:

"On my calf kicks, I think it didn't affect him initially. But when I switched stances, and I kicked the calf on his left lead leg, I could see he had a displeased look on his face."

Watch the entire interview below: