WATCH: Japan's Masaaki Noiri secures his shot at gold with nasty leg-breaking knockout of Shakir Al-Tekreeti in Bangkok

Being a smart fighter is just as important as being a talented athlete, and Masaaki Noiri proved he possessed both qualities in spades when he faced Shakir Al-Tekreeti this past January at ONE 170.

The former two-division K-1 kickboxing champion found his groove early and started targeting Al-Tekreeti's legs. The 31-year-old dropped the 2023 Iraqi Muay Thai Championship gold medalist late in the first round. Noiri put him away 14 seconds into the next frame with a bone-breaking leg kick.

Relive Masaaki Noiri's handiwork below, which ONE posted on YouTube:

The statement-making knockout of Al-Tekreeti impressed fans of the world's largest martial arts promotion, and they believed he was well on his way towards eventually fighting for 26 pounds of ONE featherweight kickboxing gold.

This opportunity came sooner than expected, as Noiri will be fighting for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on Sunday, March 23. Should Noiri win the interim crown, he will have a unification bout with ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon at a later date.

However, he must be better than he has ever been before at ONE 172 as he goes up against ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

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Masaaki Noiri understands the caliber of opponent that Tawanchai is ahead of ONE 172

Masaaki Noiri has zero problems giving his peers their flowers, and he recognized the danger that Tawanchai poses to his dreams of becoming a ONE world champion prior to them sharing the circle.

The Team Vasileus star recently told the promotion in an interview:

"I've had about 63 fights in my career, and this time, I'm facing the toughest opponent I've ever fought."

ONE 172 will be available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.