WATCH: Japanese superstar Masaaki Noiri goes tree chopping in gut-wrenching KO of Shakir Al-Tekreeti in Bangkok

It took some time for Japanese featherweight kickboxing star Masaaki Noiri to find his footing in ONE Championship. At ONE 170 this past Jan. 24, he surprised the fans with an early contender for knockout of the year.

Noiri squared off with Shakir Al-Tekreeti and had a game plan in place as soon as the opening bell rang: target the Iraqi standout's legs with a bevy of kicks.

In an Instagram post, the promotion counted how many leg kicks the former K-1 World GP Super Lightweight and Welterweight champion landed before Al-Tekreeti collapsed to the canvas, who signaled to his corner that he had issues with his right leg, thus ending the fight via knockout in Noiri's favor.

Because of the dominance he flaunted, the Team Vasileus representative will step inside the circle at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang on March 23 to compete for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship.

Many expect the interim world title bout to come down to the wire, as Noiri will battle ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.

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Masaaki Noiri hopes he can make compatriots proud at ONE 172

With ONE 172 occurring at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, Masaaki Noiri understands the pressure of being one of 12 Japanese fighters representing their country on the 14-fight card.

The 31-year-old said during the recent ONE 172 press conference:

"I'm truly excited to face my toughest opponent yet on the incredible stage of ONE's Japan event. As this is a Japan event, I believe all of us Japanese fighters must win. Particularly, Takeru and I absolutely must secure victories. I want to win impressively before Takeru's fight and pass the baton to him on a high note. Please look forward to it."

Tickets for ONE 172 are available via EPlus.