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ONE Championship's latest star signing, Masaaki Noiri, believes he has discovered just the right place to put his world-class striking to the test.
The Japanese kickboxing superstar officially put pen to paper with the Home of Martial Arts on April 24, and he'll find himself duking out amongst the featherweight kickboxing division, often described as the most-stacked striking weight class across martial arts.
Though that may seem like a scary prospect for many, the former two-division K-1 world champion and K-1 Grand Prix champion is chomping at the bit to kick things off when the time comes.
Speaking exclusively to ONE Championship, Masaaki Noiri offered:
"I'm truly happy. I've been waiting for this moment, finally! I'm also very excited. I can't wait to step into the ring with only elite fighters and prove my abilities."
Kickboxing's die-hard fans won't need any introduction to Masaaki Noiri's explosive style as they will know what they can expect from the 30-year-old veteran of the art.
He has widely been regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound kickboxers on the planet, and his past performances only serve as a reminder of why he's been able to hang with the best for over a decade.
As a dangerous finisher, with more than one-third of his wins coming by knockout, ONE's latest star signing should have no issues making inroads as he zeroes in on his main ambition inside the Circle – world title success.
Masaaki Noiri will compete amongst the best in ONE Championship
Masaaki Noiri will be jumping into a talented pool of warriors in the ONE featherweight kickboxing division, where two world-class strikers await an impending world title unification war.
Former kingpin Superbon claimed the interim gold against Marat Grigorian at ONE Friday Fights 58 to book himself a shot at reclaiming his ONE featherweight kickboxing world title against divisional king Chingiz Allazov.
The pair of tormentors are followed closely by Marat Grigorian (No.2), Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, Tawanchai PK Saenchai, and Giorgio Petrosyan, respectively in the rankings.
He should join the likes of Tayfun Ozcan, Mohammed Boutasaa, Furkan Karabag, Dmitry Changelia, and Jo Nattawut outside the top five in what seems to be an intense race for a ranked spot.
