Buakaw believes Tawanchai felt Masaaki Noiri’s brutal kicks as early as round one: “You can see the discomfort”

Legendary striker Buakaw Banchamek has provided fresh insight into Masaaki Noiri's stunning upset victory over Tawanchai PK Saenchai at ONE 172 inside the Saitama Super Arena this past March.

The Thai icon pinpointed a crucial tactical development that occurred earlier than many observers failed to recognize during an analysis clip uploaded to his YouTube channel:

"End of the first round. I gotta give it to Tawanchai. He caught Noiri with really good kicks," Buakaw noted. "But Noiri's kicks to the lead leg did affect him. I guess it must've hit a nerve. You can see the discomfort [from Tawanchai]."

According to Buakaw, this early success with leg kicks laid the groundwork for Masaaki Noiri's eventual TKO victory.

The Japanese star's methodical attack did gradually compromise Tawanchai's movement and defensive awareness — one that left the PK Saenchaimuaythaigym wide open to the match-winning combination, which arrived at the 1:55 mark of the third frame:

"He's too focused on the legs and forgot to put his guard up," Buakaw observed, identifying how the cumulative damage created the opening for Noiri's fight-ending sequence.

While many viewers believed Tawanchai controlled the early action, Buakaw's trained eye detected the subtle signs of distress that foreshadowed the Thai fighter's downfall.

Noiri's victory earned him the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title, a US$50,000 performance bonus, and a ticket to unify his gold with reigning divisional king Superbon — a matchup the 42-year-old believes pits two of the very best in the stacked featherweight kickboxing division.

Watch Buakaw's full breakdown here:

Fight fans who missed any of the action from ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang can watch the entire card via replay at watch.onefc.com.

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Superbon breaks down Masaaki Noiri's sublime finish of Tawanchai

Superbon, who will challenge Masaaki Noiri at a later date this year, also shared his thoughts on the Japanese star's sensational upset of Tawanchai.

The ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion believes the Team Vasileus fighter's winning moment was a mix of his ability to set up traps and the sheer speed of his weapons.

He said:

"It was a continuous rhythm, punching, and cutting the body first. And then, at the moment, when Tawanchai guarded low and lifted his knee. That was Tawanchai’s mistake. And then Noiri connected with the left which connected and the right which made Tawanchai fall."