Buakaw urges Tawanchai to ‘study his weaknesses’ in Masaaki Noiri defeat: “He can come back stronger”

Thai legend Buakaw believes Tawanchai can bounce back from his devastating loss at ONE 172.

Walking into the iconic Saitama Super Arena in March, Tawanchai was heavily favored to come out on top against former two-division K-1 titleholder Masaaki Noiri.

Instead, Noiri shocked the world, scoring a third-round TKO over the Thai fan favorite to claim the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing crown.

Offering his take on the stunning turn of events in Japan, Buakaw suggested that if Tawanchai wants to come back even better than before, he'll have to identify his weaknesses and then put in the work to eliminate them.

"Tawanchai, I think he needs to study his weaknesses from the fight, and I’m sure he can come back stronger," Buakaw said in a video on his YouTube channel. "He’s really good, but it just wasn’t his night."

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Superbon was also shocked by Masaaki Noiri's defeat of Tawanchai at ONE 172

Of course, Buakaw wasn't the only one stunned by Masaaki Noiri's epic upset.

Recognizing that he would ultimately face the winner in a title unification clash in 2025, reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon had a close eye on the fight, and admitted in a recent interview that he too thought it would be Tawanchai coming out on top.

"I was shocked. Yes, I was shocked. The world was shocked," Superbon told ONE Championship. "Personally, I thought it was going to be Tawanchai [who would win the fight]. But fights are like that."

Noiri and Superbon's inevitable showdown has not yet been booked, but after what went down at ONE 172, fight fans are chomping at the bit to find out who will be crowned the undisputed king of the featherweight kickboxing division.

If you missed any of the action, you can watch the full ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang replay on demand via watch.onefc.com.