Masaaki Noiri is getting closer to his absolute limit, but that won't stop him from going all-out in arguably the biggest fight of his career.
The Japanese star will face off against Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title at the stacked ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang card on March 23 at the historic Saitama Super Arena.
Taking to Instagram, Noiri wrote that he's near his perfect form less than a month before his fated duel against the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion.
Fatigued as he may be, Masaaki Noiri promised his home fans that he would capture a piece of ONE Championship gold in one of the most hallowed grounds in martial arts.
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"Two months since the last match. It seemed like a long time, but it passed by in a blink of an eye. I'm at my limit due to fatigue, but I'll do it so that we can all triumph at the end. Everyone, please look forward to March 23rd!"
Noiri is one of this generation's best kickboxers, and was a two-division K-1 Kickboxing champion before signing with ONE Championship in 2024.
The 31-year-old captured the K-1 Kickboxing super lightweight and K-1 welterweight titles in 2017 and 2021, respectively.
Although he struggled early in his ONE Championship run, Noiri ultimately found his groove when he took on Shakir Al-Tekreeti at ONE 170 in January this year.
Noiri showed off his violent genius when he broke Al-Tekreeti's right leg into two with a barrage of leg kicks for the second-round stoppage win.
ONE 172 is available live on pay-per-view at watch.onefc.com.
Masaaki Noiri zeroes in on beating Tawanchai for piece of ONE Championship gold in Japan
Taking home the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title is the ultimate goal for Masaaki Noiri at ONE 172.
There is, however, one more objective Noiri has his eyes on.
In a previous Instagram post, Noiri said he wants to unleash his entire arsenal to take Tawanchai down in front of his hometown fans:
"Today [training] was also tough. But it's all about beating Tawanchai on 3.23. I will definitely win."