Masaaki Noiri ONE 172: "It was all calculated" - Fans in pure awe of Masaaki Noiri's genius adjustments in stunning TKO win over Tawanchai in Japan

Masaaki Noiri had a momentous opportunity to prove to ONE Championship fans why he is one of Japan's premier kickboxers at ONE 172 last March, when he faced ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai.

With the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship up for grabs, Noiri initially struggled to find a sliver of opportunity to land his power shots because Tawanchai was a natural southpaw. However, Noiri had a lightbulb moment midway through the third round.

In collaboration with Nansend Sports on Instagram, the world's largest martial arts promotion shared how Noiri surprised Tawanchai with a monstrous left hook that dropped him and kick-started the TKO sequence.

Watch the entire video below:

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Fans lauded Noiri's subtle adjustment in the comments section, writing:

"No luck from that hook, it was all calculated 🙌"

"Was literally telling my daughter about this yesterday when we was talking about varying how you move and attack so your not easily read."

"High speed chess! 👏🔥"

"Really nice breakdown, subtle moves and thoughts that led into a KO. Nice."

"You have to be so experienced, calm, and high level to execute this kind of adjustment mid fight. Crazy ability shown."

Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/Instagram]

Masaaki Noiri receives high praise from Buakaw

Buakaw Banchamek, a bona fide legend in Muay Thai, gave Masaaki Noiri his well-earned flowers after outmaneuvering Tawanchai's cerebral offense at ONE 172.

During his breakdown of their world title tilt on his YouTube account, Buakaw said:

"Noiri stayed close despite being on the end of Tawanchai's kicks. It was a good tactic. He left no space, although he was in danger. A pretty solid tactic to be honest. He stayed in range, he looked for opportunities. He kept his guard up while chipping in with low kicks."

Watch the entire video below:

About the author

Karl has been an MMA writer at Sportskeeda since 2023. He holds a Bachelor of Arts major in history, which helps him pay attention to the finer details while writing, and also has first-hand experience in boxing. He has a total experience of 5 years, and has worked for the International Business Times.

Karl turned into an MMA fan back in 2011 after watching Tito Ortiz defeat Ryan Bader via first-round submission at UFC 132. He has interviewed ONE world champions like Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Stamp Fairtex, and Tawanchai in his career so far.

On the non-MMA side of things, he interviewed WWE superstar Matt Riddle in 2021 and his question about Roman Reigns elicited an interesting answer which was widely covered by outlets like Sportskeeda and Cultaholic Wrestling's YouTube channel. He has also interviewed NBA stars Dwight Howard, Nick Young, Andre Roberson, Shabazz Muhammad, Jason Williams and Brian Scalabrine plus Filipino women's volleyball star Alyssa Valdez.

Karl ensures to double-check facts before using them in articles, and reads up on potential topics for pieces a day before. In his off time, he likes to play video games, and keep up with basketball and pro wrestling.

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Edited by Anurag Mitra