“One of the kings of kickboxing in Japan” - Buakaw gives Masaaki Noiri his well-deserved flowers after sensational beatdown of Tawanchai

Buakaw Banchamek was admittedly rooting for his compatriot Tawanchai PK Saenchai in his bid for two-sport supremacy at ONE 172 in Japan last March. The Muay Thai legend, however, gave Tawanchai's opponent Masaaki Noiri some well-deserved props after he did the unthinkable and shocked the world.

The Japanese star claimed the interim featherweight kickboxing world title with a resounding third-round knockout of Tawanchai. Even Buakaw was mesmerized by Noiri's career-defining performance and masterful dissection of one of the finest strikers of this generation.

In a vlog post on his personal YouTube channel, Buakaw honored Noiri's historic accomplishment:

"Noiri is considered one of the kings of kickboxing in Japan. He’s been doing kickboxing his whole life. Maybe not a hundred fights, but he’s been around."

Masaaki Noiri showed no fear in the face of danger early in the match, where he weathered Tawanchai's signature body kicks.

The Team Vasileus star bid his time and peppered the Thai warrior with crippling calf kicks to hinder his movement. Seeing Tawanchai slowly fading away in the third round, Noiri pounced and uncorked a brutal barrage to realize his dream of becoming a ONE world champion.

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Buakaw thought Tawanchai would steamroll Masaaki Noiri

Masaaki Noiri was a 10-1 underdog entering his showdown with the phenomenal Tawanchai. After all, the 26-year-old megastar was coming off a knockout victory over Superbon.

On the other hand, the Japanese star got off to a rocky start in his ONE Championship career. Even Buakaw admitted he thought this would be an easy fight for Tawanchai. He said:

"Heading into this fight, most agree that he's not quite on Tawanchai's level. So yeah, many fans saw this as kind of a test drive for Tawanchai".

Watch Buakaw's full breakdown of the epic match below: