Masaaki Noiri ONE 172 Tawanchai: "Pure art" - Fans loving the immense boxing pressure Masaaki Noiri unleashed in his stunning finish of Tawanchai in Japan

Combat sports fans will never say no to witnessing an all-out brawl, but they can also appreciate when two pure strikers go deep into their bag for a technical striking showdown. Such was the experience that Masaaki Noiri gave ONE Championship fans at ONE 172 last March.

Facing ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world championship, Noiri had to rely on his fight IQ to outsmart the near-unbeatable 26-year-old.

His moment of brilliance came midway in the third round, where he blasted an over-aggressive Tawanchai with a left hook to the body and a counter left hook to the chin that dropped the Thai star.

Watch the entire sequence below, which ONE posted on Instagram:

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In the comments section, fans praised Noiri for his split-second decision-making, writing:

"Still heartbreaking but Noiri is just 🙌🏻💪🏻"

"Pure art! 🔥"

"Never seen Tawanchai so pressed."

"Masaaki Noiri is so good. And it was such an beautiful moment seeing him so proud with his family on his side after becoming the Champion 🏆"

"Tawanchai is a beast but he got outboxed hard by Noiri."

Screenshot of comments. [ONE Championship/Instagram]

Buakaw commends Masaaki Noiri for his leg kicks against Tawanchai

Before he stopped Tawanchai in the third round, Masaaki Noiri had to adjust his strategy to that of the PK Saenchai Muay Thai Gym star's controlled chaos, which led to his reliance on the calf kicks.

During his breakdown of their encounter on YouTube, Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek complimented the Team Vasileus representative, saying:

"Noiri was going back to the low kicks. Noiri looks faster. He's definitely throwing a lot more now. You can start seeing the red marks on Tawanchai's thigh. He must be feeling it. They hurt, trust me."

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 Harvey Leonard