“With the strongest members” - Japanese star Yuki Yoza heads to ONE Championship debut with Masaaki Noiri in his corner

Yuki Yoza has some immense backup when he makes his highly anticipated ONE Championship debut.

The Japanese sensation will have Masaaki Noiri manning his corner when he takes on the undefeated Elbrus Osmanov in their bantamweight kickboxing tussle at ONE Friday Fights 109 at the historic Lumpinee Stadium.

Yoza revealed his two-man corner of Noiri, the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion, and Team Vasileus head coach Masakazu Watanabe in an Instagram post before his flight to Bangkok.

"Let's go! I'm going to win with the strongest members 🔥," he posted.

Yuki Yoza is one of the biggest signings ONE Championship had this year, and he's expected to bolster a stacked bantamweight kickboxing division.

The 27-year-old holds an impressive 18-2 record and is on a remarkable 11-fight winning streak that started in 2021.

In March 2023, Yoza outclassed Taio Asahisa for the K-1 Kickboxing lightweight title and only relinquished the throne earlier this year when he signed with ONE Championship.

Noiri, meanwhile, is one of this generation's best Japanese fighters, having held the K-1 Kickboxing super lightweight and welterweight titles in 2017 and 2021, respectively.

The 32-year-old ultimately signed with ONE Championship in 2024. He chalked up his 50th career win when he broke Shakir Al-Tekreeti's right leg for the second-round technical knockout finish at ONE 170 in January 2025.

Noiri then claimed the biggest victory of his career when he stopped Tawanchai PK Saenchai, the ONE featherweight Muay Thai world champion, in the third round for the ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title at ONE 172 in front of his home fans at Saitama Super Arena.

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Yuki Yoza determined to showcase his arsenal against Elbrus Osmanov in Bangkok

Yuki Yoza knows he'll be in a firefight when he steps between the ropes against Elbrus Osmanov at Lumpinee Stadium.

Osmanov sports a perfect 12-0 record overall and 6-0 in ONE Championship.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Yoza said he'll bring the fight to Osmanov and work his way to secure a highlight reel knockout in his ONE Championship debut.

He said:

"Osmanov has top-level techniques, and I’m very sure this fight will be a very high-level fight - for sure. But my theme is always about destroying, beating, and getting KOs against my opponents. That’s my style."