“You accept the loss” - Yuki Yoza sounds off on teammate Masaaki Noiri’s upset win over Tawanchai

Not many people saw it coming, but at ONE 172, Masaaki Noiri shocked the Muay Thai world by stopping Tawanchai in the third round to capture the interim ONE featherweight kickboxing world title. While fans and fighters continue to process the upset, Noiri’s teammate Yuki Yoza is keeping it real, both in backing his teammate and critiquing the way Tawanchai responded.

Since the fight, Tawanchai has been considering using his golden ticket, earned from a prior performance bonus, to run it back with Noiri. But Yoza, who trains alongside Noiri at Team Vasileus, felt that kind of response missed the mark.

"It is the reason of his loss against Noiri," Yoza told South China Morning Post. "If you lose, if you’re a good fighter, you accept the loss, and you will learn from there. When I lost, I learned from there. I was never arrogant."

The issue isn’t wanting a rematch, it’s about how a fighter handles defeat. And from his perspective, true growth comes from owning the result and taking lessons from it, not rushing to erase it.

Watch the full interview below:

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“Noiri will win ten times” - Yuki Yoza believes the results will be the same if Masaaki Noiri and Tawanchai fight again

Tawanchai was riding high going into ONE 172. He was the reigning Muay Thai king, transitioning into kickboxing, and widely expected to add kickboxing gold to his collection.

Then Masaaki Noiri came and put a stop to those plans.

Now, talk of a rematch is already floating. But Yoza doesn’t think a second ( or third, or fourth) fight would go any differently.

"For sure. If they fight ten times, Noiri will win ten times."

Yuki Yoza is set to make his ONE Championship debut on May 23 at ONE Friday Fights 109 against undefeated Russian striker Elbrus Osmanov. Tickets are available here.