Newly crowned interim featherweight champ Masaaki Noiri self-grades his performance against Tawanchai at ONE 172

Japanese striking superstar Masaaki Noiri shocked the world last Sunday at ONE 172 when he scored a third-round TKO victory against Thai megastar Tawanchai PK Saenchai in their ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world title match inside the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Noiri flexed his punching power by flooring Tawanchai in the third stanza before raining down the vicious combinations that forced the referee to stop the match in his favor.

This victory has made him the division's interim champion and booked a unification match against Superbon for the undisputed ONE featherweight kickboxing world title match.

Speaking to My Navi News for an interview following his win over Tawanchai, Noiri was asked to give his thoughts about his performance. Although it was impressive, he didn't give himself a perfect grade by saying:

"If I were to score my performance at ONE 172, I'd give it a 65 to 70 out of 100."

Watch Masaaki Noiri's full interview here:

This triumph also marked the 31-year-old's second win under the world's largest martial arts organization since his arrival in June 2024 after dropping his first two outings.

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Masaaki Noiri says that his win over Tawanchai validates his place as the world's best strikers

The former K-1 champion was ecstatic about his win over Tawanchai and stated that it was a validation that he is part of the world's elite strikers.

Masaaki Noiri mentioned this during his interview with My Navi News, where he proclaimed:

"Winning the world title meant a lot to me. It was at the top of my list. And now that I've gotten it, I think I've finally proven why I was the top contender. I jumped into the ring with the aim of becoming the strongest in the world, and I'm happy to prove that I'm one of the best now."

Fans can rewatch all the action from the ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang card via watch.onefc.com.

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