Decorated Japanese kickboxer Masaaki Noiri is prepared to showcase his warrior spirit on March 23 at ONE 172: Takeru vs. Rodtang.
In front of his home fans at the iconic Saitama Super Arena, he’ll square off with Thai megastar Tawanchai PK Saenchai for the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title.
As a former two-division K-1 Champion and now a challenger for 26 pounds of ONE Championship gold, Noiri has been one of Japan’s top kickboxers over the past decade.
After spending the vast majority of his 63-fight professional career competing at home, the 31-year-old has now taken his immense talents to the global stage of ONE Championship – and he’s identified some key differences between Japanese fighters and foreigners.
Noiri told onefc.com that a unique mentality – particularly how they react to defeat – separates his compatriots from the rest:
“One thing I’ve noticed since joining ONE is that foreign fighters seem to be very unfazed even after losing. With Japanese fighters — including myself — losing feels like the end of the world. It’s not that we intentionally create that atmosphere, but it just naturally happens.
“On the other hand, foreign fighters often come back with really high energy even after a loss, which is a big difference I’ve noticed. Because of that, I think Japanese fighters have a much stronger mentality of ‘we absolutely cannot lose.’ It’s almost like the spirit of Bushido or such in Japanese fighters, in my opinion.”
The Bushido spirit – the moral code that ruled samurai behavior – is deeply ingrained in Noiri.
A lifelong martial artist, his education in these warrior virtues began when he was a boy just beginning karate. The no-retreat, no-surrender mentality that he’s displayed throughout his career is a testament to that education.
He explained:
“I started martial arts with karate, so I was taught the Bushido spirit from a young age. For example, in a fight, if you fall face-first, it means you lost consciousness, so that can’t be helped. But if you go down from a body shot, a stomach hit, or a low kick, that’s ultimately a matter of willpower – you’re still conscious.
That five-round battle will go down at Bangkok’s Lumpinee Stadium – the same venue where Nicolas defeated Eersel just five months ago, snapping the former titleholder’s years-long run of dominance.
View this post on Instagram
“That’s why I’ve made up my mind that no matter what happens in the future, I will never go down from a body shot or a low kick. I think that kind of mindset is what connects to the spirit of Bushido.”
66brsans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by ONE Championship (@onechampionship)
The Japanese fan favorite will undoubtedly lean heavily on his warrior spirit when he battles reigning ONE Featherweight Muay Thai World Champion Tawanchai at ONE 172. After all, his Thai opponent will enter the contest riding a years-long winning streak and is fresh off a career-defining knockout of Superbon.
While Noiri believes that Japanese fighters have the upper hand in terms of mindset and striking technique, he did admit that foreigners tend to bring a more physical and powerful element to the fight.
How that dynamic plays out against Tawanchai is yet to be seen:
“Both [Japanese fighters and foreign fighters] have their pros and cons, but if I had to point out something unique about foreign fighters, I’d say their physical strength stands out. They have a level of raw strength and overall physical power that Japanese fighters typically don’t have.
“I think Japanese fighters are superior in terms of the variety of techniques and the technical details of their skills.”
Masaaki Noiri’s hotly anticipated clash against Tawanchai PK Saenchai is one of five massive World Title bouts at the blockbuster ONE 172, which features top Japanese superstars in all but two of the 14 fights.
Noiri admitted that while he’ll be rooting for his compatriots overall, he will be paying extra close attention to the featherweight kickboxing battle between highly touted Japanese debutant Kaito Ono and Armenian legend Marat Grigorian – well aware that he could face his countryman at some point in the future:
“Of course, I want all the Japanese fighters to win. But at the same time, I think every fight will be compared to the others.
“Since it’s in the same division, Kaito’s fight against Grigorian will definitely be compared to mine in terms of performance and fight quality. We’re all part of the Japanese team, but at the end of the day, I still see everyone as a rival.”
The Team Vasileus product is no stranger to competing against other Japanese stars, so he’s certainly open to facing one of them in ONE Championship.
But for now, he’s primarily concerned with himself and his teammate Takeru Segawa, who will square off with Thai icon Rodtang Jitmuangnon in the monumental main event super-fight on March 23.
Noiri added:
“For me, as long as Takeru and I both win, that’s enough. If the two of us, as Japanese fighters in ONE, can come out victorious together, that would be the best outcome.”
Sourcejblpg