Japanese Kickboxing Superstar Masaaki Noiri Opens Up After Signing With ONE Championship

One of Japan’s best strikers has joined ONE Championship, and his name is Masaaki Noiri. This week, the world’s largest martial arts organization confirmed the signing of the two-division K-1 World Champion and K-1 Grand Prix Champion to its roster of the best strikers on the planet.

The addition of one of the best in the country has made ONE Championship look forward to the future. After signing his contract with the world’s largest martial arts organization, Noiri took his time to have a conversation with the media.

Masaaki Noiri joins ONE Championship for his next career big break

Speaking to ONE in an interview, the 30-year-old shared his excitement and reason for joining ONE. “I’m truly happy. I’ve been waiting for this moment, finally! I’m also very excited. I can’t wait to step into the ring with only elite fighters and prove my abilities,” he said.

He further added, “I believe ONE is the ultimate stage for striking, so I wanted to challenge myself in that ring. I’m pursuing to be the strongest in the world through martial arts, so I chose this path to test if the current Masaaki Noiri can make it in ONE.”

Apart from his success in kickboxing, Noiri is also a WBC Muaythai Japan Super Lightweight Champion, which means fans could see him compete in at least two disciplines in ONE for the foreseeable future. He joins Takeru ‘The Natural Born Crusher’ Segawa and former bantamweight kickboxing World Champion Hiroki Akimoto as top representatives of Japan’s striking prowess.

Noiri is looking ahead at the title straight

Adding ONE gold to his list of accomplishments is naturally a goal he is aiming for, but he also wants to put a spotlight on his country’s martial arts skills.“To definitely win the ONE world title. Not just me, but together with Takeru Segawa. And we’ll prove the strength of Japanese fighters to the world,” said Noiri.

While Noiri has claimed multiple accolades across various weight classes, he will reportedly join the stacked featherweight division of ONE. Reigning kickboxing king Chingiz “Chinga” Allazov, interim champ Superbon, and Muay Thai titleholder Tawanchai PK Saenchai are just a few fighters that he could trade leather within the all-striking sports of the division.

There will certainly be no shortage of elite opponents for the latest ONE athlete, and he welcomes a fight against anyone – even those who are already in the upper echelon of the divisional rankings. “Whoever the opponent is, I see them as a challenger. I want to face the highly ranked fighters of course, but overall I want to take on really strong opponents.”