Masaaki Noiri


Masaaki Noiri is a Japanese kickboxer, currently competing in the Featherweight Division of ONE Championship, where he is a former List of [ONE Championship champions#Featherweight World Championship|interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion]. He is a two-weight K-1 champion, having held the K-1 World GP Super Lightweight Championship between 2017 and 2018 and the K-1 World GP Welterweight Championship between 2021 and 2024, as well as a one-time Grand Prix winner, having won the 2021 K-1 World Welterweight Grand Prix.
He began practicing karate as a teenager and had great success in both full contact karate and amateur kickboxing in his early teens, which included winning the K-1 Koshien 62 kg schoolboys tournament in 2009, two JKJO titles and a Shin Karate title. After turning professional in 2010, he became a mainstay in the Krush promotion and was victorious in the 2011 Krush Under-22 ~63kg Supernova~ Tournament.
Combat Press ranked him as the No. 1 super-featherweight kickboxer in the world between October 2021 and March 2023. He was then removed from the rankings after he moved to the lightweight division. Combat Press also ranked him among the top ten featherweights continuously from September 2014 to January 2021.
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Personal life & amateur career

Masaaki Noiri began kickboxing at a young age because of school bullying. As a schoolboy, Noiri began practicing Shin Karate, a style of full contact karate based on Kyokushin but modified to use boxing gloves and allow punches to the face. He soon became an All Japan Junior Champion in the discipline. On February 25, 2007, at the age of thirteen, Noiri participated in a try-out held by the K-1 kickboxing organization and was taken on as one of Japan's youngest prospects.
Noiri continued to show promise by winning the New Japan Karate Federation's K-2 Lightweight Grand Prix on May 3, 2009. He was then called upon to fight under the K-1 banner on August 10, 2009, at the K-1 Koshien 2009 King of Under 18 Final 16, where he defeated Ryo Murakoshi via knee strike knockout at the opening stage of the K-1 Koshien −62 kg/136 lb high school tournament. Advancing to the quarter-finals at the K-1 World MAX [2009 World Championship Tournament Final] on November 26, 2009, Noiri beat Keisuke Miyamoto by unanimous decision.
The final two stages of the tournament were held on December 31, 2009, at Dynamite!! 2009. Noiri was drawn against the previous year's Koshien champion, Hiroya, in the semi-finals and caused an upset by winning a unanimous decision from the judges. He then took another unanimous nod over Shota Shimada in the final to become the K-1 Koshien 2009 King of Under 18 Tournament Champion.
He returned to K-1 Koshien the following year, with all four tournament rounds being held on the same night at the K-1 Koshien 2010 King of Under 18 Final on November 20, 2010. He made it past Naoki Takeda with a unanimous decision victory in the first round, but was then eliminated by Keigo Ishida via decision at the quarter-finals.
Outside of kickboxing, Masaaki Noiri likes to spend time with his kids, eat food, and play games.

Professional kickboxing career

Lightweight

Early career

Noiri debuted as a professional kickboxer on March 14, 2010, in his home town of Nagoya, defeating Shinji Aseishi by unanimous decision. Following this, he was recruited by Krush and went 3–0 in the promotion, including two KO wins, before entering the Krush First Generation King Tournament at −60 kg/132 lb which began on December 12, 2010. He was victorious over Junpei Aotsu in the tournament's first round but was then defeated by Yuji Takeuchi in the quarter-finals on April 30, 2011. Noiri floored Takeuchi in the second round and again at the beginning of the third when both men knocked each other down with concurrent left hooks. Takeuchi, knowing that he had to stop Noiri to win the fight, came back aggressively towards the end of the fight, however, and violently knocked Noiri out with a left hook to send him crashing out of the tournament.
Despite having recently suffering the first loss of his professional career, Noiri was invited to the K-1 World MAX 2011 –63 kg Japan Tournament Final, a one-night tournament made up of eight of Japan's best lightweights, on June 25, 2011. He faced a tough test in the quarter-finals against the more experienced Ryuji Kajiwara. The bout was called a draw after three rounds and so an extension round was added to decide the winner, after which Noiri was given a close split decision. In the semis, he went up against the previous year's runner-up in Yuta Kubo and came out on the losing side of a unanimous decision.

Supernova tournament

He then returned to Krush to compete in the 2011 Under-22 ~63 kg Supernova~ Tournament. After finishing both Violence and Daizo Sasaki in the same night on October 10, 2011, Noiri advanced to the tournament's final stage held at Krush.14 on December 9, 2011. The semi-finals saw Noiri rematch Hiroya and cruise to a unanimous decision after sending his opponent to the canvas in round one. In the final, he went up against Koya Urabe and ended the fight with one of the year's most impressive knockouts. After nullifying Urabe's superior boxing, he landed with a flying knee that ended Urabe's night towards the end of the first round, crowning him the tournament winner.
Noiri ended the year with a unanimous decision victory over Kengo Sonoda at Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 on December 31, 2011. To kick off 2012, he bested his first international opponent, Frenchman Cedric Peynaud, with a unanimous decision at Krush.17 on March 17, 2012.

Move up in weight

On May 20, 2012, Noiri ventured up to 64 kg/141 lb limit to face Raz Sarkisjan at the Hoost Cup. The previously unknown Dutch-Armenian fighter scored a major upset with a unanimous decision win, flooring Noiri twice in the second round before getting dropped himself in the third. Three months later, Noiri returned to 63 kg/138 lb and bounced back with a unanimous points win over Makihira Keita at Krush.22.
The end of 2012 saw lightweight's previous kingpin Yuta Kubo move up in weight, and so Noiri then took his place as number one in the world rankings. This despite his loss to Sarkisjan which took place at 64 kg/141 lb, technically outside the lightweight limit of 63.5 kg/140 lb. He solidified his place as the world's top lightweight with a unanimous decision win over Yetkin Ozkul at Krush.24 in Tokyo on November 10, 2012. After an even first two rounds, Noiri dropped Ozkul with a flying knee in the final round, securing a victory. He then dominated Makoto Nishiyama en route to a second round referee stoppage in a non-tournament bout at the Krush Grand Prix 2013 ~67kg First Class Tournament~ on January 14, 2013.

Super lightweight

Glory

Moving up to the super lightweight division, Noiri was invited to the Road to Glory Japan −65kg Slam on March 10, 2013, and had his rubber match with Hiroya in the quarter-finals. This fight was much closer than their first two affairs as Noiri was only able to pick up a majority decision due to a point deduction for low blows to Hiroya, resulting in scores of 30–29, 30–29 and 29–29. He struggled again in the semis, but came out with another majority decision over Yukihiro Komiya. In the tournament final, he was much more dominant as he floored Yuki twice in round one and twice again in two, forcing the referee to stop the bout.
This tournament win qualified him for the Glory 8: Tokyo - 2013 65kg Slam event on May 3, 2013, the tournament made up of the world's eight top 65 kg kickboxers. In the quarter-finals, he defeated Liam Harrison via TKO due to a cut in round two, and in the semis he outpointed Mosab Amrani. He faced fellow Japanese native Yuta Kubo in a rematch in the final. He suffered a brutal low blow in the first round and wasn't able to rally back until the third. It was too late by that time, however, and he lost the decision.

Return to Krush

In his first match under Muay Thai rules, Noiri knocked out Seiji Takahashi with a third round front kick to the face for the vacant World Boxing Council Muaythai Japan Super Lightweight Championship at a New Japan Kickboxing Federation event on July 15, 2013.
Noiri had his rubber match with Yuta Kubo at Krush.32 in Nagoya on September 1, 2013, defeating Kubo for the first time in three attempts to take his Krush 67 kg/147 lb title and put an end to his seventeen fight win streak in the process. The bout was relatively one-sided in favour of Noiri and saw Kubo deducted a point in round three for extensive clinching, allowing Noiri to take a wide unanimous decision.
Noiri challenged Tetsuya Yamato for his WBC Muaythai International Super Lightweight Championship at an NJKF event in Tokyo on February 16, 2014. He lost the fight by a unanimous decision, with scores of 49–47, 50–47 and 49–48.
Noiri faced Atsushi Ogata at Krush 48 on December 21, 2014. He won the fight by a first-round knockout. Noiri next faced the Enfusion -67 kg champion Ilias Bulaid at Krush 51 on February 6, 2015. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 30–27 in his favor. His two fight win streak was snapped by Massaro Glunder however, who stopped him 40 seconds into the second round at K-1 World GP 2016 -65kg World Tournament on June 24, 2015, in the quarterfinals of the 2015 K-1 super lightweight Grand Prix.
Noiri faced Hideaki Yamazaki at Krush.57 in NAGOYA on August 22, 2015. He won the fight by unanimous decision, after an extra fourth round was contested. Noiri next faced Yasuomi Soda at K-1 World GP 2015 The Championship on November 21, 2015. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 30–28 and one scorecard of 30–29.

Super lightweight Grand Prix

On January 10, 2016, it was announced that Noiri would be one of eight participants in the 2016 K-1 Super lightweight Grand Prix, which was scheduled to take place on March 4, 2016. Noiri faced Minoru Kimura in the quarterfinals of the one-day tournament and was able to overcome the Brazilian fighter by a first-round knockout, flooring Kumura with a flying knee with just six seconds left in the opening round. Noiri advanced to the semifinals, where he faced the one-time Krush super lightweight champion Hiroya. He won the fight by majority decision, with two judges scoring the bout 29–27 and 29–28 in his favor, while the third ringside official had it scored as an even 28–28 draw. Noiri faced Hideaki Yamazaki in the finals, a rematch of their August 22, 2015 encounter, which Noiri won by unanimous decision. He was less successful in their second meeting, as Yamazaki won both the fight and the title by majority decision.
His success in the Japan Grand Prix earned him a place in the K-1 World Super lightweight Grand Prix as well, which took place on June 24, 2016. Noiri faced Massaro Glunder in the quarterfinals. He avenged his previous defeat to Glunder, as we won the fight by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 30–28 and one scorecard of 30–26. Glunder was twice deducted a point to excessive holding, one in the second and one in the third round. Noiri faced the two-time K-1 Grand Prix winner Kaew Fairtex in the semifinals. He lost the fight by unanimous decision, with scores of 29–28, 30–29 and 29–28.

Super lightweight champion

Noiri faced the Wu Lin Feng Rookie of the Year Wang Pengfei at Krush 68 on August 20, 2016. He won the fight by a first-round knockout. After he successfully bounced back from his loss to Kaew, Noiri faced Eddy Nait Slimani for the vacant Nuit Des Champions -66 kg championship at "Nuit Des Champions 2016" on November 16, 2019, in what was his first fight outside of Japan. He captured the title with a second round stoppage of the Frenchman.
Noiri returned to K-1 to face Younes Smaili at K-1 World GP 2017 Lightweight Championship Tournament on February 25, 2017. Noiri then challenged Kaew Fairtex for the K-1 World GP Super Lightweight (-65 kg) Championship at K-1 World GP 2017 Super Middleweight Championship Tournament on June 18, 2017. He won the fight by split decision, after an extra fourth round was contested. Noiri faced Diego Freitas in a non-title bout at Krush 79 on August 20, 2017. He won the fight by a second-round knockout.
Noiri made his first NDC -66 kg title defense against Abdellah Ezbiri at "Nuit Des Champions 2017" on November 25, 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Noiri made his first K-1 Super lightweight championship defense against Tetsuya Yamato at K-1 World GP 2018: K'FESTA.1 on March 21, 2018. Yamato previously beat Noiri by unanimous decision in a muay thai rules bout on February 16, 2014. He wasn't able to replicate that success in K-1 however, as Noiri won the fight by a third-round knockout.
Noiri would fight at super lightweight twice more before moving up to welterweight. He first stopped Vincent Foschiani with a left hook to the body at the 2:45 minute mark of the second round. Noiri followed this up with a first-round head kick knockout of Yang Haodong at Krush 92 on August 18, 2018.

Welterweight

Move up in weight

Noiri faced Riki Matsuoka at K-1 World GP 2018: K-1 Lightweight World's Strongest Tournament on December 8, 2018. He won the fight by a first-round knockout. Noiri next faced the Krush Super Welterweight champion Jordann Pikeur at K-1 World GP 2019: K’FESTA 2 on March 10, 2019. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.
Noiri rebounded from this loss by winning his next four fights: he beat Sami Lamiri by a second-round knockout at K-1 World GP 2019: Japan vs World 5 vs 5 & Special Superfight in Osaka on August 24, 2019, Hasan Toy by majority decision at K-1 World GP 2019 Japan: ～Women's Flyweight Championship Tournament～ on December 28, 2019, David Mejia at K-1 World GP 2020: K’Festa 3 on March 22, 2020, and Vitor Tofanelli by unanimous decision at K-1 World GP 2020 in Fukuoka on November 3, 2020.
Noiri was expected to fight Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai at K-1: K’Festa 4, but the event was later postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was instead rescheduled to face Playchumphon Sor.Srisomphong at K-1 World GP 2021: K’Festa 4 Day.2. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

K-1 welterweight champion

Noiri was expected to face Kona Kato in the quarterfinal bout of the K-1 welterweight World Grand Prix, held at K-1 World GP 2021: Yokohamatsuri on September 20, 2021. As Kato later withdrew due to COVID-19 related problems, Noiri was rescheduled to face FUMIYA. He made quick work of FUMIYA, as he floored the journeyman with a right hook at the 2:10 minute mark of the opening round. Noiri faced the undefeated Krush Welterweight champion Ayinta Ali in the penultimate bout of the tournament. He needed just 92 seconds to knock Ayinta down twice for a technical knockout victory. Noiri faced the former K-1 Super Lightweight champion Rukiya Anpo in the finals of the one-day tournament. Following an evenly contested first two rounds, Noiri was able to knock Anpo down three times in the final round of the bout for his third stoppage win of the evening.
Noiri was booked to face Kona Kato at K-1: K'Festa 5 on April 3, 2022, in a non-title bout. He won the fight by second-round knockout, after knocking Kato down once in the previous round.
Noiri faced the former Shoot boxing Super Lightweight champion and the 2018 SHOOT BOXING S-Cup World Tournament winner Kaito Ono at The Match 2022 on June 19, 2022. He lost the fight by an extra round unanimous decision.
Noiri faced the 148-fight veteran Dzhabar Askerov at K-1 World GP 2023: K'Festa 6 on March 12, 2023. He won the fight by a first-round knockout.
Noiri faced the reigning SUPERKOMBAT Middleweight Champion Amansio Paraschiv in a catchweight bout at K-1 World GP 2023 on July 17, 2023. He won the fight by a first-round body-kick knockout.

ONE Championship

Noiri announced his departure from K-1 on March 27, 2024. On April 23, 2024, it was announced that Noiri signed with ONE Championship.
Noiri made his promotional debut against Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong on June 8, 2024, at ONE 167. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Noiri was scheduled to face Youssef Challouki on December 20, 2024, at ONE Friday Fights 92. However, Challouki pulled out from the event for he allegedly sending inappropriate messages to minors. He was replaced by Liu Mengyang. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.
Noiri faced Shakir Al-Tekreeti on January 24, 2025, at ONE 170. He won the fight via knockout in the round two.
Noiri faced Tawanchai P.K.Saenchai for the interim ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Championship on March 23, 2025, at ONE 172. He won the fight via technical knockout in round three upset.

Championships and awards

Karate

  • Japan Karate Judge Organization
  • *2006 JKJO Karate-Do MAC Japan Cup Elementary School 3rd place
  • *2007 JKJO All Japan Junior Championship Middle School -55 kg Winner
  • Shin Karate
  • *2009 Shin Karate All Japan K-2 Grand Prix Lightweight Champion

Kickboxing

Muay thai

  • World Boxing Council Muaythai
  • *WBC Muaythai Japan Super Lightweight Championship

Awards

Kickboxing record

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