Japanese K1 kickboxer Masaaki Noiri signs with ONE Championship, following in footsteps of fellow champs Takeru, Wei Rui
- The 30-year-old is set to compete in the promotion’s stacked featherweight kickboxing division
- Noiri announced the news on social media with a statement that said he had ‘finally arrived’ for the ‘start of the final chapter’
ONE Championship continues to snap up talent from Japanese kickboxing promotion K-1 with the addition of Masaaki Noiri, who follows in the footsteps of fellow champions Takeru and Wei Rui.
Noiri is a former K-1 super lightweight and welterweight champion, claiming the latter title by winning an eight-man tournament and stopping three separate opponents in a single night in 2021.
The 30-year-old also holds a 2013 win over former ONE Championship bantamweight title challenger Liam Harrison.
He is set to compete in the promotion’s stacked featherweight kickboxing division, home also to stars such as Chingiz Allazov, Superbon Singha Mawynn, Marat Grigorian and Giorgio Petrosyan.
Noiri announced the news on social media on Tuesday and issued a statement that read: “I have signed with ONE Championship, the pinnacle of stand-up martial arts. I have finally arrived. This is the start of the final chapter for fighter Masaaki Noiri.”
ONE Championship has established itself as the global leader for kickboxing by signing up stars from rival promotions. Wei Rui held the K-1 lightweight title when Noiri was the super lightweight champion, but their paths never crossed.
