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.
Meanwhile, Takeru was the bantamweight, featherweight and super featherweight champion, never losing a fight during the seven years he spent competing on K-1 cards.
However, he lost to Superlek Kiatmoo at ONE 165 earlier this year.
Wei Rui will be hoping for more success when he makes his debut for the promotion at ONE Fight Night 22, where he has been matched with Hiroki Akimoto in a bantamweight kickboxing bout.
There is no update on when Noiri will be fighting next but there is no shortage of potential opponents for him at featherweight.
Having put pen to paper on a contract, the Japanese star will be looking to add a ONE Championship belt to his impressive collection of titles and trophies.
