An eight-man bracket with one guaranteed reward is opening with a fighter trying to erase his most painful defeat.
Masaaki Noiri opens the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament against “Spirit Dragon” Liu Mengyang in a quarterfinal rematch at ONE SAMURAI 2, streaming live from Tokyo’s EBARA WAVE Arena Ota on Saturday, August 8. The winner of the entire eight-man bracket is guaranteed a shot at reigning ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon.
Their first meeting in December 2024 went to Liu by unanimous decision. The result marked the first time in Noiri’s career he had suffered consecutive ONE Championship losses. The 33-year-old has not fought Liu since. This tournament format gives him no path to Superbon that does not run through his old rival first.
Liu has been far from stagnant since that win. He has reeled off three straight victories, including a finish of Tawanchai PK Saenchai. He was in line for a Superbon title shot of his own before injury forced the champion to withdraw.
Masaaki Noiri chases Superbon rematch dream
Beyond Liu, the entire bracket points toward one destination for Noiri. Should he advance, he faces the winner of Kaito and Mohammad Siasarani’s own quarterfinal rematch, while Marat Grigorian, a longtime dream opponent, sits on the opposite side of the draw and could only meet Noiri in the final.
Every route ultimately circles back to Superbon, who denied Noiri undisputed gold in a five-round unification bout at ONE 173 this past November. A trip through Liu, and potentially the rest of the bracket, is now the only avenue back to that rematch and the belt Noiri has chased since first signing with ONE Championship.
Noiri has said his preparation for this rematch accounts for both versions of Liu he might see, the aggressive pressure fighter who surprised him in their first meeting and the longer-range striker he originally expected. That dual approach reflects just how much is riding on a single quarterfinal bout.
This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM
