Masaaki Noiri calls Mohammad Siasarani 'good at everything' ahead of ONE SAMURAI 4 semifinal

Former ONE interim featherweight kickboxing world champion Masaaki Noiri meets Mohammad Siasarani in the semifinals of the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament at ONE SAMURAI 4 on Saturday, October 17, at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Speaking to ONE Championship this week, Noiri described the Iranian as a complete fighter.

Two contrasting quarterfinal wins

Both men advanced in spectacular fashion at ONE SAMURAI 2 in August. Noiri headlined the card and avenged his 2024 loss to Liu Mengyang with a first-round knockout, earning a performance bonus. In the bout before, Siasarani needed 87 seconds to stop Kaito with a head kick.

"Siasarani versus Kaito was pretty shocking," Noiri said. "Honestly I'd expected Siasarani to probably win by decision again, but I never expected it to end in the first round like that, with one shot."

Styles

According to ONE, Masaaki Noiri vs Mohammad Siasarani is a clash of pressure against precision. All three of Noiri's ONE victories have come inside the distance, while Siasarani is on a six-fight winning streak built largely on durability and accurate counters. Siasarani has also beaten Liu and Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong, the two men who handed Noiri his early defeats in the promotion, where he started 0-2.

"He's just good at everything, an all-around skilled fighter," said Noiri, a former two-division K-1 champion. "He can properly rack up points across all three rounds and win on the scorecards, or, like last time, he can finish someone with one shot too."

What is at stake

The tournament winner earns a guaranteed shot at reigning ONE featherweight kickboxing world champion Superbon, who beat Noiri for the undisputed title at ONE 173 last November. The 33-year-old said he is not looking that far ahead.

"It's a tournament format right now. It's one event, one fight at a time," Noiri said. "My next fight is Siasarani, and that's really all I'm thinking about."

In the other semifinal, former ONE world title challenger Marat Grigorian faces Luo Chao. Noiri said he expects Grigorian to advance and that he has always wanted to face him.

"I still think Grigorian is the next contender, so by beating a fighter like that, I think I'll make myself worthy of being a contender," he said.

Noiri's motivation

The Nagoya native said his goal is to keep evolving. "I made a pretty strong impact last time, and I have to top that impact because I really hate staying stagnant," he said. "I want people to look at me and go, 'Whoa, Noiri's still evolving, even at this age.'"