Mohammad Siasarani Dares Masaaki Noiri To Back Up His Knockout Prediction
Mohammad Siasarani needed 87 seconds to flatten Kaito with a head kick. Now, he says, another Japanese star has promised to finish him in round two.
The 24-year-old faces former ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Masaaki Noiri in a semifinal of the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament at ONE SAMURAI 4 on Saturday, October 17, live from Tokyo’s Ariake Arena. Siasarani rarely makes predictions, but Noiri’s has drawn a pointed response.
“Noiri said he’s going to knock me out in the second round. I’m not the kind of person who likes to talk about what I’m going to do. I’m going to show him first, the same as Kaito. Then we’re going to sit down and talk about it,” Siasarani said.
“I want to say: If you are a man, just do what you said. And if you cannot do what you said, you are not a man.”
The Venum Training Camp standout earned a US$50,000 performance bonus for the Kaito knockout, which extended his winning streak to six across Muay Thai and kickboxing. A win over Noiri would move him one step closer to a shot at reigning ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon.
For all his confidence, Siasarani rates Noiri as the toughest opponent in the eight-man bracket, ahead even of three-time Glory Kickboxing World Champion Marat Grigorian. It comes down to speed.
“Marat, of course, is very strong. He puts on so much pressure, but I feel he is a little bit slow,” he said.
“For Noiri, I think he is strong and also fast. For my fighting style, I think he’s harder than Marat.”
Noiri’s forward march behind low kicks and punching combinations has made him one of the division’s most dangerous finishers. The Iranian southpaw believes that same aggression creates openings, and he has prepared for every scenario.
“As you see, all of his fights are similar. He likes going forward, throwing low kicks and punches. But he doesn’t like when somebody stays with him, switches guard, and follows him a lot,” Siasarani said.
“I have many plans to fight him. I don’t fight only one way. As you see in my previous fights, every fight is different. Sometimes I fight technically. Sometimes I fight crazy. Sometimes I take my time. I’m going to be ready for every kind of situation.”
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