Since the inception of the K-1 World MAX 70 kg tournament in 2002, the division has begrudgingly been referred to in Japan as the "Foreigner’s Paradise." Non-Japanese fighters—even those dismissed as mere stepping stones, have historically dominated the division, consistently upsetting Japanese stars.
Since Masato’s retirement in 2009, Japan has searched for the next champion to reign supreme in this weight class, but no Japanese fighter has managed to reach the division’s apex.
Enter Masaaki Noiri, a dominant two-division (65kg and 67.5kg) K-1 WORLD GP champion. Alongside Kaito Ono and Hiromi Wajima, Noiri was regarded as Japan’s best hope of reclaiming the top spot in the division.
In 2024, Noiri faced a critical decision: re-sign with K-1 to join the roster of young talents and participate in the returning K-1 World MAX 2024 tournament or follow his TEAM VASILEUS teammate, Takeru Segawa, to ONE Championship. He chose the latter, stepping into ONE’s 70kg division, which is widely considered the strongest but largely comprises of aging champions. With champion Allazov's absence, division looked prime for the Japanese star to take over.
Noiri made his ONE debut in June 2024 against former 70kg king Sittichai. Despite a good effort, Noiri was unable to overcome the savvy Thai veteran, who fought through a second-round eye injury to earn a unanimous decision victory.
In an effort to help Noiri bounce back, ONE initially set him up against Belgian kickboxer Youssef Challouki. However, allegations of Challouki’s misconduct with minors surfaced, sparking outrage among fans. The match was quickly scrapped, and ONE scrambled to find a new opponent for Noiri.
Fighting out of Zhengzhou, Henan, Liu Mengyang was just a 21-year young prospect when he got a call to step in as the short-notice replacement. With few of his fights available in platforms outside of China, Liu remained relatively unknown. Apart from his size advantage, Noiri looked to be better in all aspects from experiences to technical skills, leading fans to dismiss the match up as an easy win for Noiri.
In hindsight, Liu's wins over Masoud Minaei and Sudsakorn, combined with Noiri's lack of success in 70 kg division should have hinted at what to come. Confident as ever, Noiri told reporters that he was only thinking about how to knock Liu out and that Mengyang’s aggressive style would mean it would be easier to fight him.
From the opening bell, Liu immediately put Noiri on the back foot with relentless pressure, drawing the Japanese star into close-quarters combat. Noiri opted to trade blows in the pocket, a strategy that had served him well in lighter divisions but had not been effective at 70kg.
Just 20 seconds into the fight, Liu dropped Noiri with a perfectly timed cross, sending him stumbling to the canvas.
For the remainder of the fight, Noiri fought valiantly, turning the bout into a phonebooth brawl in an attempt to score a revenge knockdown against the young prospect. Despite his best efforts in the second and final rounds, ONE Championship’s scoring system—which emphasizes knockdowns as the highest-scoring criteria—sealed Noiri’s fate. The first-round knockdown proved decisive, cementing Liu’s stunning upset victory.
"JUST A STEPPING STONE"
In an exclusive message to Beyond Kickboxing, Liu Mengyang expressed gratitude for the award but made it clear that this was only the beginning.
"Thank you for the recognition from Beyond Kickboxing. I want to say that this fight in not an upset. This is the result of my joint efforts with my coach and team. Masaaki Noiri is indeed a very strong opponent. But after I defeated him, I’m not actually that excited. Because my goal is not him, He’s just my stepping stone. My goal is to win the world championship title."
