ONE SAMURAI 2 featherweight kickboxing tournament pits Masaaki Noiri against Liu Mengyang for highly anticipated rematch

Masaaki Noiri faces Liu in one of two quarterfinal rematches at the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament at ONE SAMURAI 2, broadcasting live and exclusively on live.onefc.com from Ebara Wave Arena Ota in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, August 8.

The eight-man bracket guarantees a shot at reigning ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon to its winner.

Liu dropped then defeated Noiri in their first encounter at ONE Friday Fights 92, winning by unanimous decision. Noiri went on to rebound and claim the ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Title. But he lost the unification bout with Superbon later on.

The second quarterfinal rematch sends Japanese multiple-time K-1 Champion Kaito into a second meeting with Iranian powerhouse Mohammad Siasarani.

Siasarani overwhelmed Kaito with forward pressure and volume in their first encounter at ONE Friday Fights 109 to spoil his promotional debut. Kaito then faced Marat Grigorian at ONE SAMURAI 1 in April and was stopped in the first round.

For both fighters, the tournament represents the fastest available path back to relevance in a division that has moved on without them.

What each fighter must prove in the ONE SAMURAI 2 featherweight kickboxing tournament

Masaaki Noiri must show that the Superbon loss did not define the ceiling of his career. He went five rounds with the undisputed champion and came up short on the scorecards. The remedies he has been working on in camp since November 2025 get their first test against a fighter who has already solved him once.

Liu Mengyang must prove the Superbon title shot delay has not cost him momentum. He dismantled Gabriel Pereira at The Inner Circle in May after Superbon withdrew injured. Now he arrives in Tokyo with the most high-profile wins in the division outside of the champion himself.

Kaito needs a result that resets the conversation after two consecutive losses. Siasarani needs to prove his contract-winning knockout of Jo Nattawut and his main roster debut win over Pedro Dantas were the beginning of something, not a plateau.