Explosive Rematches Headline Stacked Eight-Man Featherweight Tournament

Tokyo gets another blockbuster. ONE Championship has confirmed the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament for ONE SAMURAI 2 on 8 August at Ebara Wave Arena Ota, live on live.onefc.com. Eight fighters. One bracket. One guaranteed shot at ONE Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Superbon waiting at the end.

Two rematches anchor the opening round — Masaaki Noiri versus Liu "Spirit Dragon" Mengyang, and Kaito versus Mohammad Siasarani. Every man in all four corners has something to prove, and every previous result makes the stakes in August feel deeply, personally significant.

Noiri's story is one of pure perseverance. Two early ONE losses threatened to derail him before a calf-kick TKO of Shakir Al-Tekreeti and a stunning come-from-behind KO of Tawanchai PK Saenchai at ONE 172 launched one of the promotion's great comeback arcs, culminating in the interim featherweight kickboxing world title.

Superbon ended that reign at ONE 173 — but Noiri's next chapter begins in August. First, a rematch with the man who handed him his first ONE defeat. Liu Mengyang's early-round knockdown and dominant unanimous decision in 2024 remains unfinished business, and "The Silencer" intends to settle it definitively.

Liu's resume has only grown more impressive since that win. Leg kick TKO over Tawanchai. Clinical decision over Gabriel Pereira. A reputation as one of the division's most complete finishers at just 23 years old. "Spirit Dragon" enters the tournament not as a contender — but as the favourite.

Siasarani beat both Noiri and Kaito before earning his main roster spot with a spectacular KO of Jo Nattawut. The Iranian powerhouse has since proven his elite credentials in a brutal debut against Pedro Dantas and enters this bracket as the most dangerous man in the lower half of the draw.

Kaito is fighting for more than a title shot. The multiple-time K-1 Champion's two ONE losses have put his standing in the division under genuine scrutiny. In front of the Japanese faithful on 8 August, with a world title opportunity on the line, the 27-year-old needs a statement performance more than ever.