3 Bouts That Could Steal The Show At ONE SAMURAI 2
ONE Championship touches down at Tokyo’s EBARA WAVE Arena Ota for the second chapter of its newest monthly showcase, ONE SAMURAI, on Saturday, August 8, and Japan’s biggest stars are bringing plenty of firepower with them.
The card for ONE SAMURAI 2 is highlighted by the ONE SAMURAI Featherweight Kickboxing Tournament quarterfinals.
Headlining the show is a rivalry two years in the making, as former ONE Interim Featherweight Kickboxing World Champion Masaaki Noiri looks to settle his unfinished business with “Spirit Dragon” Liu Mengyang in the opening round of the tournament.
In the co-main event, Kaito Ono aims to exact revenge against Mohammad Siasarani. And rounding out the trio of quarterfinal matchups is a clash between Kosuke “Unstoppable Phoenix” Takagi and “The Handsome White Dragon” Luo Chao.
But this card has plenty more in store beyond that stacked eight-man competition, with Japanese titleholders, hungry teenagers, and international strikers ready to chase greatness in “The Land of the Rising Sun.”
Among all of it, three matchups deserve special attention heading into ONE SAMURAI 2. With that in mind, here are three bouts that could steal the show on Saturday.
#1 Keito Yamakita Vs. Koyuru Tanoue
Fight fans can expect a classic grappler vs. striker battle when former King of Pancrase Keito “Pocket Monk” Yamakita locks horns with Shooto Champion Koyuru “Naniwa Speedster” Tanoue in a strawweight MMA showdown.
Yamakita arrives in search of a fifth successive triumph on the global stage. The 30-year-old has improved his career record to 12-1 and looked more complete with each passing fight. Most recently, he tapped out Ryohei Kurosawa at ONE SAMURAI 1 this past April.
Another spectacular win for “Pocket Monk” could significantly boost his chances of earning a shot at reigning ONE Strawweight MMA World Champion Joshua “The Passion” Pacio‘s belt.
Tanoue, on the other hand, walks into his promotional debut just three months after defending the Shooto Strawweight Title with a stunning fourth-round TKO victory. The 24-year-old brings an 11-4 record built on his ability to finish opponents with his dangerous striking.
The Osaka native will be out to prove that his pedigree translates seamlessly to the global stage, but he can expect to be tested to the fullest against Yamakita’s supreme ground game. “Pocket Monk” has displayed the skills necessary to hang with striking specialists, and it should come in handy against a fighter who makes opponents pay whenever they present an opening.
That said, Tanoue is not here to simply survive his debut. Toppling a fighter with Yamakita’s track record in his promotional bow would be the kind of statement that could instantly push him to the upper echelon of the division.
#2 Hiroki Kasahara Vs. Ryuto Shiokawa
Four-division SHOOT BOXING Champion Hiroki Kasahara will square off against reigning RISE Lightweight Champion Ryuto Shiokawa in a featherweight kickboxing clash that only the world’s largest martial arts organization could have engineered.
Kasahara steps into the 50th fight of a career built on grit, volume, and a chin that has weathered nearly every style imaginable. Apart from his fan-friendly approach and his desire to shake up the most stacked division across combat sports, the 26-year-old is out to reintroduce himself to the global fan base.
The Japanese slugger fell on the wrong side of a decision during his promotional debut against Worapon Lukjaoporongtom at ONE Friday Fights 53 in February 2024. He has been waiting for this opportunity to rewrite that first impression ever since, and what better way to do that than against a RISE titleholder.
Shiokawa will be no easy assignment, however. The debuting star heads into this all-action tilt on a nine-bout winning streak, a run built on blistering hand speed and a finishing mentality that rarely lets opponents off the hook.
In his last outing, the 24-year-old captured the RISE strap with a highlight-reel win over Masahito Okuyama, who also plies his trade for ONE Championship today. He now has to prove that domestic dominance means something outside of RISE’s own walls, as he’ll be going up against a reigning SHOOT BOXING Super Lightweight Champion with far more experience.
Much like Kasahara, a victory would instantly make the TOP STAR GYM representative a name to watch in a division loaded with dangerous talent from top to bottom.
#3 Shoma Okumura Vs. Reiji
Youth takes center stage when 20-year-old Shoma Okumura and 18-year-old Reiji collide in a strawweight kickboxing clash built for speed, crisp footwork, and finishes that come in the blink of an eye.
Okumura brings a boxer’s polish into the exchange, a product of an amateur career that included a gold medal in the men’s 60-kilogram division at the second East Asian Youth Games.
He has been developing steadily under the organization’s weekly ONE Friday Fights and The Inner Circle events since October 2025, and a fourth straight win this past May finally earned him the coveted life-changing US$100,000 contract and global roster spot.
Meanwhile, Reiji answers with pure finishing instinct, the kind that has already netted him two domestic titles, including the JAPAN CUP KICK Bantamweight Championship and the Martial Arts Japan Featherweight Title. The phenom did this before he was even old enough to vote in most countries.
That style caught the attention of ONE, who gave the young gun a chance to taste competition on the global stage at The Inner Circle 11 this past April. That evening, the Nanseikaikan representative put on a strong three-round showing to overcome Sheng Yi Hang.
Reiji has every intention of making his second promotional appearance count for even more. After all, beating Okumura at ONE SAMURAI 2 would be the loudest possible way for the teen sensation to let the rest of the division know he has arrived.
