Nobutatsu Suzuki survived a few rough moments early against Brock Larson, then cruised to a decision win to become ONE FC’s new welterweight champion.

The unanimous decision win for Suzuki sets up a likely May title fight against former Bellator champion Ben Askren.

ONE FC 14 took place at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The card streamed via online pay-per-view in the United States.

Larson landed a short flurry to close the distance a minute in, but wasn’t able to get far enough inside for a takedown. Suzuki tried to keep Larson at range with kicks, and when Larson moved inside hoping to take the fight to the ground, Suzuki landed some decent knees. When Suzuki tried a flying knee with 90 seconds left, Larson caught it and worked hard for a single. When Suzuki recovered, Larson scooped him up for a double. He spent the rest of the round landing short, but heavy punches in his wheelhouse.

Suzuki did better in the second, backing Larson up and not letting him get off any takedown attempts in the first half of the frame. Suzuki landed a big knee to Larson’s midsection, and then looked to take advantage. With Larson hurt, he went after him with another knee and a few punches. But Larson survived and looked to recover. But late in the round, Larson ate another knee and was in trouble just as the horn went off.

Larson looked flat-footed in the third, and again looked for a takedown. But it was Suzuki who was pushing forward putting the pressure on. In the fourth, Suzuki looked to be clearly in control as Larson continually wanted to fight on the ground, but Suzuki made him stand up. Apart from looking gassed, Larson may have had an injury from the earlier Suzuki knees.

Suzuki landed knees to the head in the fifth, but Larson was left needing a Hail Mary. It never came, and it was Suzuki who kept looking for the finish.

“I didn’t expect I could win, but everyone here cheered me on,” Suzuki said through a translator.

Suzuki (11-1-2) won for the second straight time after a TKO win over Phil Baroni in his ONE FC debut. Larson (37-8), a UFC and WEC veteran, had a four-fight winning streak snapped.

Dae Hwan Kim stuns Kevin Belingon with first-round choke

Just when it seemed Kevin Belingon (12-4) had the upper hand, Dae Hwan Kim (10-0-1) turned the tables. The two started slowly in the co-main event, but eventually Belingon opened up and landed a good takedown before Kim popped back up and they tied up along the cage. But after they broke off, Belingon landed a massive kick to the head, and big punches came after that. Kim survived the onslaught and fired back, just missing a spinning fist that Belingon ducked under to land a takedown. Belingon worked to mount while landing punches from up top. Then he spun around to take the back and locked in a choke with Kim pressed to the fence. But seconds later, Kim reversed and his fortunes changed in a big hurry. He sank in a rear-naked choke, got it deep, and seconds later, Belingon had to tap at the 4:39 mark of the first round, leaving Belingon shocked at how the tides had turned.

Moraes stuns Urushitani with choke in second

For seven minutes, Adriano Moraes (10-1) and Yasuhiro Urushitani (21-7-6) landed about 15 punches between the two of them. That was enough for the referee to step in and implore them to step up their output – or risk a yellow card for inactivity. But for a bout that had next to no highlights throughout, the end came suddenly. Moraes stunned Urushitani, then went after a rear-naked choke along the cage. It was uber-deep, and the former UFC flyweight was forced to tap in quick fashion at the 3:48 mark of the second. That got Moraes back in the win column after suffering the first loss of his pro career this past November in his ONE FC debut.

UFC vet Kamal Shalorus outlasts Ariel Sexton

Kamal Shalorus(9-3-2) kept the pressure on Ariel Sexton (8-3) early, then withstood his charge late to pick up a unanimous decision. Shalorus pressured on the feet early in the fight, and “The Prince of Persia” appeared to be making Sexton uncomfortable in the standup game. When the fight hit the floor, it was Shalorus on top landing with heavy hands until Sexton popped back to his feet, unable to get anything done in the jiu-jitsu department off his back. Midway through the second, Sexton finally threatened with his ground skills, taking Shalorus’ back. But Shalorus quickly got out of danger and back to his feet. Sexton put a little pressure on in the third, getting Shalorus a little out of sorts with punches before Shalorus dropped down to look for a takedown. Although Shalorus appeared to be tiring, he still was able to drag Sexton down and keep him enough at bay over the final three minutes to edge him with a unanimous decision.

Leone cruises to decision win over Kojima

Andrew Leone(7-2) made easy work of Shinichi Kojima (13-6-5) thanks to his strong wrestling base. Leone came out aggressively, putting together a combination that had Kojima covering up. Leone took him to the ground and went to work in half-guard. He punished Kojima with punches and short elbows that came in flurries as the Japanese fighter tried to defend from his back. With two minutes left, the referee stood the two up, and after a quick-fire from Kojima, he was able to bully Leone to the ground to force him to work off his back. That was the story throughout the fight, as Leone took home a unanimous decision win – despite missing weight for the second time in two ONE FC bouts. That, for now, keeps him from being eligible for a flyweight title shot.

Boku drops Lepont with body shot, finishes on ground

Kotetsu Boku(21-9-2) made quick work of Arnaud Lepont (10-4) once he dropped him – but Lepont begged to differ with the stoppage. The two traded and scrambled back and fort on the feet until Boku landed a knee that was too low midway through. On the restart, the pace was slower. But eventually, Boku landed an uppercut, then a right hand to the body that dropped Lepont. On the ground, Boku landed several heavy hands with Lepont curled up, and the referee jumped in to stop things at the 4:06 mark. Lepont immediately protested the stoppage, but it was too late.

Peter Davis stops game Waqar Umar in second

It was a long, strange trip to ONE FC 14 for Waqar Umar, and he put up a valiant effort. But in the end, home favorite Peter Davis was too much. Umar (3-1) was stopped by Davis (8-3) with a second-round TKO, but only after some trying times just to make it to the fight. Not long before Thursday’s weigh-ins, Umar was ruled out of the fight when he had visa issues. His coach and cornerman, Bashir Ahmad, stepped up and made weight on short notice to keep Davis on the card. But then, on the morning of the card, Umar was able to get into the country after all.

Perhaps it was a stranger trip for Davis, who had to endure two opponent changes in 24 hours. He looked to land knees early, but Umar stood in and landed a glancing blow that appeared to stun the home favorite. Soon after, Umar had a guillotine choke attempt, but couldn’t hold it and Davis took the fight to the canvas. He started to land elbows, but Umar pulled off a brilliant sweep from half-guard, got to full mount, then threatened with an armbar before Davis popped out to get back on top. In the second round, though, Davis took over. Once on top, he began raining down some major elbows to Umar’s face from mount. They were brutal enough for the referee to step in to shut things down at the 3:07 mark.

Official ONE FC 14 results:

MAIN CARD

Nobutatsu Suzuki def. Brock Larson via unanimous decision – to win welterweight title

Dae Hwan Kim def. Kevin Belingon via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:39

Adriano Moraes def. Yasuhiro Urushitani via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:48

Kamal Shalorus def. Ariel Sexton via unanimous decision

Andrew Leone def. Shinichi Kojima via unanimous decision – 129-pound catchweight bout

Kotetsu Boku def. Arnaud Lepont via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:06

Peter Davis def. Waqar Umar via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:07

PRELIMINARY CARD

For more on ONE FC 14, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.

(Pictured: Nobutatsu Suzuki)