ONE FC’s first event of 2014 is on the books, as UFC veteran Brock Larson (37-7) and Japanese knockout artist Nobutatsu Suzuki (10-1-2) will square off for promotion’s inaugural welterweight championship in the main event of ONE FC 14: War of Nations, which takes place March 14 at Stadium Negara in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
ONE FC officials announced the match-ups earlier this week, as well as four additional contests: Kevin Belingon (12-3) vs. Dae Hwan Kim (9-0-1), Adriano Moraes (9-1) vs. Yasuhiro Urushitani (21-6-6), Sherilyn Lim (1-0) vs. Ann Osman (0-1), and Peter Davis (7-3) vs. TBA.
“Following the resounding success of ONE FC’s jam-packed events in Malaysia in 2013, we are returning to Kuala Lumpur with one of the best cards in the organization’s history,” ONE FC CEO Victor Cui said in a statement. “Fans around the world have been eagerly awaiting the next ONE FC World Championship title belt to be introduced, and now, the wait is over.”
Suzuki was initially scheduled to battle Adam Kayoom for the inaugural ONE welterweight title at ONE FC 12, then his replacement Vitor Pinto. However Kayoom suffered an injury and Pinto was unable to receive medical clearance, and the bout was ultimately cancelled.
Suzuki, 36, now looks get back into action for the first time since defeating Phil Baroni via first-round TKO in May 2013 — the same fight which left Baroni with a badly damaged right ankle.
In doing so, he’ll meet Larson, 36, a veteran with over a decade of mixed martial arts experience. Over the course of his 12-year career, the American has fought a slew of notable names, including Carlos Condit, Jon Fitch, Tarec Saffiedine and Mike Pyle.
Larson last competed in April 2013, earning an upset unanimous decision victory over Melvin Manhoef in a middleweight bout at ONE FC 8.