with a third-round technical knockout of Tanaka. He knocked Tanaka down once prior to the stoppage, with a right hook in the first round. Suzuki took part in the REBELS -55kg tournament, organized to crown the new champion, and was scheduled to face Masahide Kudo in the semifinals at REBELS.33 on January 25, 2015. He lost the fight by split decision, after an extra fourth round was fought. Suzuki next faced Wataru Yamato at NJKF 2015 2nd on April 5, 2015. He lost the fight by majority decision, with scores of 30–28, 30–27 and 28–28. Despite suffering two consecutive losses, Suzuki was nonetheless scheduled to face the future pound for pound great Tenshin Nasukawa in the quarterfinals of the BLADE -55kg tournament on August 1, 2015. He was twice knocked down in the first two minutes of the opening round, which resulted in an automatic technical knockout loss for him. Suzuki made his first DEEP KICK -55kg title defense against Unao Hatomune at DEEP☆KICK 28 on December 23, 2015. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout, successfully snapping his three-fight losing streak. Rise up the ranks Winning the Innovation title Suzuki faced the NKB bantamweight champion Ryo Takahashi in a non-title bout at HOOST CUP KINGS ROAD on March 20, 2016. He won the fight by a majority decision, with two scorecards of 30–29 and one even scorecard of 29–29. Suzuki next challenged David Chibana for the INNOVATION Bantamweight (-55kg) championship at JAPAN KICKBOXING INNOVATION Join Forces-1 on June 5, 2016, in what was Chibana's first title defense. He won the fight by a second-round technical knockout. Suzuki next fought in two more non-title bouts. Suzuki first faced Shuto Miyazaki at DEEP☆KICK 30 on July 17, 2016. He knocked Miyazaki down with a knee at the 2:08 minute mark of the opening round. Although his opponent was able to beat the count, he was unsteady on his feet, prompting the referee to wave the bout off. In his second non-title bout, Suzuki faced Takeshi Katsuoka at JAPAN KICKBOXING INNOVATION Join Forces-3 on September 25, 2016. He won the fight by unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring the bout 30–27 in his favor. Winning the WBC Muay thai title Suzuki faced the WPMF interim and WMC World bantamweight champion Takaaki Hayashi for the vacant WBC Muay Thai Japan -55kg championship at NJKF 2016 7th ～NJKF20th Anniversary on November