Ayaka Miura excited to face ‘well-rounded grappler’ Danielle Kelly

Ayaka Miura has earned herself a respectable 11-4 career in mixed martial arts, but on February 24, she’ll face the toughest test of her career when she meets submission grappling star Danielle Kelly.

The pair will square off in a submission grappling match as part of the stacked ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video card. Emanating from the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Miura will attempt to hand Kelly her first loss under the ONE Championship banner.

Going into the bout, ‘Zombie’ told Sportskeeda MMA in an exclusive interview that she was looking forward to the challenge of facing the photogenic submission star:

“I believe she’s a well-rounded grappler,” Miura said. “I’m excited to face her.”

Although Ayaka Miura is not known for submission grappling, the Japanese standout is a Judo black belt with an impressive seven submission victories across 11 career wins. Under the ONE Championship banner alone, ‘Zombie’ has four wins, all by way of submission.

Danielle Kelly enters the bout fresh off of her most impressive win inside the Circle yet. In November, Kelly submitted Sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova in just over two minutes via a rear-naked choke. The performance earned Kelly a second-straight $50,000 bonus from the ONE CEO, once again proving that Kelly’s bouts are can’t-miss moments.

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Danielle Kelly expects another exciting matchup against Ayaka Miura

Danielle Kelly knows that the best way to keep fans watching is to be consistently entertaining. It is her goal every time she steps onto the mat for a submission grappling showdown and her matchup with Ayaka Miura is no different:

"My goal right now is to make people want to watch it,” Kelly told The MMA Superfan. “If people want to watch you fight or watch you grapple, you have to make it exciting. Make them want to tune into it and see why it’s exciting. So I wouldn’t say pressure, I would say it’s more motivation.

Kelly sees another exciting matchup at ONE Fight Night 7 as she faces a submission specialist who has competed against some of the promotion’s best including Tiffany Teo and reigning ONE strawweight world champion Xiong Jing Nan:

“My opponent, she’s pretty exciting, so I think we have that going for each other in this match. It’s going to be really cool and exciting. No pressure."

ONE Fight Night 7 will be broadcast live and for free on Prime Video on U.S. primetime of February 24 for Amazon subscribers across North America.

Watch her highlight reel below: