Danielle Kelly wants to learn from her fight against Ayaka Miura

Despite picking up another win inside the circle at ONE Fight Night 7, Danielle Kelly has been critical of her own performance.

On February 24, the 27-year-old faced off with MMA competitor and judo specialist Ayaka Miura in her third appearance under the ONE banner. The match was closely contested as Miura’s grappling background came into play heavily. Kelly also admitted that she struggled with the weight difference between the two women, with Miura coming in as the bigger and stronger opponent.

Kelly emerged with a decision win at the end of the time limit due to her submission attempts. However, she wasn’t satisfied with her performance after being unable to get a tap this time around.

In her post-fight interview, Danielle Kelly spoke about her intentions following fight week and how she plans to analyse her performance and break down what she could have done better.

She said:

“Definitely go back just to watch my match. I like to study a little bit. Obviously, I'm not too happy. I really tried to go for a submission. I'm going to be kind of hard on myself. I'm looking forward to going home to my dogs.”

In three appearances inside the circle, Kelly has been unable to submit two of her opponents, with both having strong fundamental grappling backgrounds in MMA.

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Danielle Kelly reveals she drilled defense against ‘Ayaka Lock’ all camp

Through her submission grappling career that has led her to breaking new ground in ONE Championship, Danielle Kelly has faced a lot of different styles.

The BJJ specialist is no stranger to needing to tailor her preparations towards a specific skill set. At ONE Fight Night 7, Kelly faced off with Japan’s Ayaka Miura, who presented a very unique challenge.

Despite this contest being her first under the ONE submission grappling rule set, Miura has an extensive grappling game due to her background in judo and her time as a competitor in MMA, which has seen her challenge for the world championship in ONE.

Through her MMA career, Miura has showcased a signature submission known as the ‘Ayaka lock’. In the build-up to February 24, Kelly drilled the position throughout her training camp, which proved to be absolutely crucial in the contest.

After the event, Danielle Kelly said in an interview with ONE Championship:

“I was engaging the whole time, and she kept stepping away because my ground game was better. She kept getting that headlock with the armbar, but me and my coaches, we just kept doing that position. I'm putting myself in the same position that she's really good at.”

Ayaka Miura has finished all four of her wins inside the circle via her signature submission, but this wasn’t the case against Kelly. Danielle’s work in familiarizing herself with the position meant that she could stay calm during the contest and escape the submission carefully.