“Grateful for the challenges” - Mayssa Bastos proud to retain gold but unsatisfied with taking unanimous decision win

She may have retained her throne, but Mayssa Bastos wasn't all too satisfied with how she defended the ONE atomweight submission grappling world championship.

Bastos figured in another drama-filled matchup when she beat former world champion Danielle Kelly via unanimous decision at ONE Fight Night 26 this past weekend at the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok.

Taking to Instagram following her world title defense, Bastos wrote that she was grateful for the opportunity to establish her legacy in the sport.

The Brazilian superstar, however, admitted that the unanimous decision win wasn't what she envisioned for her world title defense.

Mayssa Bastos posted:

"Defended my belt for the first time 🏆 Grateful for the challenges and opportunities I’m having and excited to go back home, get back to training, and make improvements. Not the way that I wanted to win but I am happy to see that I was able to show new skills and dominant positions. I promise to keep pushing to elevate my jiu-jitsu and show a better performance to all of you every time I fight."

The nine-time IBJJF world champion added:

"Thank you to everyone who helped prepare for the fight and everyone who was cheering for me. Thank you, Thailand for having me for the third time this year, always a good time, see you guys soon."

Bastos and Kelly were aggression personified during their match, with both fighters scrambling to get to the best possible position for a submission catch.

With the match nearing its conclusion, Bastos secured a leg lock that the referee ruled a catch.

That late submission attempt ultimately secured all three of the judges' scorecards for Bastos.

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Mayssa Bastos regrets not submitting Danielle Kelly in world title rematch

Mayssa Bastos knew just how close her ONE Fight Night 24 match against Danielle Kelly was, and she was hellbent on securing that decisive submission finish against the American star.

That submission, however, never came to fruition and Bastos had to settle for another unanimous decision win to defend her ONE atomweight submission grappling world title.

In her post-fight interview at ONE Fight Night 26, Bastos said she fought better in her second match against Kelly but regretted not taking the submission win:

"I think I performed better than last time, but I don't think I'm satisfied with the win. I really wanted to submit her, but yeah."