“Her heel was popping” - Mayssa Bastos praises Danielle Kelly’s resilience to weather her deep leg lock attempt

Mayssa Bastos thought she had Danielle Kelly dead to rights after locking in a gnarly heel hook attempt in the closing seconds of their high-stakes rematch at ONE Fight Night 26 last weekend.

The reigning atomweight submission grappling queen felt the challenger's ligaments popping while she cranked the leg lock.

However, Kelly somehow endured the pain and refused to tap. The tough Silver Fox BJJ representative eventually made it to the final horn of their 10-minute all-grappling showdown at Bangkok's iconic Lumpinee Stadium.

Speaking to the media during the ONE Fight Night 26 post-event press conference, Bastos admitted being impressed by Kelly's resolve after surviving a precarious predicament.

"I was feeling even like her heel was popping, but I guess [that wasn't] enough to make her tap."

Despite not getting the tap, Mayssa Bastos reasserted her mastery over Kelly and cruised to another dominant unanimous decision win to retain her 26 pounds of gold.

While it was the hail mary catch (submission attempt) that sealed the victory, the 27-year-old Brazilian was pretty much dominating the match from the get-go.

The Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy star was visibly more active as she pushed the pace from the top position and her inverted guard. Bastos also displayed her underrated passing by blasting through Kelly's guard using impeccable technique.

Mayssa Bastos says she still has a lot of room for improvement

Mayssa Bastos has gone 3-0 under the ONE banner, including back-to-back victories over former atomweight submission grappling world titleholder Danielle Kelly.

Still, the nine-time IBJJF world champion remains hard on herself knowing she could do so much more. As far as Bastos is concerned, being unable to secure a finish is unacceptable.

"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."

The full replay of ONE Fight Night 26 is available on demand for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.