"I probably would have tapped" - Danielle Kelly concedes younger self would have been no match for Mayssa Bastos

Even in defeat, Danielle Kelly was able to take a lot from her last appearance under the ONE Championship banner.

The grappling star was used to getting her hand raised until she suffered her first loss in the promotion at ONE Fight Night 24 in August.

Kelly has already shown the evolution in her game when she secured revenge over Jessa Khan at ONE Fight Night 14 to win the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world championship.

After losing the belt to Mayssa Bastos several months ago, it was clear that they would run it back after how close the match was.

Despite losing her belt, Kelly was able to reflect on the contest and see progression in her game and mentality.

Before they face off again at ONE Fight Night 26 on December 6, the former champ told ONE Championship in an interview that she doesn't think it would have been close if they had met several years ago:

"Maybe a couple years ago, I probably would have tapped to what she was giving me, but I didn't feel any danger. If you look at the match from before, I still have a really good switch pass to draw for a heel hook, and it was in tight and she was actually kinda rolling into it."

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Danielle Kelly will look to show her continued evolution

Danielle Kelly has learned a lot from this latest setback, and that's only going to make her stronger in the long run.

The 29-year old is still improving and in a rematch with Mayssa Bastos on December 6 at Lumpinee Stadium, she has the perfect opportunity to prove that.

Getting revenge over Bastos won't just see her reclaim the atomweight gold, it might be the most important victory of her entire career.

Kelly has the chance to make a statement on her return to Bangkok.