“It will be a great, crazy 12 minutes” – Mei Yamaguchi envisions a resolute performance by Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Danielle Kelly at ONE X 

Mei Yamaguchi understands that she'll have a tough nut to crack at ONE X: Part I. However, the former ONE women's atomweight world title challenger is fully prepared to get herself entangled in deep waters against Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Danielle Kelly on Saturday, March 26.

Grappling is, after all, her bread and butter. Furthermore, given the setup of the match and Kelly's efficiency under submission-only rules, the Japanese veteran predicts a crazy battle that could be decided by the thinnest of margins.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post’s Tom Taylor, Mei Yamaguchi said:

“I would love to go for a submission. She will try to get my leg and every submission too, but I think we both are going for the submission, and it will be a great, crazy 12 minutes... I just want to give my 100 percent and have no regrets about that performance. If I can do that, then that's the time I can finish my fight.”

Watch Yamaguchi's interview with the South China Morning Post below:

Acquiring a submission against Kelly won't come easy, though. The American debutant has achieved a host of accolades in this discipline and even picked up a win over former UFC strawweight world champion Carla Esparza when they met in December last year.

However, Mei Yamaguchi isn’t too focused on her opponent's strengths. Instead, her aim for this submission grappling showdown is to try and implement her gameplan while putting on a show for the fans inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium on March 26.

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Mei Yamaguchi feels she deserves a rematch against Jihin Radzuan

Mei Yamaguchi is open to more submission grappling contests on the global stage, but her mind and heart are set on trying to get her MMA career back on track.

The Japanese fighter wants to make another run towards the peak of the atomweight division. She stressed that she'd love to start her journey with a rematch against Malaysian phenom Jihin ‘Shadow Cat’ Radzuan.

The 39-year-old went down via unanimous decision to the skilled star at ONE: Bad Blood last month. However, she – like many fans and analysts – thinks the decision should have favored her instead.

Yamaguchi told the South China Morning Post:

“I'm still upset. And you know, so many people, they're still upset. And especially like, people who cheer for me, and the audiences in ONE Championship, the ONE Championship fans, they are upset, and that's the saddest thing... I should have the rematch [versus Radzuan]. Yeah, that will be the first one.”