ONE Fight Night 7 results and recap: Danielle Kelly overwhelms Ayaka Miura late to escape with close win in submission grappling match

Danielle Kelly got off to a slow start against Ayaka Miura and came away with a hard-fought unanimous decision victory at ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs Andrade II on Friday, February 24.

The historic catchweight bout (119-pounds) is the first-ever women’s submission grappling match inside the fabled Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.

Kelly, who was vocal about her desire to test herself after two sensational outings in the circle, took her toughest challenge against a former women’s strawweight world title challenger.

Miura was as tough as advertised, opening the match with a quick foot sweep that briefly shook Kelly’s base. Once the American tried to pull guard, ‘Zombie’ countered with an explosive sprawl and controlled her with a tight headlock.

Danielle Kelly momentarily escaped from the back, but Miura went back to what she does best. The Japanese judoka scrambled her way out and trapped Kelly’s head and arm in no time for her signature ‘Ayaka Lock’ from the scarf hold position.

Miura’s tenacity amped up halfway through the bout when she pinned the Silver Fox BJJ standout’s right arm with her powerful legs.

Kelly, though, kept calm and once again slipped out the back and controlled Miura with a seatbelt grip.

The 27-year-old showed signs of life late and transitioned into full mount with under two minutes left in the contest.

In her bid to escape, Miura made the fatal mistake of giving up her back once more.

Danielle Kelly relentlessly tried to sneak her choking arm under Miura's chin, but 'Zombie' toughened it out and escaped the precarious position before the final bell.

Still, the BJJ ace finished the bout with multiple rear-naked choke attempts to get the nod in the judge’s scorecards.

Kelly has now won back-to-back fights inside the circle, as she also submitted Mariia Molchanova via a rear-naked choke in her last outing.

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Danielle Kelly on Ayaka Miura: "She’s strong as sh*t"

Although her late surge got her the victory, Kelly wasn’t exactly enthused by how close the match was against her bigger opponent.

Speaking to Mitch Chilson post-fight, the 27-year-old summed up Miura’s brute strength that prevented her from finishing her submission attempts:

“She’s strong as sh*t.”

Moreover, Kelly talked about almost getting caught in Miura’s signature ‘Ayaka Lock’ several times, saying:

“I'm pretty flexible and I know she was going to do that. Me and my coach have been working on that. I was just trying to take her back and hopefully twist to her, but she had really heavy hips.”