"She was flowing with her" - Danielle Kelly says Kanae Yamada gave Mayssa Bastos a run for her money

Danielle Kelly is well aware of the pedigree that her next opponent brings to the table for ONE Fight Night 24.

The ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion has been counted out in the past since she doesn't have the same credentials as some of her higher-profile opponents.

However, when it's time to compete, she always shows her ability to perform at the highest level.

Her next title challenger, Mayssa Bastos, has done nearly everything there is to do in the grappling world and recently made her debut in ONE Championship this past March.

Despite the Brazilian earning a win over Kanae Yamada, it was a hard-fought victory against the Japanese competitor.

Kelly didn't come away from the contest with rave reviews for Bastos and actually praised Yamada more if anything.

The 28-year-old said in an interview with ONE Championship that she was surprised by how well Yamada was able to go toe-to-toe despite not nearly having the same level of experience:

"That's why I give Yamada a lot of credit because she was flowing with her for two minutes, and then, you know, [Bastos] had a harder time with someone that just last minute got picked and doesn't have any accomplishments like that."

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Danielle Kelly has been through the ringer to get here

Danielle Kelly is used to being counted out in her career and she's had to walk a very tough path to make it to this stage.

All of the adversity that she has faced in life has made her into a world champion and that's something she doesn't take for granted.

Mayssa Bastos may be a top-tier grappler but she can't afford to get complacent or overlook the world champion.

If Kanae Yamada was able to impress against the Brazilian, you can be sure that this gave Kelly confidence heading into August 2 at Lumpinee Stadium.

ONE Fight Night 24 will air live in US Primetime, free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.