“To really prove that I'm the best” - Danielle Kelly excited to defend atomweight gold against Mayssa Bastos

Danielle Kelly has a mind of a real champion.

Slated to defend her ONE atomweight submission grappling world title for the first time at ONE Fight Night 24, Kelly wants to prove that she is the best ground fighter in the world's largest martial arts organization.

After securing the biggest victory in her career 10 months ago over Jessa Khan and grabbing the inaugural belt at ONE Fight Night 14, Kelly is now prepared to enter the ring on August 2 against Bastos.

Speaking to Home of Fight recently, she explained why she's taking this crucial fight despite having been away for quite some time.

She said:

"I just want to prove myself as always. I've always looked up to her, I've always…even the first like major tournament, I did she won it. She pretty much won everything. She beat every girl at 115, 105."

"So I think this is my chance to really prove that I'm the best."

ONE Fight Night 24 is airing live in U.S. primetime free of charge for those with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription in North America.

Check the full interview below:

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Danielle Kelly is not at all worried about ring-rust

Combating ring-rust could be a scary notion for any fighters who have not been competing regularly, but this is not the case for Danielle Kelly.

Ahead of her first ever world title defense at ONE Fight Night 24 versus Mayssa Bastos, the young woman was very active in her training camp, nailing all things necessary for her upcoming match.

Nonetheless, her experience in the world's largest martial arts organization would also be a strong factor to her performance, as she continues to evolve throughout every match that she had won.

In the same interview, she said:

"Everyone's pushing me in my team, so I'm pretty confident."

With that in mind, it would be interesting to see how far she goes inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.