ONE Championship have just announced that Danielle Kelly will be attempting to defend her atomweight submission grappling world championship against Mayssa Bastos at ONE Fight Night 24 on August 2nd, 2024. This will be the first time that Kelly has defended her belt, after she became the promotion’s very first female champion when she beat Jessa Khan at ONE Fight Night 14. By the time this next match against Bastos comes around, that title-winning performance will have taken place a little under a year ago and it was also the last time that Kelly stepped on to the mats in order to compete.
In contrast, Bastos has been incredibly active and has been maintaining her position at the very top of the rankings in her weight class. She has spent the majority of her time competing in the gi, winning several major IBJJF events and most recently becoming an IBJJF World Champion for an incredible 5th year in a row. In between this incredibly busy schedule, Bastos has still found the time to make her ONE Championship debut as well. Earlier this year she beat Kanae Yamada by decision at ONE Fight Night 20 and clearly the performance was enough to fast-track her to a shot at the champion.
It’s not as if that’s the only time that Bastos has competed in no gi recently though, as she also won the IBJJF No Gi World Championship for the 4th time at the end of last year. Mayssa Bastos is undoubtedly one of the most dominant competitors in her weight class and this match with Danielle Kelly represents a huge opportunity for both women. Bastos has the chance to add another title to her incredible collection and a new name to her resume, while Kelly will be able to demonstrate that she truly is the most deserving champion in the division.
ONE Championship announced the news that Danielle Kelly was going to put her title on the line against Mayssa Bastos at ONE Fight Night 24 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
