A world title rematch between Danielle Kelly and Mayssa Bastos is scheduled for ONE Fight Night 26 on December 6, 2024.
Former ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly will have a chance to reclaim the belt she previously held. On December 6, 2024, at ONE Fight Night 26, the Philadelphia native will challenge current titleholder Mayssa Bastos in a rematch of the pair’s August 2024 clash. The event will take place at Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
After going undefeated through her first three appearances in ONE, Kelly claimed the inaugural atomweight submission grappling crown in September 2023 with an upset victory over then-reigning IBJJF world champion Jessa Khan.
Kelly would subsequently lose the belt in August at ONE Fight Night 24, dropping a closely contested decision against Bastos.
For her part, Bastos is 2-0 in ONE with a decision win over Japan’s Kanae Yamada in addition to her victory over Kelly. The Brazilian is widely recognized as the greatest competitor ever in the sport’s lightest weight divisions. She is a multiple-time ADCC veteran and a nine-time IBJJF world champion.
In their first encounter, Kelly took the lead by scoring a “catch,” or near-submission, around the match’s midpoint. Under ONE’s submission grappling rule set, the number of catches is the primary deciding factor in the event there is no submission during the 10-minute bout.
Realizing she was behind, Bastos then turned up the aggression from her vaunted open guard and, in the contest’s closing minutes, scored a catch of her own with a look at a heel hook.
The match ended tied at one catch each. Ringside judges awarded Bastos the decision victory on the strength of her constant aggression from her guard.
After the bout, Kelly voiced her disagreement with the decision, feeling that she showed more aggression and activity, despite being warned by referee Herb Dean to engage in Bastos’ guard.
How to watch: Danielle Kelly vs. Mayssa Bastos II will take place on Friday, December 6, at ONE Fight Night 26 and will air live on Prime Video (free with Amazon Plus subscription) beginning at 8:00 PM EST.
