Mayssa Bastos captured the ONE Atomweight Submission Grappling World Championship at ONE Fight Night 24 over Danielle Kelly. In order to defend the gold for the first time, she will have to defeat the American one more time. Ahead of ONE Fight Night 26 on Friday, December 6, Bastos has been reflecting on the performance that led to her first ONE Championship World Title.
“I thought I fought well, but there were some adjustments missing. I managed to land some finishing attacks, but I needed a little more adjustment to get the submission. What surprised me was that she was a little more aggressive than I was expecting,” Bastos told ONE.
The first encounter had plenty of action as both women looked for bout-ending submissions. For the rematch, Bastos is promising to up the ante with even more action. The reason? She feels pushing the pace will lead to Kelly making more errors in the rematch.
RUN IT BACK 👑 Former queen Danielle Kelly seeks to reclaim the ONE Women's Atomweight Submission Grappling World Title from rival Mayssa Bastos on December 6 at ONE Fight Night 26 on @PrimeVideo! Who wins the rematch?#ONEFightNight26 | Dec 6 at 8PM ET
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch Live on Prime… pic.twitter.com/o2coIA9lkc— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) October 30, 2024
“Studying our last fight, I saw that she has some gaps. At the moment, I’m not going to say what those gaps are because I want to surprise her in the fight. But what I can say is that I intend to be a little more aggressive in this fight and make her expose herself more because she will start to make a few more mistakes and then the gaps will appear,” the Brazilian said.
The reigning atomweight queen is not being shy with her prediction. Bastos wants to finish Kelly and assert her dominance over the division. While easier said than done, the words are setting the stage for a hotly-contested showdown in U.S. primetime.
“This time I see this fight ending in a submission. I think we’ll both be very focused on making that happen, on making a better fight. I’m very focused on making adjustments to finish the fight because that’s my goal. I want to go out there, put on a show for the fans, and come out with the victory,” the ONE Atomweight Submission Grappling World Champion remarked.
Gold is not Bastos’ only motivation. The Brazilian won a performance bonus in her title-winning debut, and she wants another $50,000 bonus check for the rematch. The high-profile match has all the makings to be a memorable affair with Bastos leaving no stone unturned.
FAST AND FURIOUS ⚡️ Danielle Kelly and Mayssa Bastos trade lightning-quick leg locks!
Tune in to Prime Video and Sky Sports NOW to catch the rest of ONE Fight Night 24!#ONEFightNight24 | 🔴 Live Now
🇺🇸🇨🇦 Watch Live on Prime 👉 https://t.co/l3r661Qeip
🇬🇧🇮🇪 Watch Live on Sky… pic.twitter.com/TQZmMLjfzG— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) August 3, 2024
“It’s a very good motivation, right? There’s nothing better than being rewarded for having had a great performance. The reward is very good, so it just motivates me,” Bastos stated.
If she does win the bonus, do not expect Bastos to blow her money frivolously. The atomweight star plans to tuck the cash away just the first check. However, Kelly will have much to say in preventing the Brazilian from her future plans.
“In the first fight, I got this performance bonus, and my goal is to get this award again. In fact, my goal is to have a better performance and come out with a victory by submission. If I win the prize, I will save and invest it, like I did last time,” Bastos explained.
ONE Fight Night 26 airs live on Friday, December 6, on Prime Video. The action begins at 8 p.m. EST/5 p.m. PST. The event is free for all Amazon Prime members in the U.S. and Canada.
