"Everyone's pushing me in my team" - Danielle Kelly says ring rust won't be a factor in first title defense vs Mayssa Bastos
ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly is not used to taking long breaks in her career.
She is used to competing several times a year at least and this has been her run of activity since signing with ONE Championship.
However, her last outing came at ONE Fight Night 14 last September where she secured one of the biggest wins of her career over Jessa Khan.
After becoming the inaugural world champion, it has been roughly 10 months since we have seen her compete by the time that she will make the walk once again.
Kelly is set to return at ONE Fight Night 24 on August 2 where she will put her title on the line for the first time against Brazil's Mayssa Bastos.
In a recent interview with Home of Fight, the champion spoke about how 10-months without activity is going to be a new experience for her:
"I'm not going to lie, it's kind of new to me cause I mean I haven't competed since like back in September and just like competing in there, it's going to feel like a little new, so I kind of, I'm going to have probably like ring rust or something. But you know, everyone's pushing me in my team so I'm pretty confident."
Watch the full interview below:
Danielle Kelly will combat the ring rust
As Danielle Kelly said herself, the people around her will ensure that she is back in full force for her return after a long break in competition.
Her experience of competing under the ONE Championship banner will also help with this just like it did in her last outing at ONE Fight Night 14.
Kelly has shown clear evolution in her game during her time in the promotion and this will only help her to feel right at home on August 2 inside Lumpinee Stadium.
ONE Fight Night 24 will air live in US Primetime free of charge for those with a Prime Video subscription in North America.