“I'm hoping she tries to attack me” - Danielle Kelly pulling for an aggressive Mayssa Bastos in first world title defense

Reigning and undisputed ONE women's atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly of the United States is carefully crafting a game plan to face arguably her biggest test to date in Mayssa Bastos this weekend.

And she hopes Bastos comes to fight.

Speaking to ONE Championship in a recent interview, Kelly said she was getting ready for Bastos' style and that she has prepared something special for the decorated Brazilian.

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The 28-year-old American said:

"I'm not gonna say I’d like to break her. That’s super cliche. But, yeah, she likes to disengage a lot. That's why I've been working on stuff that I don't normally work on. I'm working on my wrestling, working on my guard stuff. I'm working on defense, counters, everything."

Kelly added:

"I'm hoping she tries to attack me, and maybe she'll go for a leg lock. She did that in some matches, but I haven't seen her do that recently. I'm excited. I want her to try to attack me."

This will be Kelly's first world title defense since winning the inaugural gold in September 2023, a unanimous decision victory over arch nemesis Jessa Khan.

Danielle Kelly makes first defense of atomweight gold against Mayssa Bastos at ONE Fight Night 24 on Prime Video

Women's atomweight submission grappling queen Danielle Kelly is set to defend her coveted golden strap against Brazilian veteran Mayssa Bastos.

The two will clash in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on Prime Video, which will be broadcast live from the historic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, August 2nd.

Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action live and absolutely free with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the news and updates surrounding the event as it happens.