“My body didn’t recover as much” - Danielle Kelly reveals she wasn’t at peak form when she fought Ayaka Miura in Bangkok
Danielle Kelly had one of the closest matches of her entire career when she tangled with Ayaka Miura in Bangkok.
There is a reason, though, why Kelly wasn't at her usual best when she faced the former ONE women's strawweight MMA world title contender at ONE Fight Night 7.
In an Instagram Story, she shared, the reigning ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion revealed she was still suffering from the effects of jet lag after arriving in Bangkok in the middle of fight week.
Kelly had to fly for more than 20 hours from her hometown of Philadelphia to Bangkok for ONE Fight Night 7, which exacerbated her jet lag throughout the card's weekend.
Danielle Kelly said that while jet lag is a bother to anyone going through multiple timezones, it's a whole different ordeal when you're fighting at the highest level of submission grappling.
She wrote:
"The last time I was in Thailand for a catchweight match, I didn't arrive until Wednesday late that week. My body didn't recover as much as match day. Jet lag is cereal 🥣."
Miura and Kelly figured in a tight back-and-forth affair during their Bangkok showdown, and neither fighter held momentum throughout the fight.
Kelly was even in trouble in the first five minutes of the match after referee Mohamad Sulaiman ruled a catch when the Japanese judoka slapped in her trademark "Ayaka Lock" submission.
Undeterred, Kelly bounced back in the latter stages and her tight face crank was ultimately ruled a catch in the final minutes.
Kelly's aggression and near finish late in the match ultimately earned her the unanimous decision win over Miura.
Danielle Kelly enters the biggest fight of her career
Now with ONE Championship gold in her possession, Danielle Kelly enters arguably the biggest fight of her submission grappling career.
Kelly will defend her ONE atomweight submission grappling world title against Brazilian phenom Mayssa Bastos at ONE Fight Night 24 on August 2, US primetime, at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium.
This will be Kelly's first world title defense after she captured the inaugural strap against old nemesis Jessa Khan at ONE Fight Night 14.
Bastos is 1-0 in her ONE Championship tenure and is one of the best female grapplers this generation with nine IBJJF world titles in her collection.
ONE Fight Night 24 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in the United States and Canada.