ONE Fight Night 24: Danielle Kelly Defends ONE Atomweight Submission Grappling Crown Against Mayssa Bastos

Danielle Kelly satisfied her quest for gold when the ONE Women's Atomweight Submission Grappling World Title was placed around her waist in September of last year. But the celebrations have now ended and her time as queen will be tested.

The New Jersey native makes the first defense of her World Title on Saturday, 3 August, at ONE Fight Night 24. Kelly meets Brazilian Mayssa Bastos inside Bangkok, Thailand's Lumpinee Boxing Stadium, where she'll look to kick off her championship tenure in style.

Across four promotional outings, Kelly quickly became a standout figure en route to World Title glory. The 28-year-old battled some of the toughest and roughest names in the division, toppling stars like Mariia Molchanova and Ayaka Miura along the way.

Those defining victories took her to the World Title picture where she grappled an old foe in 2023 IBJJF World Champion Jessa Khan at ONE Fight Night 14. And using her momentum to the fullest, Kelly toppled the Cambodian-American with a hard-fought decision.

Kelly had been clamoring for a World Title opportunity for some time, and she certainly made good on her chance when she claimed the gold in a career-best performance across 10 minutes of action.

Winning gold is one thing. But hanging onto it is another thing altogether. And her first assignment as the atomweight submission grappling queen will be a stern one in Bastos.

The Brazilian submission artist has long been touted as the greatest to ever feature in the lower weight brackets. Bastos' name holds plenty of weight alone, owing to her long list of accolades.

The 26-year-old has claimed nine IBJJF World Titles and several Pan-American, European, and Brazilian National Championships to boot. And when she made her debut in ONE earlier this year, Bastos showed exactly why she's so decorated.

Bastos entered ONE Championship at ONE Fight Night 20 in March, earning a decision win over Kanae Yamada following 10 dominant minutes of submission grappling action to cement her status as a threat to Kelly.

On top of all the other gold in her career, the one that's missing from her collection is the ONE Atomweight Submission Grappling World Championship. And she'll do her very best to strip Kelly of her newly attained World Title this summer, ending the reign before it even gets going.