Danielle Kelly reveals why Bayanduuren was reluctant to tap

Danielle Kelly explained why she thinks Gantaumur Bayanduuren was reluctant to tap out of the ‘Mikey Lock’ when he should have.

In a grappling showdown at ONE Fight Night 6, sambo world champion Gantumur Bayanduuren put himself in a precarious situation for refusing to tap out of a leg lock. The defending titleholder ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci gave him multiple opportunities to throw in the towel, but the challenger preferred to compete with the injury until the very end.

Generally, fighters tend to push themselves through any type of pain or injury with the hope that they can pull off the win. But if they’re clearly at a disadvantage, the best thing to do if confronted with a serious injury is to throw in the towel before it gets worse.

These exact sentiments are shared by Danielle Kelly and many others like her in the BJJ community. After rewatching the fight, Kelly concluded that he was just too embarrassed to quit.

She told the MMA Superfan:

“Everyone that I follow or that’s posted are saying pretty much the same thing, that the guy should have been tapping. I think the other guy, he just didn’t want to be embarrassed to be submitted too fast. I think there’s a lot of pride. Obviously, looking at the consequences, he has a torn MCL and everything.”

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Danielle Kelly says Brazilian jiu-jitsu changed her life

For a lot of people, jiu-jitsu is just another sport that helps people lead a healthier lifestyle, but for Danielle Kelly it’s much more than that.

The 27-year-old BJJ wizard is currently gearing up for her third grappling match at ONE Championship. She is set to face MMA fighter and judo black belt Ayaka Miura on Friday, February 24, at ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade.

Ahead of her match, Danielle Kelly took a trip down memory lane thinking about how much her life has changed since she began taking jiu-jitsu seriously.

As many know from her story, Kelly experienced a lot of tragedy in her life. She lost both her parents at an early age, so if it weren’t for the sport, she would’ve been able to cope with their passing and build a new life for herself.

In an interview with ONE, Danielle Kelly explained:

“I just had a really rough spot in my life. I met some of the greatest people in the sport who I call my family. So now, I look back, I can’t really see what I would do without Jiu-Jitsu. This is my life, and it makes me happy and it also makes me want to be a better person, better myself on and off the mats. So, you know, I think it’s a huge stone in my life, so I don’t think I could ever walk away from it.”

Watch Danielle Kelly on February 24 at ONE Fight Night 7 live and for free in North America via Amazon Prime.