"I probably would have done the same thing" - Danielle Kelly believes Mei Yamaguchi fought to survive in their matchup at ONE X

Danielle Kelly made her ONE Championship debut at ONE X against Japanese veteran Mei Yamaguchi in a submission grappling contest that ended in a draw.

While it’s not exactly the dream finish she envisioned for herself, it still earned her a US $50,000 performance bonus, the first of seven awarded during the promotion’s 10-year anniversary showcase.

More than anything though, Kelly was more disappointed in herself for not getting the finish against Yamaguchi. In an interview with the South China Morning Post, she was asked if she was surprised by the strategy that ‘V.V.’ employed.

Danielle Kelly said:

“I wouldn’t say surprised, I feel like kind of disappointed myself because I knew she was going to play that kind of game. I thought she would be more engaging with me because from her past fights, she was always going forward to the girls, taking them down trying to submit them. I felt like for this one, she was just trying to survive. And you know, that’s good defense on her. It was a 12-minute match.”

Despite the match ending in a draw, it wasn’t for the lack of effort from Kelly. As such, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom offered praise for the toughness of her opponent.

“At the end of the day, I couldn’t really submit her where I tried to. I had some really deep holds - knee bar, and the armbar, I think I snapped something a little bit in there. She was tough, so I mean, I don’t blame her because I probably would have done the same thing. She has a lot of heart,” Kelly said.

Watch the full interview below:

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Danielle Kelly’s technique helped her overcome Mei Yamaguchi’s strength

Strength isn’t Danielle Kelly’s biggest advantage over anyone, and even before her match against Mei Yamaguchi, she knew that it could be a challenge for her.

However, as she predicted, it was her technique that helped carry her to an impressive performance at ONE X. She believes that Yamaguchi’s utilization of the circle also helped highlight her strength, something that Kelly could learn more about as time progresses.

Danielle Kelly said:

“I think the first three or four minutes to start up slow, I was tring to feel her out. I think once it got to the bottom, we matched strength-wise. I had better technique so it wouldn’t really matter how much strength she had over me. I would say it was just hard to get my inside position on her because she was really good with the cage, so I think that was her biggest strength. I think she had that over me.”