Danielle Kelly and Mei Yamaguchi fight to a draw at ONE X

26 March 2022

American BJJ Black belt Danielle Kelly made her ONE Championship debut at ONE X last day as she went up against Japanese veteran Mei Yamaguchi in a submission grappling match.

Kelly was in the aggressive mode from the start itself and was looking for the submission from the start itself. But Yamaguchi managed to fend off the challenges posed by her counterpart and defended the attacks from Kelly to push the match into a draw.

ALSO READ | ONE X Full Results: Angela Lee retains against Stamp, DJ submits Rodtang

Despite the match going to a draw, the relentless approach from Kelly earned her a US$50,000 bonus for which she thanked ONE Championship.

In the other submission grappling match on the ONE X card, Reinier De Ridder and Andre Galvao fought to a draw after 12-minutes of intense action. A two-division MMA champion in ONE Championship, De Ridder gave a good challenge to the multiple-time grappling world champion in the match.

After the match, De Ridder also called out Galvao for an MMA match. Interestingly, Galvao has experience in competing in MMA as well but has not fought under the MMA rules since 2010.

ALSO READ | WATCH: Reinier De Ridder calls out Andre Galvao for an MMA match

ONE X is the 10th-anniversary special card from ONE Championship and has a long list of exciting fights on offer for the fans with the event headlined by the ONE Atomweight title showdown between Angela Lee and Stamp Fairtex. The much-awaited special rules fight between Demetrious Johnson and Rodtang was also another major attraction on the card.

What are your thoughts on the debut of Danielle Kelly? Let us know in the comments below.