Danielle Kelly comments on her $50k bonus

Danielle Kelly and Mei Yamaguchi engaged in a twelve-minute grappling match at ONE X. The bout went the distance and ended officially in a draw. However, at the end of this exciting matchup, Kelly was awarded a $50K bonus.

When Danielle Kelly heard she had been awarded the fifty-thousand dollar bonus, she was moved to tears immediately.

Watch the clip below:

In an exclusive post-fight interview with Sportskeeda MMA, she said:

“I’m doing jiu-jitsu for now so I was not expecting that! Usually that’s expected in MMA for an amazing performance. No, I was not expecting that. I was just expecting to come here and do my thing and have fun with it.”

Upon assessing her own performance, Kelly had this to say:

“When she was putting me up against the cage she was trying to prevent me from making space, when you’re in closed guard. She kept my head position in the cage so I wouldn’t move my hips, got the position the first time, got the armbar, was cranking it, I’m surprised she didn’t tap to that. When I saw her and Angela’s match she just didn’t want to tap to armbar, I was like alright. She had really good posture, was really strong. Need to work on my finishing mechanics.”

After twelve uninterrupted minutes of grappling, the two fighters went to a decision. In a submission grappling bout, if the fight does not end in a submission, the bout is declared a draw.

Despite many attempts from Kelly, an impressive display of defensive tactics from Mei Yamaguchi forced the bout to go the entire distance, ending in a draw.

Throughout the match, the American attempted kneebars and toe-holds. However, Yamaguchi’s veteran experience allowed her to successfully defend all submission attempts.

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Despite the bout ending in a draw, Kelly’s performance was nothing short of impressive. The 26-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenom will hope to return to the circle at the earliest with hopes of recording a victory in her next outing.

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