Mayssa Bastos booked for ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 20

Mayssa Bastos is set to make her ONE Championship debut at ONE Fight Night 20 against Kanae Yamada.

Singapore-based martial arts promotion ONE Championship is continuing to grow its roster of elite BJJ competitors and has recently announced that multiple-time IBJJF world champion Mayssa Bastos will soon make her promotional debut.

This Friday, March 8, at ONE Fight Night 20: Todd vs. Phetjeeja on Prime Video, the Brazilian will square off with Japan’s Kanae Yamada in an atomweight (115-pound) submission grappling match.

Like all other ONE submission grappling contests, this bout will consist of one 10-minute round of submission-only action. In the event no submission occurs, a decision will be awarded on the basis of the most legitimate submission attempts made.

At just 26 years old, Bastos has established herself as perhaps the best competitor her weight division has ever seen. She is a four-time IBJJF no-gi world champion and a four-time IBJJF gi world champion, having won gold at Worlds every year that tournament has been held since 2019. As a black belt, Bastos has never lost in no-gi competition at her weight class.

Stylistically, Bastos possesses one of the planet’s best back-taking games, employing constant inversions to expose the back from her elite open guard. Bastos’ move to Art of Jiu-Jitsu last year has likely only improved her berimbolo game. And while we rarely see her working from top position, she has shown to be an excellent pressure passer, always with the ultimate goal of exposing and securing the back.

Bastos’ opponent, Kanae Yamada, is relatively unknown in the international competitive scene. She is an ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials silver medalist.

If Bastos is able to win in her ONE debut, she will likely be at the front of the line for a shot at current ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly. Kelly captured the inaugural title last year with an upset victory over Jessa Khan.

How to watch: Mayssa Bastos vs. Kanae Yamada takes place at ONE Fight Night 20, which will air live on Prime Video (free with Amazon Plus subscription) on Friday, March 8 beginning at 8:00 PM EST.

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and holds the rank of black belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

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