Mayssa Bastos decisions Kanae Yamada in ONE Championship debut
Mayssa Bastos earned a unanimous decision win over Kanae Yamada in her ONE Championship debut on March 8.
On Friday, March 8, Mayssa Bastos made her ONE Championship debut and picked up a hard-fought decision victory over Japan’s Kanae Yamada. The matchup took place at ONE’s all-women fight card, ONE Fight Night 20.
An eight-time IBJJF World Champion widely recognized as one of the most dominant athletes of the lower weight classes, Bastos came into the match heavily favored over the fresh BJJ black belt in Yamada. For her part, Yamada is an ADCC Asia & Oceania Trials silver medalist.
Despite the disparity in accolades between the two grapplers, the pair engaged in a relatively competitive and high-paced match.
Bastos pulled guard early and, before three full minutes of action, had secured a crab ride that led to the back. Yamada defended well, though, and safely escaped the position without a catch being scored against her.
For the remainder of the match, Bastos continued to look for both berimbolos and leg entanglements, even finding some good looks at heel hooks late in the waning minutes. While Yamada was never able to mount any real offense from the top position, she showed strong defensive awareness, an excellent base, and no sign of tiring.
After 10 minutes, Bastos was awarded the judges’ unanimous decision.
Now 1-0 in ONE Championship, the Brazilian has likely put herself in the front of the line for a shot at current ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly.
