“At least people take jiu-jitsu seriously now” - Danielle Kelly says Gantumur Bayanduuren’s plight proof of dangers of jiu-jitsu

While many tout the health benefits of martial arts, BJJ practitioner Danielle Kelly admits there’s a fine line.

Leg locks are often a controversial subject in Brazilian jiu-jitsu circles because of the fast, potentially permanent damage they can cause to the leg.

The hot topic was brought back into the spotlight after ONE Fight Night 6, where Mikey Musumeci battled Gantumur Bayanduuren to a decision, but not after some gruesome visuals. In the fight, Musumeci attacked the leg of Bayanduuren over and over, tearing multiple muscles along the way.

Danielle Kelly supports the notion that the Mongolian should have tapped and saved his health. She recently spoke to the South China Morning Post about the match and had this to say:

"Yeah, at least people take jiu-jitsu seriously now, like leg locks or anything just to make submissions work. So you make sure to tap. Now, obviously, look at what happened. Yeah, I mean, I'd rather just tap. You're losing more now with not doing anything for a year because you refused to tap."

Mikey Musumeci walked away with his flyweight submission grappling world championship secured around his shoulder, and Gantumur Bayanduuren walked - or was carried out - with a torn ACL, MCL, LCL, meniscus and broken foot.

Danielle Kelly will get the opportunity to flesh her own grappling chops in a few short weeks when she takes on Japanese judoka-turned-MMA fighter Ayaka Miura at ONE Fight Night 7.

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Danielle Kelly sees similarities between Mei Yamaguchi and Ayaka Miura

Danielle Kelly’s first opponent in ONE Championship was pioneering Japanese MMA fighter Mei Yamaguchi at ONE X last March. The pair battled through a full 12 minutes of action, with neither woman pulling off the finish.

At the time, ONE'S submission grappling rules stated that if neither fighter gets the finish within the time limit, the match will be declared a draw. However, Kelly was rewarded with a US$50,000 bonus for her relentless attacking that ONE Championship wants to emphasize in this ruleset.

Danielle Kelly believes that her experience grappling with Yamaguchi will aid her in her bout with Miura as well.

Commenting on the two grapplers’ similarities, Kelly said,

“I think there would be a couple of similarities. I think she's going to be a little heavier than me. Mei was really strong, especially for a small, like she's small like, height-wise, she's smaller. But she felt really strong. Even trying to get her to engage with me was a bit challenging.”

Miura originates from a judo background and will likely have tremendous strength in her hips and throughout her entire body. It’ll be her first foray into ONE Championship’s grappling division, while it’ll be Kelly’s third.

With a third appearance going her way in ONE Championship, it’s hard to imagine a situation where Danielle Kelly doesn’t get a shot at an inaugural belt in the near future.

ONE Fight Night 7 goes down on February 24th from Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, airing on Amazon Prime for North American subscribers.