Angela Lee challenges Danielle Kelly to a mixed martial arts fight

Things got a little chippy between grappling sensation Danielle Kelly and ONE women's atomweight world champion Angela Lee when both competitors appeared on the ONE Championship x Amazon Prime press conference panel this past week.

ONE made a few blockbuster announcements regarding their partnership with Amazon Prime Video, but much of the talk coming out of the event was the tension between the two female superstars. While never addressing one another directly, Danielle Kelly made a comment about only being interested in facing “legit grapplers”. This was clearly meant to be a jab at the promotion’s reigning mixed martial arts champion.

When asked about a potential grappling matchup with Lee, Kelly responded by saying:

“I’m a jiu-jitsu person so I’ve been focusing on legit grapplers. But if they want to give me that match, I’ll take it in a heartbeat.”

While Lee didn’t have the chance to address Danielle Kelly’s comments directly, she responded following the event by saying:

“She’s trying to stir up drama saying that… Step into the circle with me, put on your MMA gloves, and let's go.”

It’s clear that both fighters are interested in squaring off against one another in some capacity. ONE Championship even turned to fans on Instagram, asking if they wanted to see the two photogenic superstars go at it in the circle.

“Storm's a-brewin' 👀 Would YOU like to see a match between atomweight queen Angela Lee and grappling phenom Danielle Kelly? @angelaleemma @daniellekellybjj”

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Lea Bivins backs Angela Lee in a potential matchup with Danielle Kelly

Replying to the Instagram post by ONE Championship was new signee Lea Bivins. Expecting to compete in the promotion’s atomweight division, Bivins backed ‘Unstoppable’ Angela Lee in the comments by saying:

“Angela would win either way atomweight queen 👑”

Bivins was originally scheduled to make her debut at ONE 159 this past Friday. Unfortunately, her opponent Zeba Bano did not make weight. As a result, the contest was canceled mere hours before they were to open the show.

Bivins, 19, who trains out of UMMAF member club House Of Moons gym in Orangevale, California, transitioned into MMA in 2021 winning three straight bouts in the IMMAF World Championships Pankration.

Bivins can, of course, be accused of bias as she has been training with the Lee family in anticipation of her ONE Championship debut. Speaking to the South China Morning Post about her time training with Angela, Christian, and Victoria Lee, Bivins said:

“They’re beasts out there, they have a whole different training camp. They definitely push the pace, it’s a really hard room to be in. Definitely, there are great competitors like you’re with Christian Lee, Angela Lee, Victoria Lee, and Adrian Lee they’re all amazing martial arts family it was really great to get that experience and that confidence.”