Danielle Kelly on ‘definite’ MMA transition: “I would like to compete in it down the line”

One of the perks that athletes will get when they sign with ONE Championship is the opportunity to fight in different sports such as MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, submission grappling, and even super-fights with special rules.

After all, ONE is the world’s largest martial arts organization, which houses elite athletes who are competing in various sports. This is something that ONE women’s submission grappling superstar Danielle Kelly is looking to capitalize on.

Kelly joined ONE Championship in 2022 and fought in three submission grappling bouts, putting on dominant performances against Mei Yamaguchi, Mariia Molchanova, and Ayaka Miura.

Despite already being one of the best grapplers on the whole roster, the 27-year-old is not closing her door for a possible transition to MMA.

The Silver Fox BJJ representative shared this plan in her most recent interview via Sherdog’s YouTube channel, where she said:

"There are some negotiations that have to be talked about, but for my first-ever MMA fight, I would definitely like to compete in it down the line because that's kind of why I started jiu-jitsu because I was getting bullied and I wanted to fight. But my old coach kind of like lured me to sticking with the gi and no-gi as a kid."

Before shifting her focus to that move to MMA, Kelly is in her last phase of preparation against Jessa Khan for their upcoming world title rematch on September 29 at ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham on Prime Video. The pair of BJJ savants will vie for the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world title.

ONE Fight Night 14 will air live on US Primetime free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.

You can watch Danielle Kelly’s full interview here: