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Danielle Kelly believes her deceased grandmother and mother are proud of the athlete she has become.
Kelly has emerged as one of the superstars for ONE Championship’s submission grappling division. During an interview with ONE, the 27-year-old discussed the origins of her career in jiu-jitsu. She had this to say about her grandmother’s opinion:
“So yeah, I mean, my grandmom just didn’t like me being in the sport at all. She wanted me to basically be in school, no sports, just be regular I guess.”
The American BJJ phenom has said in past interviews that she almost quit BJJ when her mother passed away. Kelly had this to say about her mother and grandmother being proud of how far she has come:
“So yeah, I think if they’re here today, there would definitely be a little push back. I think she’d be proud because I worked really hard to be where I’m at."
After making a name for herself in worldwide competitions, Kelly made her ONE Championship debut in 2022. The 27-year-old had an impressive performance against former world title challenger Mei Yamaguchi in her promotional debut and followed it up with a statement win against Mariia Molchanova this past November. She now has high expectations heading into 2023.
Watch Danielle Kelly submit Mariia Molchanova at ONE on Prime Video 4 below:
Danielle Kelly is thankful for the opportunity to compete around the world
Although Danielle Kelly is signed with ONE Championship, she still lives in North America. Therefore, continuous travel and adaptation are a large portion of her competitive life. During an interview with ONE, Kelly discussed the advantages and disadvantages of competing in Asia by saying:
“And I’m really thankful to meet a lot of different people, to train with a lot of different people. Getting to travel, even though it’s like 20-plus hours of like traveling there and back to the US that was new… It’s all about the experience so I’m really thankful for those.”
Kelly will start the 2023 calendar year by grappling against Ayaka Miura in February. It’s unclear if and when ONE plans to debut a women's submission grappling title. A win over Miura would undoubtedly make a strong case for the American to be considered for a future title shot. The rematch between John Lineker and Fabricio Andrade headlines ONE on Prime Video 7.
