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Danielle Kelly continues to impress each time she competes. With that, she's hoping to one day be the face of women's jiu-jitsu for ONE Championship.
The 27-year-old grappling sensation is rapidly becoming a star with her performances inside the circle, which most recently saw her submit Mariia Molchanova last November.
With her third match approaching, Danielle Kelly is striving to be a grappling superstar under ONE's banner. She told SCMP MMA:
"Just being that person, like that face. I feel like I have, I would say it's pressure, I talked about pressure in another interview but I would say I have a lot of goals that I want to settle. Obviously, I want to push it more. I want to be that girl, like the face of women's jiu-jitsu for like the smaller girls."
Kelly added:
"I'm not a big girl but you know, just in general, I like to push the sport by being in a spot. I know pressure isn't the right word."
Check out Danielle Kelly's full conversation with SCMP MMA below:
Danielle Kelly details why judo fighters are tougher matchups than wrestlers in submission grappling
Kelly is prepping to face Ayaka Miura at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video. Miura possesses a judo background, which is more difficult to grapple against than wrestling, according to Kelly.
In the same interview, she stated:
"From standing, judo has a lot of advantages because mostly jiu-jitsu people, I mean, very rarely do you have a wrestler who is good at jiu-jitsu but like a top jiu-jitsu person. They don't really practice stand-up a lot."
The Silver Fox BJJ affiliate added:
"Luckily for me, I've been wrestling my whole life. I'm getting back into it now but I used to wrestle as a kid. I think judo, their submissions are pretty similar, back takes and it's similar with the Gi."
Prior to signing with ONE, the New Jersey native picked up wins against notable competitors such as Carla Esparza, Roxanne Modafferi, and Cynthia Calvillo.
The BJJ black belt is a two-time performance bonus recipient inside the circle. If ONE creates a belt for the women's strawweight submission grappling division, Kelly will surely be one-half of the inaugural title bout.
Be sure to tune in to ONE Fight NIght 7 on February 24 to watch Danielle Kelly take on Ayaka Miura in a submission grappling match, live from the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
