Danielle Kelly remembers ‘falling in love’ with jiu-jitsu after first trial class: “I took down all the boys”

Like other professional athletes, ONE atomweight submission grappling top contender Danielle Kelly visibly remembers her eureka moment that instantly hooked her to "The Gentle Art’" of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The 27-year-old athlete from Philadelphia shared her first experience of going against the boys in her local gym when she was just starting as a kid and how a sparring class changed the trajectory of her life.

She revealed her humble beginnings with ONE Championship in a recent interview:

"We did a little two-minute sparring class, and I just took down all the boys, and you know, I just fell in love with it."

Danielle Kelly was originally introduced to combat sports through karate, but when the travel became troublesome for her and her family going to the gym, she was forced to switch to jiu-jitsu to sustain her hobby for sports.

Since then, the proud Silver Fox BJJ representative has not only used jiu-jitsu as an escape, but she has also joined various tournaments to earn her rank as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and eventually make her transition as a professional athlete.

After finding success in different competitions across the BJJ circuit, where she bagged various medals and awards, Kelly finally joined the world’s largest martial arts organization in 2022 and stayed undefeated in three bouts, winning two and drawing one.

Because of this unbeaten run, she earned her world title shot against rival Jessa Khan in the first-ever women’s submission grappling world title in ONE Championship. Kelly and Khan are scheduled to grapple on September 29 at ONE Fight Night 14, which goes down inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham on Prime Video airs live on US Primetime free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.