“That's just the reality” - Danielle Kelly respects Angela Lee but confident she would beat her

Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Danielle Kelly is confident she can beat Angela Lee in a submission grappling match.

Kelly has expressed her interest in facing ‘Unstoppable’, whether in submission grappling or MMA. She has been doubling down on her request in recent days to make her case clear.

However, Danielle Kelly has nothing but respect for ONE Championship's dominant atomweight champion:

"I said it before, I think she's phenomenal. I actually knew about her, like, I've seen her fight. And I think, you know, even being a mom, I respect her a lot, especially now. Because being a mom or a parent is a lot of work. And the fact that she dominated her last fight and was super busy like that, having a new baby and everything, it's very motivating and it's very cool to have a role model like that for women, especially moms or moms-to-be. So yeah, I have nothing to say but respect."

If anyone has doubts as to who will be victorious if the fight does happen, the Philadelphia native sets them straight with this answer:

"But, you know, if I ever competed against her, I think I would beat her. You know, and that's just the reality. But I think she's a phenomenal athlete, regardless, and she's still young, we're both young so I think there's a lot of room for people to improve. I think she's one of the top athletes for sure.”

Danielle Kelly recently faced Japanese icon Mei Yamaguchi in a submission grappling match at ONE X. Kelly pulled off an incredible performance in a bout that ended in a draw but earned her a $50,000 bonus.

Although Danielle Kelly respects Angela Lee and what the mom-champ has been able to accomplish in ONE Championship, she’s not intimidated by the champion's star power.

Kelly continues to train with other world-class grapplers. By the time Angela Lee decides to take her up on the offer, she will be on a whole other level.

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Danielle Kelly’s biggest takeaway from Mei Yamaguchi fight at ONE X is to go for the finish

Danielle Kelly was disappointed by the draw in her grappling bout with Mei Yamaguchi at ONE X this past March. Although she won a performance bonus, Kelly is taking the draw as a learning curve to trust her own instincts and go for the finish.

She told ONE in her post-fight interview:

“I wanted to work my wrestling, I felt like I got some good inside exchanges but as the time went on, I noticed that she wasn't gonna give me really anything. So you know, I pulled guard. I worked a lot of cage stuff... I had a last couple of submission attempts and ones that were cranking the first time, the arm bar, her toes, her foot, her knee... you know, I'm proud of it but I feel like I should just come for the finish next time.”