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Danielle Kelly is looking forward to her submission grappling match with Japanese fighter Ayaka Miura later this month but is not expecting to see anything that she has not seen before.
The American submission grappling ace particularly pointed to her experience fighting Mei Yamaguchi in her promotional debut at ONE X in March last year, where she settled for a draw (technical decision) but nonetheless received a $50,000 performance.
In an interview with SCMP MMA, Danielle Kelly shared that she sees some similarities between how Miura and Yamaguchi fight and is studying them as he prepares for ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video on February 24:
“I think there would be a couple of similarities. I think she's going to be a little heavier than me. Mei was really strong, especially for a small, like she's small like, height-wise, she's smaller. But she felt really strong. Even trying to get her to engage with me was a bit challenging.”
Check out the video below for the full interview:
Kelly and Miura collide at ONE Fight Night 7 at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, in a catchweight submission grappling contest.
It will be Danielle Kelly's third fight in ONE and she is gunning for back-to-back victories to follow up on her submission win over Russian Mariia Molchonova last November.
Judo specialist and former ONE women’s strawweight world title challenger Miura, for her part, seeks to halt a two-fight skid in MMA as she ventures into a new sport in ONE Championship.
ONE Fight Night 7 is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.
Danielle Kelly prepared to face adversity against Ayaka Miura
Submission grappling ace Danielle Kelly sounded a warning to Japanese opponent Ayaka Miura in the lead-up to their submission grappling match later this month.
While the American fighter acknowledges that Miura outweighs her and that she could be forced into uncomfortable positions in their upcoming match, she pointed out that it is nothing new to her and she is prepared for it.
Speaking to The MMA Superfan, Danielle Kelly said:
"You know it might be an advantage for me if I were in a bad spot, and I hope she knows I’m working from bad spots. I think I’m way smaller than her, I might just take her back from there. So she kinda has to be sure that it’s a really good takedown or submission locked on there."
The two female fighters will clash in a catchweight submission grappling showdown at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video on February 24 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Danielle Kelly signed up with ONE a year ago and has shared that she is enjoying her time with the promotion for the many opportunities given to female athletes like her.
She is looking to continue achieving greater heights in 2023, including competing for a submission grappling world title and making a foray into mixed martial arts, part of her mission to help growing women's combat sports.
