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Submission grappling star Danielle Kelly is trending towards becoming a big name within the world of martial arts. She believes that the ONE Championship women's atomweight division has a lot of depth.
The 27-year-old is fresh off her very first win inside the circle over Mariia Molchanova at ONE on Prime Video 4. She recently sat down with the promotion to give her thoughts on the state of the atomweight division, saying:
"I think there's a lot of small girls, but I think, I mean, growing up, I always had to go against bigger women. So it was always hard to find girls my size. But I think now, there are a lot of girls who would make the atomweight division."
Danielle Kelly continued, saying:
"Because I know ONE Championship does the hydration test, so I know that could take into effect with the weight cuts. But I think there's still a lot of female athletes that would compete at the atomweight."
The New Jersey native is known for having already competed against high-level athletes like Carla Esparza, Roxanne Modafferi, and Cynthia Calvillo.
Danielle Kelly believes submission grappling can reach even greater heights with ONE Championship
Kelly has long teased the idea of transitioning over to MMA, and it's likely that she'll one day make the move. However, she's currently focused on helping the sport of submission grappling grow.
She said in an interview with the promotion:
“You know, I think with ONE Championship pushing that, I think it's really good for the sport, especially for both men and women. You know, I think it's a good move and a lot of these jiu-jitsu matches are very exciting. I think it could be on the level where MMA is.”
Taking submission grappling to the same height as MMA is a tall ask, but helping the sport grow certainly isn't — and it's in good hands with Kelly.
Be sure to check back for an announcement regarding Danielle Kelly's next match, as it will either be her third submission grappling contest or perhaps even her mixed martial arts debut.
Watch Danielle Kelly's full debut match with Mei Yamaguchi below:
