Danielle Kelly shares inspiring note to younger self ahead of world title war: “I’m proud of you, today”

At ONE Fight Night 14 on September 29, Danielle Kelly will finally get the opportunity she has been chasing for a long time in her career.

With dreams of becoming a world champion, a pursuit that has made her one of the top female submission grapplers in the world, the 27-year-old has faced a lot of adversity along the way.

At the Singapore Indoor Stadium, she aims to utilize all that as motivation to finally reach the top of the mountain by defeating Jessa Khan to become the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion.

Kelly often uses her social media platforms to shed light on the journey she has been on from a young age. She looks to inspire other young athletes who may find themselves in similar positions.

In a recent Instagram post, Danielle Kelly wrote out a message to her younger self, talking about the isolation she has felt in this singular quest for greatness. In her caption, Kelly stated:

“You didn’t have it easy growing up. young you would be so proud today and your parents. you had to do a lot by yourself because you didn’t have the support from your moms/dads side when they were gone, even from old coaches.”

The post further read:

“My mom and brother were the only ones at my highschool graduation, dad got to see me go through freshman year of highschool. you really had to learn that it’s lonely to get to the top at a young age, just didn’t understand. I’m proud of you, today. 🫶🏼 this title is mine.”

Check out the full post for yourself below:

ONE Fight Night 14 will air live and free in U.S. primetime for North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.