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Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Danielle Kelly joked about her grappling fight with Carla Esparza to The Schmo when she was in L.A. for the ONE Championship and Amazon Prime Video press conference last week.
Kelly competed against UFC strawweight world champion Carla Esparza in a submission grappling match in 2021 at Fury Pro Grappling 3. Kelly won the bout by doctor’s stoppage after an accidental headbutt from a slam cut Esparza below the brow. The damage required Esparza to get stitches soon afterwards.
While praising herself for “bashing” Esparza, the Philadelphia-native jokingly told The Schmo:
“I made her (Carla Esparza) bleed more than Rose. Yeah, I mean, they’re all tough girls. I’m a very light and small jiu-jitsu competitor, so all the girls that I faced, they were MMA fighters. They were like 130 pounds. So really tough, but I was the smallest.”
Watch the full interview below:
It’s no secret in the MMA world that the highly anticipated strawweight world title rematch between Rose ‘Thug’ Namajunas and Carla Esparza didn’t live up to the hype. Namajunas, the defending world champion, barely engaged with her challenger in the 25 minutes that she had. In the very close fight, which was nearly impossible to score, Namajunas lost her belt by split decision.
However, Danielle Kelly gave Esparza a lot of credit for being a tough competitor. The 26 year-old later admitted that there were some things she needed to improve on before her next match. Although the grappling bout didn’t go the way she planned, the experience was an eye-opener for her.
Cambodian-American newcomer Jessa Khan could be Danielle Kelly’s big next challenge
ONE newcomer Jessa Khan could very well be Danielle Kelly’s next challenge. The Cambodian-American prodigy signed with ONE Championship last May and is ready to make her mark with the organization.
Danielle Kelly and Jessa Khan have met before at Who’s Number One in 2021. After an engaging back-and-forth battle, Kelly ultimately lost the match by decision. With the possibility of a rematch in the air, the Philadelphia-native told ONE that she would be interested in running it back with Khan:
“I think I can beat her, and I think I can beat anyone in front of me. But she’s someone that I would like to have a match against. Yeah, it’s just something I can prove myself and get back. So, hopefully, that match happens.”
