“I'm focusing on jiu-jitsu” - Danielle Kelly wants to win submission grappling world title first before moving to MMA

Danielle Kelly is ready to follow in the footsteps of fellow submission grappling superstars Mikey Musumeci and Kade Ruotolo, who became the promotion’s first submission grappling world champions this fall.

After debuting at ONE Championship’s 10th-anniversary spectacular ONE X and earning a $50,000 bonus for her performance against Mei Yamaguchi, Kelly will head back into the circle at ONE on Prime Video 4 on November 18. The event is available for free with a Prime Video subscription.

Meeting her there will be sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova, who will be making her ONE debut.

With the promotion now introducing ONE world championships, Danielle Kelly wants to make history as the first woman to carry submission grappling gold for the promotion.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Kelly confirmed her interest in winning a ONE world title in grappling before making her long-teased transition into mixed martial arts:

“For grappling right now, I'm open to any opponent that wants to compete against me for grappling or calling me out. I'm focusing on jiu-jitsu, I want to win the title for ONE, and I'll go from there, and decide if I want to start MMA.”

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Danielle Kelly on facing a sambo world champion at ONE on Prime Video 4

The rivalry between Brazilian jiu-jitsu and sambo is nothing new to the world of submission grappling. ONE Championship’s recent development of a submission grappling division has allowed them to play into that rivalry, taking on some of the best BJJ practitioners in the world and matching them up with sambo world champions.

It will be no different at ONE on Prime Video 4 when Danielly Kelly takes on sambo sensation Mariia Molchanova as part of the evening’s lead card. Discussing the bout and the rivalry between the two grappling formats, Kelly said:

“I competed in a few sambo tournaments. So the rules are kind of weird, but I think when I was starting to do sambo tournaments, I was focused on the leg locking because I want to just work on that when it started to become popular."

Danielle Kelly continued, saying:

“I feel like they get a submission or they get an arm or leg on you, you would have to be really intelligent and actually know what you’re doing when you’re trying to get out of [the] submission. We can’t just let them take an arm or a leg, or they’re going to break it.”