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At ONE Fight Night 14, Danielle Kelly had everything to play for in her career with the potential of ending the night on the highest highs or the lowest lows.
Since arriving in ONE Championship, Kelly has proven herself to be the stand-out female submission grappler on the roster.
Despite the standard that she holds herself to, the 27-year-old was conscious of being viewed as a competitor that is yet to win a world championship.
Last September 29 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, the opportunity that she had been chasing finally arrived.
Competing for the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world championship, her opponent for this huge moment in her career only added more stakes to the occasion.
Not only had Jessa Khan beaten Kelly in their first meeting from two years before, but the Cambodian-American competitor holds an IBJJF world championship win to her name.
Without any need for extra motivation this time around, the Silver Fox BJJ student was looking to tick off multiple boxes all at once in this high-stakes match-up under the ONE Championship banner.
Looking to prove that she had grown as a competitor since her loss to Khan whilst simultaneously demonstrating that she isn’t defined by not holding a world championship, she did both in securing the victory and the inaugural title.
In an appearance on the Chewjitsu Podcast, Danielle Kelly reflected on her mindset ahead of the contest and how after beating a world recognized opponent like Khan on the biggest night of her career, she felt a wave pass over her:
“So leading up to it I thought I was gonna be like super excited. I just beat someone who’s a high-level world champion, who trains with the best team, and like AOJ [Art of Jiu-JItsu] is like a top school out there, there's no argument about that. After I won I felt like like it was a relief like all right like I can finally kind of relax I was excited.”
Watch the full podcast interview below:
The replay of ONE Fight Night 14 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America
