BJJ star Danielle Kelly signs with ONE, set for MMA debut

Danielle Kelly has penned a deal with ONE Championship. The Philadelphia native recently announced her signing with Asia's premier MMA organization on social media.

In an Instagram post, Kelly also revealed that she would be representing Singapore’s Evolve MMA in grappling tournaments while preparing for her ONE debut. She wrote in the caption:

“Happy to announce I am officially a @onechampionship athlete. I am also proud to be a part of @evolvemma . I’ll be doing grappling bouts under them, and when I’m ready to do MMA, they’ll be the promotion I’ll fight under.”

The 26-year-old martial artist ended her message by giving a shoutout to ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong. She continued:

“Thank you @yodchatri for this opportunity, and I am looking forward to doing great things with ONE.”

Sityodtong responded to Kelly's kind words in the comment section. He made it clear that he's looking forward to the American's debut on the global stage in the near future. He wrote:

“Welcome again to the world’s largest stage of martial arts, Danielle! I'm excited to be working together!”

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Danielle Kelly joins fellow BJJ black belts who made their professional MMA bow in ONE Championship

Danielle Kelly joins a list of Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belts who successfully transitioned into MMA at the Singapore-based promotion.

17-time BJJ world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is one of those athletes. The 32-year-old Sao Paulo native has made a successful start to his MMA journey with two submission wins over ‘Mighty Warrior’ Kang Ji Won and Anderson ‘Braddock’ Silva inside the Circle.

Multiple-time BJJ world champion Garry ‘The Lion Killer’ Tonon is the most successful of the lot. The 30-year-old has already amassed a 6-0 record in ONE Championship and is scheduled to take on Thanh Le for the ONE featherweight world championship at ONE: Lights Out on March 11.

Tonon's longtime friend and training partner Gordon Ryan is also expected to fight under MMA rules at the Singapore-based promotion. ONE middleweight star and two-time ADCC world champion Yuri Simoes is another BJJ star competing on the global stage. The third-degree black belt will make his second MMA appearance at ONE: Full Circle next Friday, February 25.