"The duality of beauty" - Watch Danielle Kelly flip the switch from stunning sweetheart to BJJ beast

If you happen to see Danielle Kelly backstage in a ONE Championship event and you don't know who she is, you'd probably assume she's a ring-girl. We can't blame you, though, as the stunning ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion has the looks of either a runway model or a Hollywood A-list celebrity.

What she also has are world-class Brazilian jiujitsu skills that can break any normal person limb from limb. If you don't believe us, just watch any of her fights in ONE Championship and marvel at the BJJ black belt's ferocity on the mats.

ONE Championship posted a video of the contrasting nature of the ONE atomweight submission grappling queen:

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"The duality of beauty"

Danielle Kelly's pure jiujitsu skills brought her to the top of the mountain

Danielle Kelly knows that looks alone will not get you far in competitive jiu-jitsu - or any sport, for that matter. After gaining some traction and fame in the US regional circuit, the beautiful beast Danielle Kelly entered the world stage and signed with ONE Championship.

Debuting in the promotion's 10-year anniversary show, ONE X, Kelly faced MMA veteran Mei Yamaguchi. Although the bout ended in a draw, the American grappler won a performance bonus for her marvelous effort.

Kelly then followed up her debut with a swift rear-naked choke finish of Sambo specialist Mariia Molchanova just a few short months later. After that, she out-pointed Japanese Judo expert Ayaka Miura in easily one of the most intense and close submission grappling matches in ONE Championship ever.

At ONE Fight Night 14 in September 2023, Kelly finally reached the top of the mountain as she won world championship gold for the first time in her career - a dominant unanimous decision win over former foe and rival Jessa Khan.

About the author

Duane is an expert MMA writer at Sportskeeda with 15 years of experience working for the likes of Philippine Star, Esquire Philippines, Playboy Philippines, etc. A major in English, he has written over 2000 articles for Sportskeeda section, extensively covering UFC and boxing fights.

Duane is a practicing MMA fighter with a 11-7 record. He is also a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt and trains Muay Thai. His connection with MMA dates back to 2005, when he turned into a fan after watching Fedor Emelianenko defeat Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic at Pride FC - Final Conflict 2005.

Emelianenko finds himself right at the top of Duane’s Mt. Rushmore of MMA fighters, alongside other big names like Demetrious Johnson, Jon Jones, Georges St-Pierre, and Anderson Silva.

Duane’s love for the sport is reflected in his writings, where he believes in speculating but not insinuating. He uses his intensive knowledge and skills in MMA to provide unique insights to the readers, along with sourcing information only from reliable sources.

Outside of work, Duane enjoys martial arts training, visual arts, film criticism, video games, and creative writing.

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Edited by Ken Cameron