WATCH: How tragedy shaped Danielle Kelly's unbreakable will heading into career-defining match at ONE Fight Night 14

Top submission grappling atomweight contender Danielle Kelly is undefeated in the world’s largest martial arts organization in three fights, with two wins and one draw. This record paved the way for a world title opportunity against Jessa Khan for the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world championship this Friday (US primetime), September 29.

The two BJJ black belts will go head-to-head for the second time inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium as part of the stacked ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham card on Prime Video. But before her biggest and most important professional fight to date, which could make her a world champion, Kelly looked back at the tough journey she had experienced.

In a video released by ONE Championship on their YouTube channel, the 27-year-old American shared the tragedies that she’s been through, particularly the death of her parents at a tender age. Kelly shared in the video the story of her parents and how their memories still fuel her to continue fighting:

“My dad was starting to get sick, he knew how much I was hurting so he got me into the sport and he want me to be involved in something ‘cause he knew he wouldn’t be around longer... coming home, show my dad footage, that was always my motivation and I feel like he’s still watching me. After he passed away, it was just me and my mom. She wasn’t taking care of herself. She just got sick one day, and I’m by myself.”

Check out the video below:

After the devastating passing of her dad and mom, the Silver Fox BJJ representative found herself in the dark, but she quickly regained herself after a realization hit and went back on track to achieve more things in life.

“I wanted to quit, I feel like I wasn’t focusing on the things to become a world champion, to become something. I realized it was about who you surround yourself with. That helped me a lot, helped me to stay focused and here I am. If you want something, you go after it.”

Following a decade of challenges and hardships, Kelly is now ready to maximize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of winning a world title and make history as the first-ever women’s submission grappling world champion in ONE Championship.

ONE Fight Night 14 is available live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.