Danielle Kelly is preparing to put on a show this weekend at ONE Fight Night 7.
The American BJJ phenom faces former ONE women’s strawweight world title challenger Ayaka Miura in a 119-pound catchweight submission grappling contest at the event, which takes place at the historic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday night.
Kelly made quick work of former sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova in her most recent outing at ONE Fight Night 4 in November, and the ultra-confident 27-year-old feels that she can do the same with Miura.
Speaking at the ONE Fight Night 7 virtual media day, Kelly hinted that she has some surprises in store for the Japanese MMA star.
“I’m just debating with myself if I want to keep the match short,” she said.
“Just submit her right away or make it fun, but you know, I’m going to be way lighter than her, so I don’t know if I want to play with her too much. She’s really good. She’s strong at what she does. Yeah, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.”
For her part, Miura also won’t be coming into the battle empty-handed.
The woman known as “Zombie” is a third-degree judo black belt with seven submission wins among her 11 professional MMA wins.
Those accolades are not lost on the well-prepared Kelly, who has done her homework. The Philly native is also aware that Miura loves to use her patent scarf-hold Americana, which makes up six of those seven submission victories.
“She does it pretty well, and the other girls can’t stop it,” Kelly confessed. “But I feel like my defense is better, and I feel like I can scramble out of a lot of stuff. So, it’ll be interesting, but I definitely don’t want to be in a position to find out.”
Beyond this weekend, Kelly has her eye on ONE Championship gold.
The atomweight submission grappling division currently doesn’t have a world title up for grabs, and the Silver Fox BJJ representative has been vocal about her wish to compete for the inaugural strap if one were to be created.
Kelly has been surveying the atomweight landscape in preparation for any championship opportunity that may come her way in the future. And the minute one is offered, she’ll jump at it.
“I know there hasn’t been matchups, but I would like to think I’m in line for the title. But you know, again, I’m not really expecting anything. I’m in training for whoever,” she said.
“I’m going to be studying people and just stay prepared. And if I get the title, I’ll be ready for it.”
