The wait is finally over for American BJJ phenom Danielle Kelly.
This Friday, September 29, Kelly will look to get some redemption when she goes head-to-head with longtime rival Jessa Khan for the inaugural ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling world championship at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video.
The landmark confrontation marks the first-ever contest for a women’s submission grappling world title in ONE Championship, which will undoubtedly catapult the victor to international fame.
“I feel pretty good, I’m excited for this match,” Kelly said. “(Jessa) is really good. She has good movements, but I’m gonna fight back and be better.”
Kelly, a prodigious Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, has become quite renowned in recent years.
In February 2022, she signed with ONE Championship to compete in submission grappling, marking the start of her rise to superstardom.
With two wins and one draw out of the three intense submission grappling matches in ONE Championship, Kelly finds herself on the threshold of unparalleled achievement.
“I feel really good looking back,” she said. “The last three matches were against tough girls. They all had different styles – there was MMA, one of them did sambo, and another (had a) judo/MMA style, so I felt that those matches prepared me for this upcoming match.”
But her journey has constantly been met with challenges and adversities.
As a child, Kelly endured bullying. But at the tender age of 10, she turned to martial arts to confront her challenges.
“I looked different back then, and I had girls picking on me. They saw me as an easy target.” she shared. “I told my dad I wanted to fight the girls who were picking on me, and my dad looked up schools and my mom took me to a BJJ dojo, and I fell in love afterwards.”
Kelly got exposed to Brazilian jiu-jitsu due to her previous karate dojo being too far away for the family, and the youngster quickly discovered she had a knack for the sport. She was immediately hooked.
The American’s natural dominance on the ground led her to her first competition just four months later. Little did she know that the gears were turned – it set in motion a professional grappling career that has made her one of the United States’ most phenomenal female competitors.
“I started getting offers and matches, and I got matched up with world champions and really tough opponents,” she said. “I started seeing myself doing well, and I had wanted to push for women in jiu-jitsu, so that is why I stayed.”
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By the time she was 24, a solid 10 years into her journey, Kelly was awarded her black belt. Brazilian jiu-jitsu had officially emerged as her sanctuary, providing her with a means to channel her emotions and acquainting her with new companions.
The young phenom quickly ascended the professional BJJ hierarchy, establishing her reputation with an aggressive approach to seeking submissions.
However, Kelly’s remarkable accomplishments were overshadowed by personal sorrow.
In her early adulthood, she experienced the loss of both her parents due to prolonged illnesses, as well as negative opinions regarding her in the sport.
“I was mostly by myself. There were a lot of negatives, but I didn’t focus on them,” Kelly revealed. “There were people who said I couldn’t do it, some said I wasn’t good enough.”
Instead, she sought solace and coping mechanisms in martial arts.
“Being the new girl in a big school, I was comparing myself to others a lot. I didn’t have confidence in myself,” Kelly continued. “But once I started jiu-jitsu, I started getting in shape, I gained confidence and knew what I was capable of.”
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Never one to give up, Kelly eventually rose to the top. The American is now part of the illustrious Evolve Fight Team at Evolve MMA and Silver Fox BJJ, and she now stands on the brink of immense success.
With a plethora of BJJ world champions such as fellow ONE Championship superstars Rodrigo Marello and Thales Nakassu at Evolve MMA, Kelly has been polishing her training to the highest level.
All that hard work leads to her world title clash with Khan, whom she faced two years ago. And although Kelly fell short in their initial encounter, she is determined to beat Khan in their rematch and become the first woman to ever win a ONE world championship in submission grappling this Friday.
“I can’t tell you my gameplan, but I’m confident, and I’m really really excited for it,” Kelly said. “I’m at 100 percent.”
