After debuting at ONE X, the submission grappling ace had her huge plans to become a star in ONE Championship temporarily put on hold. Whilst she picked up a $50,000 performance for her draw against Mei Yamaguchi, Kelly was determined to get a tap.
Facing sambo specialist Mariia Molchanova in her second appearance, it took the 27-year old just over two minutes to find a home for her rear-naked choke.
Putting jiu-jitsu up against sambo is nothing new in combat sports. But at ONE on Prime Video 4, Kelly found a way to use her opponents greatest strength against her.
She told ONE Championship:
“Looking to keep proving myself” - Danielle Kelly excited for 2023 following a career year
Going into 2023, Danielle Kelly is one of the fighters to watch out for.
Since debuting with ONE last March, she has competed twice inside the circle and won performance bonuses both times. Discussing a year that saw her find a new home in ONE Championship, Danielle Kelly reflected on 2022 in a recent Instagram post as she looked ahead to 2023.
This is what she had to say about the previous 12 months of her career:
Looking ahead to the year ahead, Kelly still feels like she has a point to prove to show herself as one of the elite submission grapplers in the world:
Many have projected that a world title fight should include Danielle Kelly in 2023, which would be the perfect way to prove herself. The BJJ black belt has even expressed an interest in revisiting an old rivalry with Jessa Khan for the inaugural belt.
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