Danielle Kelly says most fans believed Jessa Khan would beat her again: “That clears everything up”

Newly crowned ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly has faced adversity her whole life. So much so, that having people doubt her against Jessa Khan no longer bothered her anymore.

The 27-year-old American BJJ ace silenced her critics at ONE Fight Night 14 last month, when she avenged her earlier defeat to her former tormentor. The fact that she left Singapore Indoor Stadium with 26 pounds of gold was simply icing on the cake.

Speaking in an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer, Kelly said she heard all her detractors in the build-up to the highly anticipated rematch. However, at the end of the day, she simply tuned them out and listened to one of her closest friends instead.

The Silver Fox BJJ standout shared:

“Truthfully, more people had doubt. People already expected [Khan] to win; you could feel that clouding over you. But Pepe Suzie [my lifelong friend] always believed in me, and she kept saying she had a feeling.

"I guess that clears everything up. I’m the world champion now.”

Success is indeed the best form of revenge, and Danielle Kelly has now etched her name among the pantheon of greats in submission grappling. She joins ONE's elite world champions in the grappling arts, which include flyweight king Mikey Musumeci and lightweight ruler Kade Ruotolo.

After being in a precarious position to begin the bout, Kelly calmly stormed back and imposed her will. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, native almost finished the bout with a toe hold. Kelly also controlled the action with her underrated wrestling and kept Khan on the defensive with her aggressive passing.

The replay of Danielle Kelly’s crowning moment at ONE Fight Night 14 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America