WATCH: Danielle Kelly completes her dream of winning a ONE world title against rival Jessa Khan

Danielle Kelly has come a long way to secure ONE Championship gold.

On September 29, Kelly made her dreams come true by defeating Jessa Khan in a rematch to become the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion at ONE Fight Night 14. The American superstar has reached the top of the mountain, but she endured a treacherous journey to get there.

Before ONE Championship’s expansion into submission grappling, women’s grappling wasn’t getting the attention it deserved. Therefore, the top competitors like Kelly went through phases of commitment, including a short stint as a ring girl.

ONE recently shared a short tribute video for Kelly on Instagram with the following caption:

“From Ring Girl to World Champion 🤩 Relive Danielle Kelly’s crowning as ONE’s inaugural atomweight submission grappling queen! @daniellekellybjj”

Kelly made her ONE Championship debut in March 2022, starting with a draw since Mei Yamaguchi. Since then, the 28-year-old has been unbeatable, leading to wins against Mariia Molchanova, Ayaka Miura, and Jessa Khan.

The question is, what’s next for the face of women’s submission grappling?

---

What’s next for Danielle Kelly?

ONE Championship’s submission grappling roster is quickly expanding. Therefore, ONE grappling world champions like Danielle Kelly always have the chance to defend their throne against a new signee, making it difficult to predict what’s next.

With that said, there is a female grappler on the ONE roster who would make for a must-see matchup against Kelly.

Tammi Musumeci, the sister of the ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion Mikey Musumeci, holds a 2-0 promotional record. Tammi last competed at ONE Fight Night 12 when she secured a unanimous decision win against Amanda Alequin.

It’s unclear if ONE will book Kelly vs. Musumeci, but the matchup has the potential to be an action-packed chess match.