Danielle Kelly says she’s ‘been preparing’ to renew rivalry with Jessa Khan for quite a while

Danielle Kelly has been preparing for a rematch against Jessa Khan for over a year.

In February 2021, Kelly and Khan competed in a Who’s #1 submission grappling match, with the latter securing a decision win. Fast forward to 2023, and the two world-class female atomweight grapplers will meet again in a high-stakes matchup.

On September 29, Kelly looks to continue her unbeaten ONE tenure by defeating her former opponent, who is a promotional newcomer. The highly-anticipated matchup is scheduled for ONE Fight Night 14 with the inaugural atomweight women’s submission grappling world title on the line.

During an interview with Mitch Chilson, Kelly had this to say about how long she’s been preparing for a rematch against Khan:

“It’s pretty motivating [to get the world title shot against Jessa], you know. Honestly, I thought that I was gonna compete against her back in November or my last match in February, so I've been preparing for Jessica for a pretty long time.”

Danielle Kelly made her ONE Championship debut in March 2022. She started with a draw against Mei Yamaguchi and a rear-naked choke win against Mariia Molchanova, leading to two $50,000 performance bonuses.

In February of this year, Kelly returned to action and secured a unanimous decision win against Ayaka Miura, leading to a 2-0-1 promotional record.

Danielle Kelly vs. Jessa Khan is one of three world title matchups scheduled for the female-led event on September 29. ONE Fight Night 14 can be seen in its entirety live and for free by North American viewers with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription.