Despite recognition as ONE world champion, Danielle Kelly far from being fully satisfied: “I want to do better”

The work continues for American submission grappling ace Danielle Kelly even if she had already achieved her goal of becoming a ONE Championship world title holder.

The 27-year-old Silver Fox BJJ standout was one of the latest additions to the promotion’s roster of champions after claiming the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world title on September 29 at ONE Fight Night 14 on Prime Video in Singapore.

Danielle Kelly defeated rival Jessa Khan by unanimous decision in their 10-minute marquee clash. The win was not handed to her on a silver platter but she was on top of her game for much of the contest and was rewarded accordingly with the win.

But while she had realized one of the goals she has set for her career, the Philadelphia native was quick to say that the push does not end there for her, telling the Chewjitsu Podcast:

“In my next match, I want to do better than what I did for my title match, which is sad because I feel like I'll never be satisfied with how I am but like I literally just won a title with ONE Championship like I'm the first one so it's like ‘Yay!’”

Check out what she had to say in the video below:

Apart from becoming a world champion in her victory at ONE Fight Night 14, Danielle Kelly also exacted payback on American-Cambodian fighter Jessa Khan, who defeated her by decision in their first encounter in 2021 in a no gi event outside of ONE in the United States.

The win was also her third straight after settling for a draw in her debut outing in ONE in March last year against Japanese veteran Mei Yamaguchi. She is now looking to defend her world title whenever possible.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 14 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in the U.S. and Canada.