“Everything has progressed” - Submission grappling champ Danielle Kelly says female fighters are rapidly improving

Danielle Kelly firmly believes that women fighters are slowly and steadily closing the gap with their male counterparts.

The reigning ONE atomweiight submission grappling world champion is one of the most influential female martial artists of this generation, and she observed that female combat sport has rapidly evolved through the years.

In an interview with Thiccc Boy with Brendan Schaub, Kelly said women’s fighting was almost an afterthought when professional martial arts started to take shape.

That notion, however, has been blown out of the water with female fighters continuously putting their mark on the global stage.

Kelly said:

“You can see that a lot of the fights, like their techniques, and everything has progressed. Whereas like back then like I feel like they're [women athletes] catching up with the guys and, you know, the guys are like years ahead.”

ONE Championship has been at the forefront of women's sports, with six female world champions across two weight classes and four disciplines.

Xiong Jing Nan is the longest-tenured world champion in the organization, having held the ONE women’s strawweight MMA world title for well over 2,000 days.

ONE women’s strawweight Muay Thai world champion Smilla Sundell, meanwhile, is the youngest world champion in the organization at just 19 years old.

Reigning ONE atomweight MMA world champion Stamp Fairtex is the only fighter in history to capture a world title in three different sports. Before turning her focus to MMA, the Thai megastar held the ONE atomweight kickboxing and Muay Thai world titles.

Rounding out the list are ONE atomweight Muay Thai world champion Allycia Hellen Rodrigues and ONE atomweight kickboxing world champion Janet Todd.

Watch Danielle Kelly's entire interview below:

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Relive Danielle Kelly’s crowning moment against old rival Jessa Khan

Danielle Kelly joined the prestigious hall of female world champions in ONE Championship when she exacted revenge on old tormentor Jessa Khan at ONE Fight Night 14.

The card featured three women’s world title fights, and Kelly made sure she would have her moment in the stacked event.

Kelly scored a unanimous decision win over Khan, who defeated her in 2021 at Who’s Number One, in a closely contested matchup for the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world title.

Using her longer and taller frame, Kelly trapped Khan’s legs and locked in a tight heel hook that proved to be the decisive submission attempt in the bout.