Danielle Kelly expects US fans will love ONE Championship’s blend of martial arts

ONE submission grappling superstar Danielle Kelly is excited about the future of ONE Championship. Particularly the promotion’s expansion into the United States, where they will expose MMA and boxing fans to a whole new world of combat sports.

Fresh off her dominant victory over Sambo World Champion Mariia Molchanova at ONE on Prime Video 4, Kelly spoke with ONE Championship. She shared her thoughts on introducing North America to ONE and all of the combat sports they host inside the Circle:

“You know, I think it'll be a great sport and I think it'll reach high levels. So again, it's different and the fans will enjoy that. People love exciting fights, different stuff, you know? People like the entertainment. I think it's a great step and I can't wait to see what it does.”

With a strong foothold in the world of MMA, Muay Thai, and kickboxing, ONE Championship went all-in on submission grappling in 2022. They signed some of the biggest names in the sport, including Mikey Musumeci, Kade and Tye Ruotolo, and Danielle Kelly herself.

ONE already crowned two submission grappling world champions in the fall. Kelly thus hopes that she will have the opportunity to become the first woman to win ONE submission grappling gold before making her long-teased transition to MMA.

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Danielle Kelly believes submission grappling could become as popular as MMA

While submission grappling has been around for decades, the sport has received very little mainstream exposure. That is now changing thanks to the biggest combat sports organization in the world, ONE Championship. Previously dabbling in the world of grappling, ONE dove headfirst into bringing the sport to the Circle in 2022.

Now with two submission grappling world champions and a slew of talented BJJ practitioners on their roster, ONE is primed to bring submission grappling to a whole new level. Particularly with the anticipated expansion into North America. With the right push, Danielle Kelly believes grappling could become as popular as MMA:

“You know, I think with ONE Championship pushing that, I think it's really good for the sport, especially for both men and women. You know, I think it's a good move and a lot of these jiu-jitsu matches are very exciting. I think it could be on the level where MMA is.”