Danielle Kelly says there’s a little rivalry between grappling martial arts

Danielle Kelly expects her ONE Fight Night 7 opponent Ayaka Miura to stand behind her third-degree Judo black belt when they meet on Friday night.

Kelly, who holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, is looking forward to putting her skills to the test against another form of martial arts on February 24 as part of the promotion’s latest Amazon Prime Video offering. In an interview with Game Breakers, Kelly addressed the idea of a rivalry between different grappling martial arts and her prediction for Friday night’s showdown with Miura:

“Any rivalry no, but I’m assuming everyone is proud of what they trained and what they competed in so I’m sure my opponent is probably big into judo so she’s gonna prove some judo technique on me and I’ll just prove that jiu-jitsu’s better overall.”

Perhaps the most notable rivalry that has been curated inside the Circle as of late is BJJ vs. Sambo. Multiple Sambo practitioners have stepped into the cage against the BJJ stars of ONE Championship, but so far, BJJ has reigned supreme.

It was once again displayed in Danielle Kelly’s last appearance at ONE on Prime Video 4 in November against Sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova. It only took Kelly 2:15 to secure a rear-naked choke submission.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch Danielle Kelly vs. Ayaka Miura live and for free in U.S. primetime.

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Danielle Kelly doesn’t feel any added pressure with her rising popularity

Danielle Kelly has quickly become one of the most recognized and revered submission grapplers in the world over the past year. This type of attention could cause any professional athlete to buckle under immense pressure to deliver with every performance, but Kelly doesn’t necessarily see it that way:

“I look at it as a huge positive thing, for sure,” Kelly told The MMA Superfan. “But it’s also, I wouldn’t say weight on my shoulders, that’s not the right word. I know that there’s a lot of eyes on me, which is a good thing but also, competitive-wise, it’s work. I need to be on my feet and be ready for anything that comes my way in the 115-pound division.”

Through two appearances inside the Circle thus far, Kelly has delivered on the expectations, earning back-to-back $50,000 bonuses from ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong in the process.

Kelly will look to repeat that success a third time when she meets dangerous Japanese mixed martial artist and Judo practitioner Ayaka Miura this Friday night at ONE Fight Night 7.