3 reasons why you should watch Danielle Kelly

On February 24, submission grappling sensation Danielle Kelly will return to competition for the first time in 2023. Fresh off a dominant win over sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova in November, Kelly will look to score a second straight win over Judo black belt and mixed martial artist Ayaka ‘Zombie’ Miura.

Before Danielle Kelly heads to the legendary Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Thailand for ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, we will take a look at three reasons why you should be watching the BJJ superstar every time she competes, whether it be in a ring, a cage, or on a mat.

#3. Willingness to face anyone

Danielle Kelly is not the type to back down from anyone. It doesn’t matter if they come from the world of Sambo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Judo, or mixed martial arts. Kelly is always up for a challenge and is more than willing to step on the mat with bigger women.

A perfect example of that is her upcoming contest against Ayaka Miura. Kelly regularly competes in the atomweight division while Miura is a mainstay at strawweight. As a result, the two will meet in a catchweight bout where Kelly will naturally give up a size advantage.

Kelly’s lack of fear when it comes to larger opponents likely stems from her younger years when she had to defend herself on a regular basis from bullies. In an interview Jiu-Jitsu Times, Kelly shared an incident from seventh grade where an older student attempted to attack her. Needless to say, the bully learned size isn’t everything when it comes to a fight:

“I remember she tried to shove me in the hallway – and I’d just started doing jiu-jitsu and wrestling at the time – so then my muscle memory just clicke... So as she tried to shove me in the hallway, I did a quick double leg on her, and I remember she tried to kick her feet at me, so I went for a double under pass, and threw her legs across, and started beating her face.”

#2. She’s exciting

Perhaps the most logical reason to tune in every time Danielle Kelly competes is that she entertains without fail. Kelly blew away fans in her ONE Championship debut at the promotion’s 10th-anniversary spectacular ONE X last March. She delivered a dominant performance against Japanese women’s MMA icon Mei Yamaguchi and earned a $50,000 bonus from ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong for her efforts.

In her second appearance, Kelly wowed fans once again by scoring a rear-naked choke submission over Sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova in just over two minutes at ONE on Prime Video 4 in November. That performance earned her another $50,000 bonus from the ONE CEO. Two appearances, two fight night bonuses. Enough said.

#1. She has that fire in her

Danielle Kelly is a respectful BJJ practitioner, but that doesn’t stop her from getting chirpy with a potential opponent from time to time. Perhaps the best example of this is her back-and-forth with ONE atomweight world champion Angela Lee. The pair were seated near one another at the ONE Championship x Amazon Prime video press conference over the summer. When asked about a potential meeting with Lee, Kelly confirmed he was open to the matchup, but took a solid dig at Lee in the process:

"I won't be opposed to it, but I'm a jiu-jitsu person so I've been focusing on like, legit grapplers. But [if] they [ONE] were to give me that match, I'll take it in a heartbeat."

Angela Lee, of course, took exception to Kelly’s insinuation that she is not a “legit grappler” and the pair engaged in a war of words over the next few months.

Lee isn’t the only woman under the ONE Championship banner to face the wrath of Danielle Kelly’s occasional digs. Ahead of her highly anticipated grappling contest with Ayaka Miura on February 24, Kelly said that she would be “10 steps ahead of her."

Fans in North America can catch Danielle Kelly’s return at ONE Fight Night 7 live and for free on Amazon Prime Video in U.S. primetime.