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ONE atomweight grappler Danielle Kelly has big plans for her career going forward, one of which is transitioning from submission grappling to MMA. Her star power continues to grow, and she's gradually learning how to deal with that fact.
Kelly entered the promotion as one of the fastest-rising grapplers on the planet, picking up wins over the likes of Roxanne Modafferi, Cynthia Calvillo, and Carla Esparza already.
She recently told ONE Championship that she is learning to cope with the added publicity:
“Yeah, it's grown on me a lot. In the beginning, I was kind of like, nervous or confused. Like, why are there cameras all over? I don't know, I kind of just got used to it. And it's just kind of like, talking to people.
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The New Jersey native added:
"I just learned to make eye contact when I talk to people because I didn't do that before. And I'm also just socially awkward. So it's kind of me. But yeah, I mean, at first it was kind of new. But now, it's my job. So I just learned to get better at interviews. So when I compete, I can just be more interactive with my interviewers. So yeah, I'm pretty used to it now.”
Kelly is preparing for her second ONE appearance after grappling to a draw with Mei Yamaguchi in March 2022. She now faces Mariia Molchanova at ONE on Prime Video 4 in what may be her final grappling bout before moving to MMA.
Danielle Kelly hoping to make move to MMA in 2023
While Kelly readies for her second grappling appearance in the ONE circle, she has her eyes set on transitioning to mixed martial arts at some point in 2023. The 26-year-old recently spoke with The Schmo about her move to MMA:
“Hopefully soon, I’ll have like one or two more jiu-jitsu matches and then maybe I’ll focus on my first MMA fight next year. I just want to compete in jiu-jitsu first, and then sometime next year I want to make the move to MMA.”
Be sure to watch grappling sensation Danielle Kelly take on Mariia Molchanova in an atomweight showdown at ONE on Prime Video 4 on November 18, live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Check out Danielle Kelly's full interview with The Schmo below:
