“I think it's interesting” - Danielle Kelly on debate between sambo and jiu-jitsu

ONE grappling sensation Danielle Kelly recently chimed in on the on-going debate between Sambo and Jiujitsu.

The topic started circulating within martial arts communities when ONE flyweight submission grappling world champion and former 5-time IBJJF world champion Mikey Musumeci threw down the gauntlet:

"There a funny quote by Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. He said, 'If Sambo was easy, it would be called jiu-jitsu'. So let's have the sambo guys compete with the jiu-jitsu people. Let me fight the top world champion of my weight class in Sambo, and let's see which is superior in the submission grappling format."

Though Musumeci may seem like an inquisitive little boy trying to find out which discipline is superior in strict grappling, it did fire up a rivalry between the two communities. His fellow ONE grappler, Danielle Kelly, gave her thoughts on the matter.

Not many know that Kelly has experience competing in Sambo matches and has valuable insight into the on-going debate. She told ONE Championship:

"I competed in a few sambo tournaments. So, the rules are kind of weird, but I think when I was starting to do sambo tournaments, I was focused on leg locking because I wanted to just work on that when it started to become popular. I think it's interesting."

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Danielle Kelly explains the dangers a Sambo practitioner can impose in a submission grappling match

In the interview, Danielle Kelly further expounded on the difference between Jiujitsu athletes and Sambo practitioners. It seems that the particular expertise of each martial art differs based on the attributes they focus on. Kelly seemed to imply that Sambo focuses on swift and powerful joint locks, utilizing athleticism and strength.

Danielle Kelly said:

"I just think their roles are different than jiu-jitsu, like when you're in a grappling match. But I feel like they get a submission or they get an arm or leg on you, you would have to be really intelligent and actually know what you're doing when you're trying to get out of submission. We [can’t] just let them take an arm or a leg or they're going to break it."

Fine examples of renowned Sambo practitioners who excelled at using their grappling to submit their opponents are MMA legends Khabib Nurmagomedov and Fedor Emelianenko. Both fighters utilized hard takedowns and throws to put their opponents on the ground and used basic but firm submission holds to defeat them.

You won't see a lot of Sambo grapplers doing Berimbolo rolls or Dela Riva Guards. They're as fundamental as it can get and it's the strength of their discipline. One wrong move like leaving your arm unprotected and they will take it home with them.