Danielle Kelly not entirely keen on Jessa Khan trilogy after dominant rematch: “I beat her pretty good”

Newly crowned ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly believes that Jessa Khan needs to work her way into a trilogy match if she wants another shot at the 26 pounds of gold that is in her possession.

This was after Kelly’s dominant victory over Khan in their second meeting at ONE Fight Night 14. The Silver Fox BJJ representative avenged her previous loss to the Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy athlete via unanimous decision to make history and become the inaugural women’s submission grappling world champion on the ONE roster.

Kelly voiced out this thought in her post-fight interview by saying:

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it, but you know I beat her pretty good today. I mean, she and I had a back exchange at one point, but I almost shook her out at the last 10 seconds.”

It was Kelly’s third victory in four ONE Championship matches after previously drawing with Mei Yamaguchi in March 2022 before submitting Mariia Molchanova in November 2022 and unanimously beating Ayaka Miura in February 2023.

Meanwhile, it was a tough debut for Khan, who was a high-profile prospect after her triumphs in the 2022 IBJFF Pan American Championships, the 2023 IBJFF World Championships, and the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, where she bagged all gold medals on offer in her category.

On the other hand, Kelly has all the options to call out the other top contenders following her title-winning display. Even if she decides to make a quick transition to MMA, the American grappling wizard would not be short of options.

North American fans with an active subscription can tune in to the ONE Fight Night 14 event replay available on Amazon Prime Video.