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Newly crowned ONE women’s atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly feels like she has just removed a huge thorn from her side.
The 27-year-old American superstar took care of business against former adversary, 2023 IBJJF world champion Jessa Khan to win the inaugural atomweight submission grappling belt at ONE Fight Night 14 two weeks ago.
Kelly outpointed Khan in a close match, which led to a victory on the judges’ scorecards. One of the biggest factors in her victory, Kelly believes, was her knowledge and experience competing in the cage.
Brazilian jiu-jitsu players typically compete on open mats, but Kelly has competed in the Circle since she made her ONE Championship debut in March of 2022. Entering the match against Khan, Kelly already had some solid experience competing in the cage under her belt.
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That proved to be the difference.
In the official ONE Fight Night 14 post-fight interview backstage, Kelly described her victory over Khan.
The 27-year-old said:
“I mean 50/50 to be fair. My last matches I competed in the Circle, I didn’t really know how to use the cage or anything and you know I went against her, she knew my game too. So you know we were both kinda it was just who wanted it more. For this one I wanted it more and I used the tools I had to use and over the time of the match, I showed that I was the better grappler.”
With the victory, Kelly becomes the first female submission grappling world champion in ONE, joining the likes of Kade Ruotolo and Mikey Musumeci as submission grappling world titleholders in the promotion.
Following a tough night at the office, Kelly can’t wait to take a break. She said:
“Right now I’m just gonna enjoy the moment, gonna explore Singapore more and go back to work. I haven’t taken a vacation, so that’s what I’m gonna go do first and then I’m right back to work. This is what I love to do.”
Fans in the United States and Canada can catch all the action of ONE Fight Night 15 via replay on Amazon Prime Video.
