“I think it's great” – Danielle Kelly lauds ONE Championship’s emphasis on women’s jiu-jitsu

ONE on Prime Video 4 went well for submission grappling phenom Danielle Kelly. She scored a first-round rear-naked choke victory over Mariia Molchanova—earning a $50,000 performance bonus in just her second ONE appearance.

The New Jersey native is helping to put submission grappling on the map, so to speak, bringing more and more fans to the sport with each outing. After the match, Kelly spoke about how ONE Championship is making submission grappling more egalitarian:

"I think it's great, you know, especially for women's jiu-jitsu. Because we're, you know, with women's pay and everything compared to the men's, it's still like, very different. You know, there are a lot of top female athletes out there, and they have a bigger following."

Danielle Kelly continued:

"Just in a regular jiu-jitsu world, the females are being seen, and they're not really getting paid as much or getting the attention that they should get, that they deserve."

The 26-year-old was mightily impressive in her second appearance inside the circle. Despite her young age, Kelly has experience grappling with high-level opponents like Carla Esparza, Roxanne Modafferi, and Cynthia Calvillo.

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Danielle Kelly says BJJ can become as popular as MMA

Kelly has a ton of faith in the sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. So much so that she believes its popularity can grow to match the level of mixed martial arts.

The American grappler spoke to ONE Championship about her hopes for BJJ. Kelly said:

“You know, I think with ONE Championship pushing that [submission grappling], I think it's really good for the sport, especially for both men and women. You know, I think it's a good move and a lot of these jiu-jitsu matches are very exciting. I think it could be on the level where MMA is.”

In the lead-up to her bout at ONE on Prime Video 4, Kelly revealed her plans to transition to MMA in the future. The move could even be as soon as next year.

Check back with Sportskeeda for an announcement pertaining to Danielle Kelly's next fight.