Danielle Kelly looks to compete in gi tournaments for “competition experience” while building ONE legacy

Danielle Kelly doesn’t just want to rule over her division in ONE Championship, she wants to dominate the entire Brazilian jiu-jitsu circuit.

The American grappler is set for a prime opportunity this month when she takes on old tormentor Jessa Khan for the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world title at ONE Fight Night 14.

Kelly and Khan’s world title bout goes down on September 29, US primetime, at Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Although Kelly has made a career in the no-gi circles, she revealed that she also wants to compete in gi tournaments in BJJ.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Kelly said she plans to build a concurrent career in gi BJJ while she builds a legacy in the promotion.

She said:

"I wish I could like only compete in no-gi for ONE and do the tournaments outside of ONE. You know, just to get more of the gi competing and competition experience and to push myself.”

ONE Championship’s submission grappling scene is fought under no-gi, and it’s a landscape that Kelly already started to build a reputation on.

Kelly was a stellar name in no-gi BJJ and built notoriety through her high-profile wins over Cynthia Calvillo, UFC pioneer Roxanne Modafferi, and former UFC women’s strawweight world champion Carla Esparza.

Those stellar victories ultimately led Kelly to sign with ONE Championship in 2022. Kelly has since put up a 2-0-1 record in the promotion with wins over Ayaka Miura and Mariia Molchanova.

While she’s already built a reputation in no-gi, the world of gi BJJ remains an alluring area for Kelly to conquer especially since Khan is a 2023 IBJJF world champion.

ONE Fight Night 14 is available live and free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.