“I’ve never been really motivated for anything else” - Winning a ONE world title is Danielle Kelly’s ultimate goal

Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) star Danielle Kelly is on a mission to win gold in ONE Championship. After two of her peers, Mikey Musumeci and Kade Ruotolo, each won a ONE world title, Kelly decided that she wanted one for herself.

Easier said than done, of course. But if there's anyone who has the skills and marketability to become a superstar world champion, it's the dashing and dangerous Danielle Kelly.

In an interview with YouTube channel The MMA Super-Fan, Kelly spoke about her motivation to see gold around her waist in ONE Championship:

"I’m not really thinking about the attention of it [being the world champion], it’s like I kind of want that title, I want to win it. I’ve never been really motivated for anything else except for this opportunity."

Though most fighters would cite their pursuit of beating the very best as motivation to become world champions, there's also merit in wanting to get the attention gold around your waist can bring.

World championship belts can bring attention from fans and fighters alike, creating more hype. More hype means more eyes in the product, which in turn could mean higher pay and better financial opportunities for athletes.

Watch the full interview below:

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Danielle Kelly faces Mariia Molchanova at ONE one Prime Video 4

On November 18, at ONE on Prime Video 4, Danielle Kelly will face multi-time Sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova in an atomweight submission grappling bout.

This contest between two grapplers in separate disciplines will carry out the on-going rivalry between sambo and BJJ in ONE Championship. Danielle Kelly made the announcement on her Instagram:

“Finally can announce my next match will be against a decorated sambo opponent November 18th on @amazonprime @onechampionship . If you guys want to see good jiu jitsu and a quick submission make sure you watch this match😇🤷🏻‍♀️.”

From Marat Gafurov vs. Shinya Aoki to Uali Kurzhev vs. Kade Ruotolo, BJJ is currently 3-0 against Sambo in the ONE Championship. Molchanova won't be a walk in the park, however. She is an eight-time Russian national champion, three-time European champion, and four-time world champion in Sambo.

While Kelly believes that BJJ is superior to sambo in the submission grappling format, she says athletes from both sports deserve respect from everyone. In the same interview with The MMA Super-Fan, the Silver Fox BJJ athlete said:

“Yes, I’m a jiu-jitsu person so I’ll say that BJJ is more superior than sambo. But like, if you kind of watch the Kade and Kurzhev match. Kurzhev didn’t do a bad job, he got out like a really tight submission at first, so you have to respect the sport of sambo when you’re a jiu-jitsu person.”

Kelly concluded with:

“He [Kurzhev] didn’t give up easily. He was trying to attack Kade, he took down Kade with a foot sweep really fast. I think there’s a certain respect to it but I think at the end of the day, I think jiu-jitsu people are more dominant, especially on the ground against sambo people."