Danielle Kelly recalls crippling shyness during her childhood days

A lot has changed for submission grappling sensation Danielle Kelly in recent years.

The 27-year-old Silver Fox BJJ product has skyrocketed to superstardom in the world of combat sports since signing with ONE Championship last year. Today, Kelly is not only one of the brightest stars in ONE Championship, but she is also an advocate for her sport, spending much of her time traveling around the world to teach her craft.

It’s something that Kelly could never have imagined considering the crippling shyness she suffered during her formative years. Looking back on her struggles to make it through school each day, Kelly took to Instagram, saying:

“i remember a time i was so shy (still am lol) and would count the days i wouldn’t talk in school and would have breakdowns if I had to give a speech in-front of the class or do any kind of public speaking because I was very insecure with my speech. And here i am traveling almost every weekend teaching in-front of thousands. I 💗 my job.”

Making her debut under the ONE Championship banner at the promotion’s 10th-anniversary showcase, ONE X, Danielle Kelly immediately made waves with a dominant showing against Japanese standout Mei Yamaguchi. She followed up that performance with a quick submission of Sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova to close out her 2022.

Danielle Kelly's 2023 started just as well as 2022 ended, earning a unanimous decision victory over MMA standout Ayaka ‘Zombie’ Miura at ONE Fight Night 7 in February.

Sadly, Kelly won’t be part of the festivities on May 5 when the promotion makes its highly anticipated debut in the United States. With the event already sold out, we anticipate ONE will be back in the States before long and Kelly will most certainly be involved.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Championship’s U.S. debut, ONE Fight Night 10, live and for free on May 5.