Danielle Kelly reveals she has been training with bigger girls to prepare for Ayaka Miura

American grappling star Danielle Kelly will face a unique test in her upcoming submission grappling bout. She is booked against the judo black belt 'Zombie' Ayaka Miura.

Japan's Miura will be entering the bout with a size advantage over Kelly. Due to this, the American athlete has been training with bigger people.

In an interview with Game Breakers, Danielle Kelly explained:

"Training’s pretty good. I’ve been studying her, she’s gonna be a little bit bigger than me, this is a catchweight at 119. I walk between like 110 and 115 on a good day, so yeah, I can eat a lot for this camp."

Kelly knows the weight cut will be an easy one for this match. On training with bigger partners, she added:

"I know she’s gonna be strong. I’ve been training. Just like today I was training with the 105 [pound] champions from another promotion just to get a feel of how my opponent’s gonna feel because they’re really strong MMA fighters. But yeah, just focusing on my technique and what I’m good at and have her play my game."

The ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video event booked for February 24 will feature an all-star submission grappling match between Danielle Kelly and 'Zombie' Ayaka Miura.

---

Danielle Kelly is aiming for a submission finish

Danielle Kelly has earned impressive wins over competitors such as Roxanne Modafferi, Cynthia Calvillo, and former UFC champion Carla Esparza, among others. She will be looking to put her Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills on display against 'Zombie' Ayaka Miura on February 24.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Kelly explained her aim in the upcoming matchup:

"I’d be submitting her. I would like to get a choke. I think leglocks are starting to be overrated, but I mean, if I get a leglock then I'll just go for it, but I don't want to just have tunnel vision on it."

Kelly added:

"This is a job to me, something I like to do. So I think what I got out of it this year is I think I'm a different grappler. So, yeah, I'm taking it seriously and I'm just really, really grateful to be here and be in a spot that I'm in.”