Danielle Kelly says all her hard work in the Circle paved way to world title shot: “I worked really hard for it”

The hard work of ONE atomweight grappling submission top contender Danielle Kelly is now paying off as she now faces former tormentor Jessa Khan in a rematch for the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling world title this Friday, September 29, inside the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

While others think that she is lucky to be fighting for a world title after just three fights under the world’s largest martial arts organization, the 27-year-old reiterated that it was the fruits of her hard work that placed her in this position. But Danielle Kelly isn’t taking this for granted, as she deeply appreciates these opportunities from ONE Championship.

Kelly showed her gratitude to ONE Championship in a recent interview.

“Uh, there's a lot of reactions," she said. "I'll start with, first things first. I feel really grateful and honored that you know I had that. I had the opportunity to be like one of the first women's grappling matches and going for the title, for the grappling match. Yeah, I feel like I worked really hard for it.”

The Silver Fox BJJ athlete also shared her initial thoughts from her previous fight, as she thought that Khan would be her opponent for that bout, but instead, she faced Japanese contender Ayaka Miura, whom she defeated via unanimous decision in February 2023 at ONE Fight Night 7.

“Secondly, I feel like, you know, I thought I was gonna get Jessa," she said. "Like not for the title but my last match with Ayaka, I thought originally she was gonna be my match for that prior coming up to the title match. You know, I felt like.”

Regardless of the delayed faceoff, Danielle Kelly is more than ready to put on a career-defining performance that will not only avenge her defeat to Khan but ultimately make her a world champion.

Catch ONE Fight Night 14 on September 29, as it is free of charge for Prime Video subscribers in North America.