Danielle Kelly says Jessa Khan did not evolve from their first match: “She's doing a lot of the same thing”

Danielle Kelly has made sure that she got the revenge victory against former tormentor and rival Jessa Khan in their highly anticipated rematch at ONE Fight Night 14 in September.

Kelly claimed the 26-pound golden belt by unanimously beating Khan in their grappling showdown, which crowned her as the first atomweight submission grappling champion in the world’s largest martial arts organization.

A month after her career-defining victory, the 27-year-old American looked back at how she prepared for the championship match. She even suggested that the 22-year-old Cambodian-American had not added new skills to her grappling arsenal since their first meeting in February 2021.

The Silver Fox BJJ athlete talked about this during her appearance on the Chewjitsu Podcast:

“With knowing who I’m facing, of course, I train for that person specifically. I believe she took me very seriously for sure, but I felt like she didn't want to change some things in her game and you know she's doing a lot of the same things in our first match.”

See the full episode below:

Kelly proved that she has improved and evolved her grappling skills to a whole new level because she handily defeated an accomplished athlete in Khan, who captured gold medals in prestigious tournaments such as the 2022 IBJFF Pan American Championships, the 2023 IBJFF World Championships, and the 2023 Southeast Asian Games.

Additionally, it was the Philadelphia native’s third career victory in ONE Championship in four matches after making her promotional debut in March 2022 against Mei Yamaguchi, where she figured in a draw result.

Following that technical decision outcome with the Japanese, Kelly made sure to beat her succeeding opponents, Mariia Molchanova, Ayaka Miura, and now, Jessa Khan.

The replay of ONE Fight Night 14 is available anytime on demand for Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America.