Danielle Kelly says size difference mattered against Ayaka Miura despite training with partners "mostly heavier"

Submission grappling ace Danielle Kelly scored the victory over the bigger Ayaka ‘Zombie’ Miura in their recent showdown. However, she admitted that it did not come easy despite coming in prepared for it.

The SIlver Fox BJJ fighter emerged on top against the Japanese judoka by unanimous decision in their featured catchweight submission grappling contest on February 24 at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video in Bangkok.

A strong finish that saw her make multiple rear-naked choke attempts did it for Danielle Kelly as she went on to claim her second victory in ONE Championship.

Post-fight, the 27-year-old American fighter shared that the size advantage of Miura, as well as her background in judo, proved to be a tougher challenge than what she expected, and that she had to dig deep to fashion out the win.

That was despite the fact that she trained with bigger and heavier partners in preparation for the fight:

“All my training partners are mostly heavier than me, but I feel like it's really different because you're in the circle or ring, and she fights, and I trained with many MMA fighters. They have similar strengths, and her strength is her judo background,” she said.

At ONE Fight Night 7, Danielle Kelly was tested big time by Miura in the early goings of the contest. She was put in some tough positions, from which she had to spend some time wiggling out from. But with her extensive experience in grappling, she was able to swing the tide in her favor as the fight progressed.

Danielle Kelly made her promotional debut a year ago, battling Mei Yamaguchi of Japan to a draw. She then returned to action last November and forced Russian Mariia Molchanova to submit. Both fights earned her a $50,000 performance bonus.

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“Looking to keep proving myself” - Danielle Kelly excited for 2023 following a career year

Danielle Kelly has her career goals set for 2023 and is looking at realizing them.

Coming off an eventful year that saw her accomplish a lot doing jiu-jitsu, including showcasing her skills in ONE Championship, the American submission grappling ace is seeking to build on it and grow as a fighter.

In an Instagram post, Danielle Kelly shared, among other things, that she intends to continue proving that she belongs among the best athletes in the world and can conquer new grounds.

Part of her post read:

“I’m still figuring out as we all are, I’m looking forward to what 2023 will bring. Thank you to everyone that has been in my corner since day one. I’m looking to keep proving myself and why I deserve to be out there.”

She got her 2023 season off to a good start after defeating Japanese judoka Ayaka Miura in a catchweight grappling match at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video on February 24.

Other things she is eyeing this year are competing for a potential submission grappling world title as well as dipping her hands in mixed martial arts.