“I don’t want to be pressured” - Danielle Kelly says transition to MMA will come when she is ready

American grappling ace Danielle Kelly is in no rush to compete in MMA. She is happy to engage in the competitive world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the very highest levels.

Regarding MMA, Danielle Kelly explained her stance while speaking in an interview with ONE Championship:

“I can't really say when because I'm focused on jiu-jitsu. But yeah, I don't want to be pressured or forced if I'm ready. So if my coaches feel that I'm ready for MMA, then I'm going to do so."

Kelly's next match will be at ONE on Prime Video 4 on November 18 (US primetime). She will take on multi-time sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova in an atomweight submission grappling match.

The American grappler is looking forward to the showdown in the ONE circle. On Instagram, she shared:

"I want to crank her face already”

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Danielle Kelly discusses sambo

Danielle Kelly has experience competing in sambo, which will be vital when she faces one of the best in the discipline in Molchanova.

On her experience with sambo and what makes sambo practitioners dangerous, Kelly said:

“I competed in a few sambo tournaments. So the rules are kind of weird, but I think when I was starting to do sambo tournaments, I was focused on the leg locking because I want to just work on that when it started to become popular... I feel like they get a submission or they get an arm or leg on you, you would have to be really intelligent and actually know what you’re doing when you’re trying to get out of [a] submission. We can’t just let them take an arm or a leg, or they’re going to break it.”

Mariia Molchanova and Danielle Kelly are booked for a grappling war at ONE on Prime Video 4 on November 18. On Instagram, Kelly said that she is aiming for a quick win:

"Finally can announce my next match will be against a decorated sambo opponent November 18th on [Amazn Prime Video] [ONE Championship] . If you guys want to see good jiu jitsu and a quick submission make sure you watch this match"