“I'm going to try and beat them at their craft” - Danielle Kelly shares motivation against high-level strikers

ONE Championship’s submission grappling star Danielle Kelly wowed fans in her promotional debut at ONE X in March. The photogenic Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist is working towards an eagerly-awaited transition into mixed martial arts.

In her debut at ONE’s 10th-anniversary showcase, Kelly delivered a dominant performance against Japanese MMA icon Mei Yamaguchi. Kelly earned a $50,000 bonus for her work but has yet to return to the circle since. Her most recent promotional appearance came at the ONE Championship x Amazon Prime press conference in Los Angeles, where she had a somewhat awkward moment with ONE atomweight women’s champion Angela Lee.

As a rivalry with Lee continues to fester, Danielle Kelly has been honing her skills on the feet. Speaking to ONE Championship, Kelly discussed working with high-level strikers in training and her motivations.

“That used to discourage me, but that could be pretty motivating. Because I feel like, someone's better than me at something, so I'm going to try and beat them at their craft. I mean, if it goes to the ground, I feel like it's going to be my world, just like how it went with the current Angela match.”

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Danielle Kelly received valuable advice from another submission grappler-turned-mixed martial artist

When it comes to discussing the transition from submission grappling to MMA, Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida is an expert. The 17-time BJJ world champion has earned four straight first-round finishes since his ONE Championship debut in September 2021. With an average fight time of just 2:12, few have done it better than ‘Buchecha’ thus far.

During her conversation with ONE, Danielle Kelly revealed that Almeida gave her advice on how to transition while the two were in Los Angeles together.

“We briefly talked when we were in LA. He told me he was a little nervous at first. It was new to him because he’s used to jiu-jitsu and the gi. He was just telling me it’s still new, but over time it’s kind of like jiu-jitsu. You get used to grappling through doing sparring rounds, so you can get used to MMA. The more you spar, the more you get used to getting punched in the face, and the technique battles from standing – because everything changes once you’re getting punched in the face.”