“Angela just looked slower” - Danielle Kelly shares thoughts on recent Xiong Jing Nan vs. Angela Lee trilogy bout

Readying herself for a transition to mixed martial arts, grappling star Danielle Kelly has kept a close eye on the women’s atomweight division, specifically the reigning atomweight queen, Angela Lee. Coming off another disappointing loss to ONE women’s strawweight world champion Xiong Jing Nan, Lee looks primed for a return to the world of the atomweights where she has reigned for more than six years.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Kelly shared her thoughts on the critically-acclaimed trilogy bout between Xiong and Lee at ONE on Prime Video 2:

“I think she's naturally an atomweight if I'm not mistaken. She [was] taking more [of a] risk just because I feel in MMA fighting, the weight is a huge difference, strength-wise. In the first and second rounds, I noticed a trend with Angela Lee. She's almost taken out in the first round, so I thought that was going to happen, and then over time, I don't remember much about the fifth round or fourth round. But I felt like Xiong Jing Nan, I felt like she was dominating her. So, not to be biased toward Angela, but, she just looked stronger, I think, and Angela just looked slower.”

After a dominant first round that nearly saw ‘The Panda’ score the early knockout, Angela Lee stormed back in the later rounds with many believing she did enough to turn the tide and walk away with a victory. However, the judges believed the Chinese star dealt more significant damage throughout the match and handed Xiong a unanimous decision win - a decision Danielle Kelly appears to agree with.

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Danielle Kelly eyeing late 2022 return against Angela Lee

It’s no secret that Danielle Kelly and Angela Lee do not share a friendly relationship. The pair found themselves with choice words against each other at the ONE Championship x Amazon Prime press conference over the summer, where both ladies appeared on the panel to announce a partnership between the two entertainment entities.

It was there that Danielle Kelly’s desire to face “real grapplers” struck a chord with Lee, who realized the dig was directed at her. From there, the two traded verbal jabs through social media. Things appeared to quiet down as Lee put her focus on the trilogy bout with Xiong Jing Nan last month.

With that fight in the rearview mirror, Lee is expected to move back into the atomweight division and Kelly wants to be the one to welcome her back:

“Hoping [for] November or December,” Kelly said while speaking to ONE Championship. “I’m just staying ready. Hopefully I have the Angela match, or whoever they give me.”