“I need to learn how to defend or strike” - Danielle Kelly still in the process of incorporating striking to her game

Submission grappling sensation Danielle Kelly signed with ONE Championship in early 2022. Shortly after, Kelly made her promotional debut at ONE’s 10th-anniversary spectacular, ONE X, in March. There, she put on a masterful showing against Mei Yamaguchi that won the BJJ star a cool US$50,000 bonus.

Kelly is yet to return to the circle but has stayed in the news with a rather public rivalry brewing between herself and ONE atomweight world champion Angela Lee. The two shared some words at the ONE Championship and Amazon Prime joint press conference in August. Things seemed to escalate from there, teasing the potential of the two women squaring off in the circle.

Though nothing has come of their dispute outside of social media, Danielle Kelly is getting herself ready for what seems to be an inevitable showdown.

Speaking to ONE Championship, Danielle Kelly discussed her MMA training thus far. Describing it as a humbling experience, the grappling star recognized that she has a long way to go before feeling comfortable in the stand-up game:

“I have been doing my [MMA] classes right now. I’ve been getting back into sparring. It’s very humbling, just because the girls that I train with, they’re in other organizations, some of them are top 10 – and they’re really good jiu-jitsu... It’s going to be hard for me if I go against someone who has a [striking] background. I need to learn how to defend or strike. So that’s where I’m still putting the pieces of the puzzle together. But it does give me hope. I just have to keep myself humble and not think that just because I’m good at grappling, I’m going to beat up everyone.”

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Danielle Kelly gets advice from ‘Buchecha’ on MMA transition

The transition from grappling to mixed martial arts can be a jarring experience for many. Luckily for Danielle Kelly, she has a fellow grappler under the ONE Championship banner that she can lean on.

Speaking to the promotion, Kelly revealed that she had spoken to 17-time BJJ world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ Almeida about his own transition from the world of grappling to MMA.

“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.”

As is the case with most things, the more you do it, the easier it gets. Even if it means getting repeatedly punched in the face...

“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.”