Danielle Kelly talks about fellow ONE women fighters’ grappling skills

Ever a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt like Danielle Kelly is always on the lookout for how grappling skills are being used in the field, particularly now in ONE Championship.

Speaking during a pre-event interview for ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, the Silver Fox BJJ affiliate said she has been impressed with how jiu-jitsu skills are being incorporated by some of the women fighters in the promotion.

Danielle Kelly cited reigning atomweight world champion Angela 'Unstoppable' Lee and rising Japanese star Itsuki 'Android 18' Hirata as warriors who have caught her attention.

The American submission grappling ace said:

“I like Angela's jiu-jitsu. But you know, I really liked the twister. I've always liked how she did that in her fights. Another girl is Itsuki Hirata, but I think I'm better at my jiu-jitsu and my wrestling's better than her. But she's also from around here. I think she's a judo girl, too.”

Danielle Kelly has become one of the trailblazing athletes in submission grappling in ONE since joining the promotion last year. However, a showdown with Lee or Hirata may be possible as she also hopes to make a foray into mixed martial arts down the line.

Kelly will be featured at ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24 in Bangkok, taking on Japanese judoka Ayaka 'Zombie' Miura in a catchweight submission grappling showdown. The event will be broadcast live from the famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and is free for all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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Danielle Kelly talks about being the first woman to grapple at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium

Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Danielle Kelly’s ONE Championship journey has been marked by a lot of firsts, and it is set to continue this week at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video at the famed Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok.

At the event, the American fighter will be the first woman to grapple at the historic arena, widely considered the home of modern-day Muay Thai.

Danielle Kelly is looking forward to her catchweight submission grappling match against Japanese judo specialist Ayaka 'Zombie' Miura, seeing it as a great opportunity to further spotlight the sport.

She shared with SCMP MMA in an interview:

“Yeah, I was just saying too, even being the first women's grappling match in ONE Championship back in March, that was a big stepping stone for me, like, a big accomplishment in my grappling career. And being that, I can be that girl to push forward women's jiu-jitsu and just promote grappling on the stage as well as the guys are doing now, like Kade [Ruotolo] and Mikey [Musumeci].”

Watch the full interview below:

Danielle Kelly is looking to win back-to-back victories following her impressive submission win over Mariia Molchanova back in November.

Former women’s strawweight title challenger Miura, for her part, is out to get back in the winning column and get herself in the mix once again for title contention in mixed martial arts.