Danielle Kelly wise to Ayaka Miura’s unique grappling style

Danielle Kelly is confident she won’t be surprised by Ayaka Miura’s unique grappling style ahead of their match at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video.

The American grappler is thrilled to showcase her skills against a third-degree judo black belt and MMA fighter in Ayaka Miura for the first time in ONE Championship. Although Kelly has gone up against MMA wrestlers in the past, for instance, Mei Yamaguchi at ONE X and Carla Esparza at Fury Pro in 2021, the Philadeplhia-native hasn’t competed against an experienced judoka as technically sound as Miura.

Anticipating Miura to bring her A-game, Kelly is wise to expect her opponent’s signature “Ayaka-Lock” to come Friday night.

In the ONE Fight Night 7 pre-fight interviews, the 27-year-old star said:

“Yeah, for sure. And from that position, she goes for a Kimura or a head and arm triangle choke. She does it pretty well, and the other girls can't stop it. But I feel like my defense is better, and I feel like I can scramble out a lot of stuff. So it'll be interesting, but I definitely don't want to be in a position to find out.”

The jiu-jitsu black belt from Philadelphia has impressed grappling fans and non-grappling fans alike with her exciting submission-hunting style in ONE Championship.

She’s constantly on the attack from all angles to find a sleek submission and won’t stop hunting until she hears the sound of the bell. Coming into her next match with a win over multi-time sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova last October, Danielle Kelly was a dangerous force to be reckoned with.

American fans can watch Kelly find her next submission this Friday, February 24, live and for free with an Amazon Prime subscription at ONE Fight Night 7.

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Fans respond to Danielle Kelly’s plan to fight for two belts in the near future

As the first female submission grappler signed to ONE, Danielle Kelly hopes she will fight for two inaugural belts in the near future.

The American star has always wanted to take a stab at the championship, ever since fellow grappler ‘Darth Rigatoni’ Mikey Musumeci won the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world title in September 2022.

The historic significance behind his victory has inspired Kelly to follow his footsteps. Perhaps just one bout away from competing for an inaugural women’s atomweight submission grappling world title, which many speculate could be the first-ever US card at ONE Fight Night 10, Kelly also expressed a desire to take on a new division that hasn’t been created yet.

On Instagram, Danielle Kelly wrote:

“I’m a small 115lber… I wonder if there will be a 105lb title match in the future? 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️

Fans responded wildly online, with one person saying:

“I never watch any female combat sport events, but after You dominated that Sambo champion, I’m sold, just BEAUTIFUL to watch You doing Your thing!”

Another added:

“I would like to see that in both women's and men's division. Let's go! 🏆.”