“I’m taking her very seriously” - Danielle Kelly taking a cautious approach in preparing for Mariia Molchanova

Danielle Kelly isn’t underestimating Mariia Molchanova ahead of their clash at ONE on Prime Video 4.

Kelly has emerged as a superstar for ONE Championship’s submission grappling expansion. The 26-year-old jiu-jitsu phenom is making her second ONE appearance against Molchanova, a sambo specialist. During an interview with SCMP MMA, she had this to say about her upcoming Russian opponent:

“I think that she’s really good at what she does. I’m taking her very seriously just because I do jiu-jitsu and she does sambo. I think, just because she does sambo doesn't change anything. She’s gonna try and come after me. I think it’s gonna be an exciting match for the fans and I’m looking to get a submission.”

Kelly’s ONE debut didn’t go as planned when her match against Mei Yamaguchi went to a draw. The American atomweight has an opportunity to showcase why she’s a highly-touted jiu-jitsu practitioner at ONE on Prime Video 4. The event can be seen for free on Prime Video for all Amazon subscribers across North America.

Watch Danielle Kelly’s interview with SCMP MMA below:

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Danielle Kelly plans to continue Jiu-Jitsu vs. Sambo rivalry against Mariia Molchanova

Danielle Kelly vs. Mariia Molchanova is the latest edition of the ongoing Jiu-Jitsu vs. Sambo rivalry in ONE Championship’s submission grappling division.

The rivalry intensified after Rodrigo Marello finished Sambo World Champion Ruslan Bagdasarian in 15 seconds with an ankle lock in September. Kade Ruotolo followed it by beating Uali Kurzhev for the inaugural ONE lightweight submission grappling world title.

Kelly recently posted an Instagram video of her training with the caption:

“BJJ is 2-0 in @onechampionship submission grappling, I’m going to make it 3-0 on November 18th #oneonamazonprime1 @jayrod2.0 here shows how bad sambo peoples armbars are😈😈😈🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️(Ps this heel hook wasn’t serious)”

Kelly has a lifetime BJJ record of 19-7-1. She also gained notoriety from the MMA community when she submitted Carla Esparza at Fury Pro Grappling 3 in December 2021.

It’ll be intriguing to see how the jiu-jitsu phenom can help grow ONE Championship’s submission grappling female divisions.

Watch Danielle Kelly mention ONE Championship's Jiu-Jitsu vs. Sambo rivalry in an Instagram video below: