“It's going to be interesting” - Danielle Kelly laments competing in a new environment

The past year has been a year of learning and new experiences for grappler Danielle Kelly.

The BJJ black belt made her debut with ONE Championship in 2022 and encountered a new challenge, the Circle.

With bouts beginning on the feet, the Circle walls play a significant role in getting the action to the ground via wrestling and clinching. However, Danielle Kelly will get another new environment to compete in in a few weeks time at the Lumpinee Boxing Stadium in Bangkok, a boxing ring.

Kelly recently spoke to the South China Morning Post’s Tom Taylor about the switch, giving her reaction to the news about competing in a ring:

“I was like, ‘Oh, okay. It's pretty interesting.’ I've been working on cage-wall stuff. It's in my grappling game. So from a ring, I mean, I was just grappling in a ring earlier this morning, before, with another girl. It's kind of different. I don't know the rules exactly. Because for jiu-jitsu it's like, you know, if you watched the first match, Mei put me against the cage, to make me not make space or move my hips. So the cage kind of blocked that. So what are the rules for the ring? Are they going to just push my head to the side? Or can I keep going? It's going to be interesting.”

Danielle Kelly admitted that she’s up for the challenge:

“Yeah, I'd be ready for whatever. They told me like a month out so I'll prepare for it.”

In many ways, the setting of a boxing ring may be closer to what Kelly is used to competing in other jiu-jitsu matches, which typically take place on an open mat with walls. Her opponent, Ayaka Miura, has fought her last six combat sports appearances in the ONE Circle as an MMA fighter.

Danielle Kelly has top respect for Ayaka Miura’s judo ability

Even though Miura won’t have the cage to utilize against Danielle Kelly at ONE Fight Night 7, Kelly still has the highest respect for her ability. Here’s what she had to say about Ayaka Miura’s judo to the South China Morning Post:

"Yeah, she has good judo chops. My opponent, she's obviously really good. She's a pretty experienced judo person. Her last three or four submissions were pretty [much] like the same thing. I think it would be an exciting match."

Over half of Miura’s MMA wins have come via either Americanas or scarfhold armlocks, two submissions that come naturally for many athletes with a judo background.

Danielle Kelly vs. Ayaka Miura will take place at ONE Fight Night 7 on February 24th in Bangkok, Thailand. The event streams on Amazon Prime for North American subscribers in US prime time.