“That was new” - Danielle Kelly had to get used to fighting in a cage in ONE Championship

Submission grappling star and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Danielle Kelly has fought in ONE Championship twice already. While she enjoyed the two bouts, the American did have to go through a period of transition.

Among the things Kelly needed to get used to is the setting where grappling matches are held in ONE. Instead of the kind of open stage she's competed on previously, Kelly had to adjust to grappling inside a cage.

In a recent interview with ONE Championship, Danielle Kelly, 27, who is a veteran of many tournaments and promotions in the United States and has compiled a record of 17-9-1, shared how she had to adjust to the new environs when she began her journey with ONE.

Kelley said:

“I needed to learn how to compete in the cage, because, you know, jiu-jitsu people we’re usually used to just, kind of like, an open stage where they will either restart you or like, there’s no barrier cage to stop you so you have to keep going. That was new.”

Danielle Kelly made her ONE debut at ONE X in Singapore last March, taking on Japan's Mei Yamaguchi in a women’s atomweight submission grappling showdown. It ended in a draw as time expired.

She then faced off with Russian Mariia Molchanova at ONE on Prime Video 4 in November. This time, she made sure to emerge on top, submitting her opponent with a rear-naked choke at the 2:15 mark of the contest.

Kelly is now preparing for her return to action at ONE Fight Night 7, slated for February 10 on Amazon Prime, At the event, she'll face Ayaka Miura of Japan.

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Working with Enrique Galarza and reviewing tape pushed Danielle Kelly to win over Mariia Molchanova

It surely pays to come prepared for action, as American submission grappler Danielle Kelly proved in her most recent victory over Russia's Mariia Molchanova.

Kelly made short work of Molchanova in their women’s atomweight submission grappling showdown at ONE on Prime Video 4, winning by submission due to a rear-naked choke a little over two minutes into the contest.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Danielle Kelly credited the win to hard work and preparation during training, including working with veteran grappler Enrique Galarza and studying her opponent.

She said:

“So he [Galarza] was my coach who I decided to bring up with me, and he teaches at Silver Fox. Going into his classes we studied her a lot, we were doing a lot of back sequences because he does a lot of that too in his matches. He’s very long-legged, I mean he’s taller than her [Molchanova] but she was taller than me and just her body type.”

Kelly’s victory over Molchanova was her first in ONE Championship after grappling to a draw on her promotional debut last March.

She now has a chance to win back-to-back contests when she faces off against Ayaka Miura at ONE Fight Night 7 next month.