ONE Championship News Roundup: Danielle Kelly hyped for return, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong promises Manila crowd will be in for a treat, Demetrious Johnson sets retirement timeline

Welcome to today's edition of the daily Sportskeeda ONE Championship News Roundup, where we present the promotion's most important stories.

Today, we talk about Danielle Kelly’s upcoming submission grappling match against Mariia Molchanova, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong predicting an explosive return to the Philippines, and Demetrious Johnson setting up his retirement timeline.

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#3. “I want to crank her face already” - Danielle Kelly raring to step back in the circle and put on a show

Danielle Kelly was already a rising star in the submission grappling community, but her debut in ONE Championship turned her into a certified superstar.

After her impressive display against Japanese star Mei Yamaguchi at ONE X, Kelly will head back to the circle at ONE on Prime Video 4 on November 18 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt will face the highly touted Mariia Molchanova this month, and Kelly said that she can’t wait to tussle with the sambo world champion.

Kelly took to Instagram to share how hyped she is for the fight against Molchanova.

“11 days 🔥💪🏼 I want to crank her face already.”

Before she entered ONE Championship earlier this year, Kelly competed in various competitions and took wins over Carla Esparza, Cynthia Calvillo, and Sofia Amarante.

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#2. “All day fiesta” - ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong says Manila will be in for a treat of a doubleheader

ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong is making sure that the organization’s return to the Philippines will make up for its two-year-long absence from the country.

Manila will play host to two high-profile cards next month, with ONE on Prime Video 5 set for December 2 and ONE 164 scheduled just a few hours ahead. Both shows will be staged at the Mall of Asia Arena.

ONE Championship has always enjoyed a strong presence in the Philippines and Sityodtong made a promise that the wait the Filipinos endured will be well worth it.

In an interview with CNN Sports Desk, Sityodtong said:

“Also, it's a very fascinating one for the Philippines because it's going to be a doubleheader. On the same day, you're going to have a morning show beamed live on Amazon Prime to America, and the same day a night show beamed around the world, so Filipino fans are in for a massive treat. It's an all-day festival, all-day fiesta. We have martial arts action, the very, very best in the world.”

The Philippines last had a ONE Championship card back in January 2020 for ONE: Fire and Fury.

Catch the full interview below:

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#1. “I give myself four more fights” - Demetrious Johnson sets timeline for retirement

Demetrious Johnson is still at the top of the mixed martial arts world, but the reigning ONE flyweight world champion is already setting up for a life outside the sport.

The 36-year-old revealed during his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience that he’s nearing the end of his career and it won’t be long before he officially hangs up the gloves.

Johnson told Joe Rogan that he feels he has two more years left in the tank and that retirement is the next logical step.

“I can't fight forever. I’m 36 so I told myself four more fights, which would be two years. Two fights a year, right, but then as I get older I find things pulling me away from that like my children, my businesses, my wife, I wanna travel with her. There are so many things I wanna do.”

He added:

“I give myself four more fights and sometimes I look at it and I’m like, ‘Sh*t it might be two’ because my body doesn’t heal as fast. It just doesn’t."

Catch the full podcast episode below:

‘Mighty Mouse’ may be pondering his retirement, but he’s still operating at the sport’s highest level.

The American legend won the ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix Championship in October 2019 and he captured the ONE flyweight world title when he scored a second-round knockout over Adriano Moraes this past August at ONE on Prime Video 1.