Danielle Kelly has risen to the top of ONE Championship’s women’s atomweight submission grappling division, but her journey to get there was far from easy.

In the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 24: Brooks vs. Balart on Friday, August 2, Kelly will defend her World Title for the first time against multiple-time BJJ World Champion Mayssa Bastos inside the iconic Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, and she’s been looking back on the battles she has had to overcome both in an out of competition.

Danielle Kelly’s struggles with bullying and isolation in school

In an interview with ONE, Kelly discussed her difficult childhood and how she struggled after starting a new school. “I got the new-kid bully syndrome,” she revealed. “Being in fifth grade, a lot of kids that grew up together, they were together from preschool or kindergarten to that time.”

She further added, “Then, I moved to a new high school. And pretty much at that point, people already had their cliques or their friends. So, it was hard for me to even have five friends.”

Without many people to relate to, the future grappling superstar was an easy target for bullying because she was a shy and undersized kid. This made school an unpleasant and isolating experience for her, preventing her from fully enjoying her childhood. “Most girls my age, they all had their friends, and they’re having fun on their own. They are not worried about [bullying]. Whereas me, I was always just worried about stuff like that.

Overcoming adversity to shine on the global stage

The Silver Fox BJJ athlete eventually found her place in martial arts, which helped her gain self-confidence and learn how to stand up for herself. “I couldn’t be a normal kid and talk about recess. I couldn’t talk about the new makeup products that came out during that time. I couldn’t talk about any of that,” she said. “I was just worried about, well, hopefully, I don’t get beat up today.”

From there, she honed her skills and found success in grappling, leading ONE Championship scouts to call her up to the global stage in 2022. Bastos will undoubtedly be the greatest challenge of Kelly’s tenure so far, and she will put her perfect promotional slate – along with the World Title – on the line against the Brazilian sensation.

However, if she can continue to defy the odds by banking another victory in the world’s largest martial arts organization at ONE Fight Night 24, the American star will firmly stand among the best grapplers on the planet today.