feature-image
feature-image

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu superstar Danielle Kelly is now just days away from the biggest opportunity of her competitive career.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

On September 29, in the co-main event of ONE Fight Night 14: Stamp vs. Ham on Prime Video, the 27-year-old will square off with reigning IBJJF World Champion Jessa Khan for the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight Submission Grappling World Title.

ADVERTISEMENT

Danielle Kelly envisions ways for Jessa Khan to submit

For Kelly, that matchup – airing live in U.S. primetime from the Singapore Indoor Stadium – will not only be her shot at becoming the first-ever ONE Women’s Submission Grappling World Champion but also a chance at avenging a 2021 decision loss to Khan outside of the organization. Now 3-0 in ONE, the Philadelphia-bred black belt is brimming with confidence ahead of the rematch with Khan – a woman regarded by many as one of jiu-jitsu’s pound-for-pound best.

Because despite her foe’s impressive accomplishments, Kelly knows she has the skills to take out Khan and prove she’s the planet’s top atomweight ground fighter. She said: “I feel like I train with the best, and I’m gonna prove that you don’t have to be a World Champion to be better than anyone else. You don’t have to have a bunch of titles. She’s probably the favorite in this match, and I’m gonna prove that, you know, I’m not a World Champ, but I think I can submit her. She’s beatable. So that’s what I’m gonna prove.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Read More: “I’m Determined To Make History” Stamp Fairtex Sets Big Goals for the Upcoming Clash Against Ham Seo Hee at ONE Fight Night 14

Of course, Kelly would be happy with a victory and 26 pounds of gold wrapped around her waist on Friday night. But when pressed as to how she’d like to submit her rival, she admitted she’s dreaming big.

Danielle Kelly lays her plan for vengeance 

Kelly says she’d like to hit a twister – a rare spinal lock that Khan has previously fallen victim to.

Read More: “Always Looking for That Extra Edge” –WBA World Champion Boxer Joins Xiong Jing Nan’s Camp for Special Rule Battle Against Supergirl

And if the twister doesn’t present itself, she’s shooting for a classic rear-naked choke from the back: “I really want a twister because I know she got twistered before, so I’d really like to do that for. The first grappling match to pull off a twister on her or, you know, take her back and choke her out. One of the two.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Aditya Vaibhav

299 Articles

Aditya Vaibhav is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. Aditya’s love for MMA started watching Chuck Liddell in 2009. Since then, he has also come to admire the likes of Carlos Condit and Chris Weidman. Having worked as a writer covering MMA before, Aditya brings reliable reporting to his readers, with educated and impartial opinions on various stories from the MMA sphere. Presently, Aditya is keeping a close eye on the rise of Bo Nickal hoping to see moments like Nick Diaz’s callout of GSP from the young middleweight. A huge fan of the Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson fight, Aditya aims to one day work as a data scientist in MMA media. And to help that dream come to fruition, he currently gets to dig through reader feedback in the form of data, on the articles that he publishes for ES.

Know more

Edited by

editor-image

Joyita Das

ADVERTISEMENT