Danielle Kelly will looking to continue her excellent run of form when she competes at ONE Fight Night 10. The atomweight has been matched with veteran mixed martial artist Ayaka Miura in a submission grappling match at Lumpinee Stadium.
Kelly is coming off a submission win over Mariia Molchanova at ONE Fight Night 4. She is clearly the #1 contender in the division and will be hoping to win the atomweight submission grappling title in 2023.
Although Kelly is constantly being linked with a move to MMA she seems to be fully focused on her grappling career. But that hasn’t stopped her from enlisting the help of one of the sport’s top atomweights to prepare for her bout in Bangkok:
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War of words
Kelly shared a picture of her training with current Invicta FC atomweight champion Jillian DeCoursey. The 38 year old holds a black belt in BJJ and won the belt with a submission last September.
After her last win Kelly called out Angela Lee. The Hawaiian holds the promotion’s atomweight MMA belt and is also a black belt in BJJ with the majority of her wins coming by way of submission.
The two atomweights appeared to be on a collision course but Lee looks set to be out of action indefinitely after the tragic death of her teenage sister Victoria Lee. Kelly has had to work hard to get where she is having lost bother parents at an early age and was quick to console her telling The MMA Super fan,
I’d like to say, Angela, I’m sorry for your loss. It’s not easy. I know what it’s like to lose someone very close to you. I’ve lost both my parents. It never goes away.
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Immediate future
It doesn’t seem like Kelly has any current plans to transition into MMA. But her immediate future seems to consist of training with mixed martial artists and taking on mixed martial artists.
Fans at Lumpinee Stadium have never seen a submission grappling match before. In fact it was only last year that women were allowed to compete inside the historic venue for the first time.
So Kelly is breaking barriers in more ways than one. She will be looking to underline her credentials as the #1 contender in the division and to show people that submission specialists can provide just as much entertainment as Muay Thai fighters.
