Danielle Kelly is now one of the best-known female submission grappling athletes; success which she’s most recently earned by submitting world Sambo champion Mariia Molchanova.
At ONE on Prime Video 4, Kelly took Molchanova’s back and tapped her out with a Rear Naked Choke in just over two minutes into the bout.
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In a subsequent interview with ONE, Kelly said that she believes submission grappling could reach the same level of popularity that MMA has:
You know, I think with ONE Championship pushing that, I think it’s really good for the sport, especially for both men and women.
You know, I think it’s a good move and a lot of these Jiu-Jitsu matches are very exciting. I think it could be on the level where MMA is.
In another interview, Kelly spoke about her plans for transitioning to MMA as well – which should be sometime in 2023:
Hopefully soon [I’ll make the transition]. I’ll have like one or two more Jiu-Jitsu matches and then maybe I’ll focus on my first MMA fight next year.
I just want to compete in Jiu-Jitsu first, and then sometime next year I want to make the move to MMA.
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