ONE Championship: Danielle Kelly ‘putting pieces of the puzzle together’ for ‘humbling’ move into MMA
- Submission grappling star is plotting transition to mixed martial arts under the ONE banner, but admits succeeding is ‘going to be hard’
- The 25-year-old recently received advice from fellow grappler ‘Buchecha’, who is now 4-0 in MMA competition in ONE
Danielle Kelly is still plotting a move into MMA, but admits the transition comes with its share of challenges.
The 25-year-old American signed with ONE earlier this year, and debuted with the promotion at ONE X in March, when she battled Japanese MMA veteran Mei Yamaguchi to a draw under submission grappling rules.
She has made it clear since she arrived in the Asian martial arts promotion that she intends to begin competing in MMA as well, but is still preparing herself to make that jump.
“I have been doing my [MMA] classes right now,” Kelly, a multiple-time submission grappling champion, told ONE’s official website. “I’ve been getting back into sparring. It’s very humbling, just because the girls that I train with, they’re in other organisations, some of them are top 10 – and they’re really good in jiu-jitsu, too.”
Kelly’s grappling will give her a strong base in MMA competition, but it will be difficult for her to succeed in the sport without competent striking to fall back on.
She recognises that, and has been working hard on that part of her game.
“It’s going to be hard for me if I go against someone who has a [striking] background,” she said. “I need to learn how to defend or strike. So that’s where I’m still putting the pieces of the puzzle together.