ONE Fight Night 7: Danielle Kelly Talks Ayaka Miura Victory, Seeks Rematch With Jessa Khan

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Bangkok, March 1: Danielle Kelly was faced with her toughest assignment in ONE Championship last week, and despite finding herself in tricky waters, the BJJ prodigy displayed her heart en route to picking up her third straight victory in the promotion.

The American took on former ONE Atomweight World Title challenger Ayaka "Zombie" Miura last Saturday, 24 February, at ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II, defeating the Japanese judoka by unanimous decision.

In comparison to her previous outing in late 2022 against Mariia Molchanova, Miura offered a much sterner outing. "Zombie" had Kelly in compromising positions early in the contest, but the 27-year-old was able to overcome the task at hand.

"I'm proud of my performance," Kelly said. "I'm literally 10 to 15 pounds lighter than her. She kept getting that headlock with the armbar, but my coaches and I had drilled that position.

"I kept trying to take her back. I kept attacking her neck. I'm a little disappointed because I really tried to submit her, but she's really strong and really good. But yeah, it was fun."

Following her biggest promotional victory that saw her move to 3-0 in ONE's submission grappling division, the Silver Fox BJJ standout called out an old foe in Jessa Khan.

The two have history following their 2021 matchup in which Khan left with a decision victory. Now, having heard that the brown belt has put pen to paper with ONE, Kelly is eager to avenge the loss and show why she has become the woman to beat in submission grappling.

"I mentioned Jessa because I know she signed for ONE. I would like to see if we're going to compete for a title. I felt I wasn't really 100 percent when we met. I'm motivated to get back because I've been working hard to get that match and work harder on myself," Kelly said.

"I want to prove to myself that I've gotten better. I want that one back. I really want that one back, that's all I can say, and just prove to myself that I belong here. And now I'm going to win that title."

Source: Media Release