American grappling ace Danielle Kelly is set to return to the ONE Championship on Friday, Feb. 24, at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video, where she will compete in a catchweight bout against Ayaka Miura inside the Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand.
The prospect of getting to show off her jiu-jitsu in front of a crowd at the iconic striking venue has the Silver Fox BJJ star excited for the event. But that doesn’t mean she is ignoring the dangers Miura possesses thanks to her judo background.
“I think she may be more technical and more engaging than Mei [Yamaguchi]. Mei was really good at her defense, and she was really strong. I think my opponent will be either just as strong or stronger because I’m lighter than her,” Kelly told ONE.
“I think my technique will just be a little better. I just have to make sure I get her moving because she’s really good at MMA, and she has a really good base, and her specialty [judo], she’s really good at it.”
One change for Kelly at ONE Fight Night 7 will be the enclosure she competes inside. At Lumpinee Stadium, ONE will use a ring instead of the Circle. But the American star makes it clear that she is looking at it as an advantage, as Miura will not be able to use the Circle wall to help defend herself.
That is just one more reason why Kelly is extremely confident heading into the submission grappling bout. The 27-year-old is so confident that she even believes she can choose when she can win the match.
“I’m just debating with myself if I want to keep the match short. Just submit her right away or make it fun, but you know, I’m going to be way lighter than her, so I don’t know if I want to play with her too much. She’s really good. She’s strong at what she does. Yeah, I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” the Silver Fox BJJ star said.
After ONE Fight Night 7, Kelly is looking for bigger matches. She has already called out atomweight queen Angela Lee in the past and has said that Xiong Jing Nan “sounds easy.”
The grappling star has her sights set on gold, and she has identified a rematch with Jessa Khan as a prospective World Title tilt.
Having already lost to Khan by decision away from ONE, Kelly wants to show how much she has improved by claiming ONE gold over her rival, who is now on the promotion’s roster.
“I know she signed. I don’t know. I haven’t seen her really compete, but that would be a good match-up at history. So I would definitely like to get that one back,” she said.
“I know there hasn’t been matchups, but I would like to think I’m in line for the title. But you know, again, I’m not really expecting anything. I’m in training for whoever. I’m going to be studying people and just stay prepared. And if I get the title, I’ll be ready for it.”
ONE Fight Night 7: Lineker vs. Andrade II airs live and free on Prime Video to all U.S. and Canadian Amazon Prime members. The action begins at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 24.