JitsCast #3 features the very first woman to win a ONE Championship submission grappling world title, Danielle Kelly. As we only had a short amount of time with Kelly, we’ve decided to release the interview as an extra episode in the same week as our last. Kelly briefly explained her introduction to Jiu-Jitsu and shared a funny story about her first time competing after just a few months of training. After that, we spent the majority of our time discussing the excellent career she’s enjoyed with ONE Championship over the last few years and everything that she’s achieved with the promotion.
Kelly was happy to share what becoming the first female submission grappling world champion meant to her, but also what it means for her to represent women in the lighter weight classes. It’s worth remembering that she won the title by getting revenge against Jessa Khan in a rematch and that was another aspect of that victory that clearly meant a lot to her. She shared a little of what she’s been doing to prepare for her upcoming rematch with Mayssa Bastos at ONE Fight Night 26 too, as this is the opportunity for her to regain the title that she only recently lost.
We also spoke about the next steps for her at ONE Championship after this match too, including another potential rematch she wants and a potential trilogy match with Bastos. Outside of her ONE Championship run; we were also curious about Kelly’s previous run at ADCC Trials and the addition of a new lighter weight class earlier this year is something that might have really appealed to her. Although that was something that an accomplished no gi competitor like Kelly would surely be interested in, she also let us in on a surprising interest of hers that she plans to pursue in 2025.
JitsCast #3 with Danielle Kelly is now available to watch on the official JitsMagazine YouTube channel, click here to subscribe for more or check out the interview below:
