Longtime jiu-jitsu rivals Danielle Kelly and Jessa Khan made history at ONE Fight Night 14 on Friday night, where they squared off for the promotion’s inaugural women’s submission grappling world title. After a ferocious back-and-forth scrap between the two, Kelly was eventually awarded the victory — and the belt — by judges.
Khan showed off an impressive guard game, trapping Kelly in her closed guard multiple times, and successfully taking the Silver Fox black belt’s back, where she nearly locked in a rear naked choke early in the match. Kelly, however, remained calm and recovered. The ONE veteran took advantage of her superior experience in the cage to weaponize the extra dimension, shoving Khan up against the wall to limit the AOJ star’s attacking ability.
Kelly successfully scored two catches during a leg entanglement. Khan, despite the near-RNC and a couple vicious leg attacks of her own, did not put Kelly in sufficient danger in the eyes of the referee to earn any catch calls. Ultimately, this tipped the judges’ decision in Kelly’s favor — earning Danielle the first ever ONE Championship women’s submission grappling world title.
Kelly and Khan are now 1-1, each with one decision victory over the other. Whether ONE will look to host a trilogy match between these two remains to be seen.
That feeling when all your dreams come true ?
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) September 30, 2023
Danielle Kelly is the inaugural ONE Atomweight Submission Grappling World Champion!
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