"Don’t let people say you can’t achieve anything" - Danielle Kelly recalls overcoming doubters to ONE Championship gold

Reigning ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly proved her doubters and naysayers wrong after beating her former tormenter Jessa Khan during their championship showdown in Sept. 2023 during the historic ONE Fight Night 14 card.

Kelly outclassed Khan and scored the unanimous decision nod from the judges, thus etching her name in the history books by becoming the inaugural ONE atomweight submission grappling queen.

The 28-year-old American posted a video on Instagram and published the highlights of her crowning glory to inspire all her fans and followers. She captioned her post with:

"That time when they said I wouldn't last with world champions or not a high level grappler at all. Took a lot of hard losses and used it as motivation. It's never easy but always room for improvement 💪🏻 dont let people say you can't achieve anything. First ever atomweight 115 champion @onechampionship"

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The Philadelphia native was an underdog heading into the match against Khan since she had already lost to the Cambodian-American in 2021 during their first meeting outside the world's largest martial arts organization.

Kelly was the aggressor throughout the match and had more submission attempts to secure the victory.

Danielle Kelly tells other submission grappling artists to keep going even after hearing cracks in their opponent's joints

Kelly previously shared a tip to other professional submission grappling athletes: keep cranking their opponents' joints even if they hear cracks already until they force a tap and officially get the win.

However, the Silver Fox BJJ representative, who holds an immaculate ONE Championship record of three wins and a draw, stated that when in training, this should be the complete opposite and just let go of the lock to avoid serious damage.

Fans in the United States and Canada with an active subscription can tune in to the ONE Fight Night 14 event replay available on Amazon Prime Video.