"I was just trying to survive" - Danielle Kelly recalls being the 'quiet kid' who simply wanted to fit in

Danielle Kelly has been forced to overcome many obstacles in life in order to make it to where she is today.

They say that tough times breed tough people and that is certainly the case for the ONE atomweight submission grappling world champion.

After initially enrolling in martial arts classes to help her become more confident in the face of the bullying that she experienced, this eventually became an outlet for Kelly that she could dive head first into.

She describes her earlier years as being a difficult experience for several reasons.

Kelly spoke more about this during a recent appearance on The Few Will Hunt Show where she opened up about how difficult it was for her.

The world champion was not the confident beacon of positivity that you now see today because getting by was her one and only focus at that time:

"I was always a quiet kid. I never wanted to raise my voice to people. I always had stuff going on at home. I was just trying to survive. My mom was doing her best to take us to school and everything."

Watch the full interview below:

Danielle Kelly came out the other side stronger

No aspect of the journey that Danielle Kelly has had could be described as easy.

She is one of the best advocates for engaging with martial arts for that very reason because, after all the tough times and moments where she could have given up, she chose to keep going.

Now Kelly is reaping the rewards and will look to continue doing so when she returns at ONE Fight Night 24 on August 2.

The atomweight champion will be putting her title on the line for the first time in the co-main event at Lumpinee Stadium.

Alongside her clash with challenger Mayssa Bastos, the entire event will air live and free in US Primetime for Prime Video subscribers in North America.

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