Mutual love for video games made it easier to connect to Demetrious Johnson, says Danielle Kelly
Danielle Kelly was excited to find out that she has something in common with one of the pound-for-pound greatest fighters of all time. In an interview with ONE Championship, Kelly revealed that she bonded with ONE flyweight world champion Demetrious Johnson over their love of video games:
“But, you know, I really look up to him, because it's like the same thing, he fights all day. He's training and studying for that. I'm doing the same thing, except I'm not yet punching people in the face. But he uses gaming and he interacts with people on online gaming, to like, take a break from that stuff, just like I do."
She added:
“So it was really cool to kind of relate to a fighter in ONE Championship like that. And it makes things better, more comfortable. And the fact that I have someone look up to like that like I could do it too. So it's pretty motivating at the same time."
Danielle Kelly is coming off a big win at ONE on Prime Video 4 in November. Taking on sambo world champion Mariia Molchanova, Kelly secured a rear-naked choke submission just 2:15 into the bout.
Fans of Demetrious Johnson will see the flyweight star return to the circle on May 5 when ONE Championship makes its long-awaited debut in the United States. ‘Mighty Mouse’ will meet division rival Adriano Moraes in a highly anticipated trilogy bout.
Danielle Kelly uses video games to keep her mind busy
There’s rarely a moment where Danielle Kelly isn’t teaching, training, fighting, or thinking about fighting. In those rare moments when she wants to unwind and forget about the world of combat sports for a few hours, Kelly, like flyweight king Demetrious Johnson, turns to video games:
“When I'm not training or teaching, or working, I either like to sleep [or] I like to hang out with my friends sometimes, like when I'm not being a loner. I'll play video games or whatever because it just kind of keeps my mind busy. And it's just something because this is my life. So it's good to kind of not think about jiu-jitsu or fighting for like two hours.”
In the warmer months of the year, Kelly likes to get outside and do typical summertime activities like bike riding and even surfing:
"I like to surf. So that's my second hobby, my favorite thing to do. So I'll just find comfort in that, whether I'm training or not.”