BJJ savant Danielle Kelly revisits how she developed wrestling base: "I fell in love with it"

They say the secret ingredient to a good jiu-jitsu fighter is a strong wrestling base. In that case, reigning and undisputed ONE women's atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly of the United States has it covered.

Kelly is a jiu-jitsu black belt of the highest order and one of the most incredibly talented martial artists in the world. She started training jiu-jitsu at a very young age but didn't really experience success until she focused on a key aspect of her game: her wrestling.

Speaking on the Chewjitsu Podcast in a recent interview, Kelly recalled first getting into wrestling.

The 28 year old atomweight grappling queen stated:

"While I was in mid sixth to seventh grade, [wrestling] was what my coach made me do at the time to help with my jiu jitsu takedowns in competition. So then eventually I fell in love with wrestling, and I thought I was going to do it in college, and then I ended up not doing it in college."

Despite missing out on a potential Division I wrestling stint, Kelly is all for the better after having trained in it. And she credits wrestling for molding her grappling game into what it is today.

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What's next for Danielle Kelly?

Reigning and undisputed ONE women's atomweight submission grappling world champion Danielle Kelly was last seen in a successful world title defense against longtime rival Jessa Khan at ONE Fight Night 14 last September 2023.

Kelly won via unanimous decision to retain her gold in a spirited back-and-forth contest.

She has since won her last three matches in ONE Championship after making her promotional debut in 2022 with a draw against former ONE world title challenger Mei Yamaguchi.

Now, Kelly is awaiting her next opponent in ONE Championship. Stay tuned to Sportskeeda MMA for all the latest news and updates on Danielle Kelly's next match.