American BJJ black belt Danielle Kelly won convincingly against Sambo champion Mariia Molchanova by forcing her to tap with a rear-naked choke at ONE on Prime Video 4. After getting the back easily, Danielle Kelly chokes out Molchanova in a sensational performance.
ONE one Prime 4 took place last night (Friday, November 18) in Singapore, and we saw Danielle Kelly choke out Russian Mariia Molchanova via rear-naked choke to bring the BJJ vs. Sambo “feud” in ONE to a 3-0 score in favor of Jiu-Jitsu.
Danielle Kelly (26) controlled the match from the start, pulling guard quickly and managing to get the back, securing the position via a body triangle, brushing off Molchanova’s can opener. From there, it was a slow and methodical dismantling of the Russian, with Kelly looking a lot like Gordon Ryan in her patience and confidence as the Sambo champion tried to shake her off.
Molchanova (34) managed to stand up, but this only made things worse for her, and could only tap at the very last instant as Danielle Kelly chokes her out at the 2:15 mark of the 10-minute match.
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“I used to do Sambo so I had an idea that she was going to do a can-opener or really good leg lock exchanges. She pulled me into closed guard and held my head really hard. From that transition, I was able to push her a little bit and took her back,” Kelly told Mitch Chilson after the match.
She went on to provide more details on the finish, saying:
“I’ve been working on my biceps a little bit. So I just kept squeezing till she tapped. My coach at home was always telling me that when going for a rear naked choke, always squeeze your elbows together. I finally got a submission at the ONE stage!”
Danielle Kelly chokes out Molchova to earn her very first submission victory inside the ONE cage. She vowed to finish her next opponent after winning her debut match against Mei Yamaguchi via decision. On both occasions, Kelly received a $50.000 performance bonus.
The result takes Kelly’s record to 2-0 inside the ONE circle, and the BJJ vs. Sambo record to 3-0 (Kade Ruotolo and Rodrigo Marello contributing to the previous two victories for BJJ).
With the atomweight ONE submission grappling belt firmly within reach (when it is introduced), Kelly wasted no time after that match and decided to call out fellow black belt and ONE MMA champion Angela Lee.
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