In the upcoming ONE Fight Night 14 event, available on Prime Video, the stage is set for an epic showdown on September 29th during U.S. primetime. The event features a momentous clash for the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight Submission Grappling World Title, with 21-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sensation Jessa Khan going head-to-head with Danielle Kelly, a renowned ground-fighting expert.
Remarkably, this isn’t the first time these elite BJJ black belts have met in competition. Back in 2021, at a non-ONE grappling event, Khan and Kelly engaged in a fierce 15-minute battle, with Khan emerging as the victor by decision. Khan, reflecting on her previous triumph, believes it gives her a psychological advantage entering their upcoming bout, stating, “It helps me to know that I already beat her once. So, it’s more her. She needs to prove herself – not me.”
At the time of their initial encounter, Khan was a 19-year-old rising star, making her highly anticipated black belt debut after an impressive journey through the colored belts. On the other hand, Kelly, though not as hyped, possessed ample experience and a reputation as a formidable submission artist. Despite the experience gap, the rookie black belt Khan dominated the positional battle and made numerous deep submission attempts.
Recalling that match, Khan noted, “I wasn’t able to submit her, but I was pretty much leading the fight. I was able to attempt about 10 different submissions, and that’s essentially what secured my victory. She was mostly in a defensive mode.”
Since then, this Cambodian-American prodigy has continued to refine her skills, even securing gold at the prestigious IBJJF World Championships, solidifying her position among the top atomweight competitors worldwide. Nevertheless, Khan remains unsatisfied with her inability to submit Kelly in their previous encounter and is determined to rectify that on September 29th.
She stated, “My primary goal is to secure a submission. It bothered me in our last fight. The first time, we had 15 minutes, and I had more time, but I still couldn’t submit her, despite multiple attempts. So, I’m definitely working to correct whatever went wrong in that match. It’s something that’s been nagging at me.”
