This weekend saw the USA’s Danielle Kelly go against Russia’s Mariia Molchanova in a grappling bout. The match took place in Singapore and was Kelly’s second victory whilst competing under ONE MMA. Here, the match was not an MMA fight, but was instead a no gi grappling contest.
Just minutes in, Kelly managed to take the back of Molchanova and secure a back triangle. After getting a seat belt grip, Malchonova fell to the floor in separation. This resulted in Kelly locking in a rear naked choke and claiming victory by submission. She was later awarded a $50,000 bonus for her win, meaning she has now earned $100,000 from two ONE matches in bonus money.
Beforehand, the match was dubbed a clash between Sambo and BJJ. This is because Kelly is a BJJ black belt, whereas Malchanova is a Sambo World Champion. Since the result, ONE and Kelly have also hinted towards a grappling match between Kelly and Angela Lee, who is currently an MMA champion under ONE. Overall, this is yet another example of the growth of commercial BJJ where some athletes are lucky enough to earn big money from singular matches.
