UFC Champion Rose Namajunas To Face Danielle Kelly at Fury Grappling

Fury Grappling 3 is set to go down on Thursday, December 30. The card’s main event will feature current UFC strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas taking on BJJ black belt and world class jiu-jitsu competitor Danielle Kelly. The rest of the card will see a number of current UFC contenders competing in grappling matches, as well. MMAJunkie reported the booking and current card line-up.

A black belt under Karel Pravec, Kelly is a seasoned competitor at the highest levels of jiu-jitsu and submission grappling. She is a multiple-time Who’s Number One veteran with a pair of submission wins over Jessica Crane. This won’t be Kelly’s first time taking on an elite MMA fighter; she submitted UFC veteran Roxanne Modafferi at Submission Hunter Pro in 2020.

Namajunas captured the strawweight title for the second time in her career when she defeated Zhang Weili by first-round knockout at UFC 261. She then successfully defended that title in rematch with Weili seven months later at UFC 268 in November.

Although many of Namajunas’ most iconic career moments have come by way of her striking, she has shown to be a dangerous submission threat, as well. Five of her 11 career wins are submissions, including a flying armbar in her second professional fight.

Namajunas is a world class athlete and has proven herself as a high-level MMA grappler, but she’ll likely have her hands full in a grappling match against Kelly. Kelly is an excellent takedown and guard passing artist, and that skill-set complements her ever-evolving leg lock game.

The rest of the card features a number of current UFC fighters, including fast-rising welterweight prospect Sean Brady, 2020 fighter of the year Kevin Holland, and longtime veteran Neil Magny.

View the current Fury Grappling 3 card below:

  • Danielle Kelly vs. Rose Namajunas
  • Kody Hamrah vs. Kevin Holland
  • Chase Hooper vs. Renato Moicano
  • Sean Brady vs. TBA
  • Neil Magny vs. TBA
  • Andre Petroski vs. TBA
  • Patrick Sabatini vs. TBA

How to watch: Fury Grappling 3 takes place on Thursday, December 30 and will air live on UFC Fightpass (subscription required).

Ben Coate

Ben has been involved with grappling, whether through wrestling or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, essentially his entire life. After wrestling throughout his childhood, Ben found Brazilian jiu-jitsu as a young adult and quickly fell in love. He has been training for over ten years and currently holds the rank of brown belt, and remains involved in both the MMA and BJJ scene. Ben has been writing about combat sports since 2017. He has interviewed and profiled some of MMA's biggest stars, including multiple UFC champions.

Ben Coate has 1139 posts and counting. See all posts by Ben Coate