In February, American Top Team standout Odie Delaney made an impactful ONE Championship debut with a first-round submission. The 32-year-old returns on Friday, June 3, at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen for his second trip inside the Circle.
He will meet Mehdi Barghi in a heavyweight lead card bout, and Delaney is blunt in how confident he is against the heavy-handed Iranian.
Odie Delaney Sizes Up Mehdi Barghi ahead of ONE 158: “I am very confident”
“I’m not going to say that I’m going to walk through him because that’s so arrogant. But all I can say is from my end of things, I am very confident,” said Delaney.
The American’s confidence stems from his wrestling base and outstanding training camp. The Division-1 All-American wrestler believes he has an edge no matter where the action occurs, but he is not underestimating Barghi’s chances either.
“Just by virtue of being a heavyweight at this level, you’re a dangerous person. I’m not going to go in there and disrespect him like he isn’t a threat. I’m going to treat him like I’m fighting for the championship belt,” said Delaney.
“He’s got a good boxing style. I like his head movement. He likes to get off-line and then comes back with a pretty powerful hook. His wrestling is good, but it’s not my level of wrestling. So we’ll see if he’s the first one that can get me to reveal my striking secrets.”
Although he is adamant his stand-up is as dangerous as any heavyweight currently in the division, Delaney’s key to success is minimizing mistakes.
The 32-year-old makes his training camp as tough as possible so that when the bell rings, that becomes the easy part.
“The thing is, you go in there, you make any mistake, I’m going to capitalize on them. It doesn’t matter what they are, and you better come in shape too,” said Delaney.
“You better come with some serious cardio behind you because even though that fight ended quickly, and a lot of my fights ended quickly, I train for five fives. My opponents are never as tough as my training partners. And that’s the way I’m going to keep it.”
Prepared for an all-out battle over 15 minutes inside the Circle, Delaney expects that he will finish long before the judges come into play.
The South Carolina resident is looking to eliminate Barghi’s chance at victory, grab a finish, and take another step closer to title contention.
“I think if he has a path to victory, I mean, it’s catching me on the chin,” said Delaney.
“He’s a brawler. He’s going to come out and try to knock me out. I see me taking him down in the first, riding him, and gassing him out.”
“I think I’m going to get a submission in the first, probably on his back.”
ONE 158 airs live and free on watch.onefc.com on Friday, June 3, at 5:30 a.m. ET/2:30 a.m. ET.
