"I'm going to get the submission in the first round" - Odie Delaney has no doubts he'll finish Mehdi Barghi

Odie Delaney made a stellar debut in ONE Championship, and he now plans to add another spectacular finish to his growing resume.

Delaney will look to get another highlight-reel finish in his ONE Championship tenure when he takes on Mehdi Barghi at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen on Friday, which will be broadcast live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The submission specialist put displayed a smooth grappling game when he submitted Thomas Narmo with a Hammerlock 1:06 into the first round of his promotional debut back in February 2022.

Delaney, in an interview with ONE Championship, said he plans to exploit Barghi’s aggressive style and put the hulking Iranian to the ground as quickly as possible.

“I think he comes out and I think he's going to come out. He's a brawler, he's going to come out and try to knock me out. He's going to try to knock me out. I see me taking him down in the first riding him out, gassing them out. I think I'm going to get a submission in the first [round], probably on his back.”

The American Top Team heavyweight holds a perfect 3-0 professional record with two of his wins coming via submission and the third via knockout. Barghi, meanwhile, has no qualms about finishing his opponents no matter what way he chooses. The 36-year-old from Tehran has four wins equally divided into two knockouts and two submissions.

Odie Delaney added that he’s comfortable taking either a knockout or submission, and that it all depends on where the fight goes and how he can capitalize on the situation.

“If I can, I'm going to be on top of that guy, beating him to death from right over the top of him, on the ground. So that's my game plan, you know, get on top. There you go. No secret. The thing is, though, that's where I like to be. But that doesn't mean that I'm incapable of every other position. I can hurt you from the bottom, I can submit you from the bottom, I can hurt you from the top, submit you from the top.”

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Odie Delaney wants the $50,000 bonus

Like any good provider, Odie Delaney is a loving husband to his wife Savannah and a doting father to their two children.

Delaney said he’s in the process of building a cabin for his family and a $50,000 bonus from ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong could come a long way in helping his project.

“I'm building a cabin for me and my family. You know, we've always kind of wanted our own home, outside of, you know, the banking system, I want to own it. So I'm in the process of building a cabin, and yeah, 50 grand, shoot, I could go a long way with that."