"The good Lord has me exactly where I'm supposed to be" - Odie Delaney feels blessed in his MMA career

Odie Delaney couldn’t be any happier with where he is in his career.

The jovial heavyweight is a perfect 2-0 in ONE Championship. His most recent win was a second-round submission of Iranian grappler Mehdi Barghi at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen last Friday at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In his post-fight interview, Delaney said that he is right where he wants to be in his career and he wants nothing more but to improve on his craft and keep his momentum going.

Odie Delaney said:

“I think that you know, I think the good Lord has me exactly where I'm supposed to be at this point in time in my life. You know, hard work pays off. And you know, when you make consistently good choices every day, every moment of every day, you know it always benefits you and it'll always pay off in the end.”

He added:

“So that's just what I'm going to keep doing, I'm going to keep making good choices, keep trying to improve, and stay humble. Keep bringing my game up and yeah, I mean, I think great things are going to happen with this career. It's going to be good.”

Delaney is already shaping up to be one of the top heavyweights in the promotion. The NCAA Division I All-American has successfully used his superb wrestling acumen to become one of the best submission artists in ONE Championship.

His debut win in the promotion saw him submit Thomas Narmo with a Hammerlock 1:06 into the first round of their February 2022 match. Delaney’s next submission win was also one for the highlight reel when he tapped out Barghi with a Straight Arm Lock 2:22 into the second round.

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Odie Delaney continues to be a champion for mental health

While Odie Delaney has yet to hold gold in ONE Championship, he’s already a champion outside of the circle.

The hulking heavyweight is a staunch advocate for mental health and he continues to break down the stigma surrounding it.

“I mean, because there's a lot of media attention, I get to kind of speak out against the stigmas concerning mental health, which has been super important to me. And, you know, I've said in previous interviews, the more that I win, and I gain a bigger platform, it's just the more young people's ears that my words are going to reach,” said Delaney.

He added:

“There are people I don't even know that I might have helped by just being a strong character that speaks the truth about these things. Like it's okay to reach out for help, you can be strong, but you can also be vulnerable. And it's not a weakness to ask for help when you're in a hard time. And the more young people that hear that message in adults, even the better. So yeah, I'm on a race track, man. I'm just going to keep barreling right ahead and keep doing the same thing.”