ONE 158: Odie Delaney remains perfect, submits Mehdi Barghi in the second round

Odie Delaney remained perfect in his career after he submitted Mehdi Barghi in the second round of their heavyweight MMA bout at ONE 158: Tawanchai vs. Larsen at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

The American submission specialist took Barghi to the ground and locked in a straight armlock 2:22 into the second round.

The victory pushed Delaney to a perfect 4-0 record and gave him a third straight submission win. He’s also 2-0 in ONE Championship after scoring a first-round submission win over Thomas Narmo in his promotional debut in February 2022.

Color commentator Mitch Chilson said after the match:

“Odie’s really good at those kimuras, especially from side control. That was a straight armbar and I think he could’ve got it a little bit quicker.”

Odie Delaney initially looked to have a kimura locked in but he cranked Barghi’s arm into a straight armlock. There was a bit of pause during Delaney’s submission after referee Mohamad Sulaiman signaled “catch!” which made Delaney to momentarily loosen his armlock.

Realizing he shouldn’t have done that, Delaney cranked Barghi’s left arm once more and forced the Iranian heavyweight to submit.

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Odie Delaney utilized his striking early in the fight

While he’s more known as a submission artist, Odie Delaney employed a striking approach in the first round. The American Top Team fighter used kicks to keep Barghi at bay, landing several times on the Iranian fighter’s mid-section.

Delaney had some success with his early striking but he eventually moved on to his grappling midway through the round to control Barghi’s back.

With not much action going on, Sulaiman signaled for both big men to disengage and return to the center of the circle. Once in the middle, Delaney went back to his kicks to dictate the flow of the contest.

Come the second round, Barghi had a bit of success using his right overhand to keep his distance from Delaney. However, the NCAA Division I All-American ducked underneath one of those right hands to take the match to the ground.

Establishing top position, Delaney eventually isolated Barghi’s arm for the submission win.