"Like hitting a stone wall" - Mehdi Barghi absorbs body shots before Odie Delaney clash at ONE 158

ONE heavyweight Mehdi Barghi showed off some of his prep work before heading back into the ONE circle to face Odie Delaney at ONE 158.

In a video posted by the ONE Championship Instagram account, Barghi can be seen eating multiple body shots with the following caption:

"Like hitting a stone wall. Mehdi Barghi faces off against Odie Delaney in a heavyweight BATTLE at ONE 158 THIS FRIDAY!"

Check out the Instagram post below:

Barghi will be looking to score his first win inside the ONE circle when he takes on collegiate wrestling star Odie Delaney. It's been 16 months since we last saw Barghi at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

In February 2021, he made his promotional debut against Ji Won Kang. Barghi lost the bout via first-round knockout.

Despite a record of 4-3 in mixed martial arts, Mehdi Barghi is a dangerous fighter who can cause a lot of problems once he has you on the ground. The Iranian was a national gold medalist and champion in wrestling before transitioning to MMA in 2015.

As an amateur, he competed at the 2017 World MMA Championship in Turkey. Barghi placed second in the tournament. He would go on to make his pro MMA debut that same year.

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Odie Delaney says if Mehdi Barghi "blows everything he's got," it will be a quick night

Mehdi Barghi's opponent Odie Delaney believes it will be a quick night if the Iranian chooses to go big in the first round and gas out down the line. While speaking to ONE Championship, Delaney said:

"He’s an explosive guy, and he seems to kind of blow everything he’s got all at once, based on his last fight. If he goes with that same strategy, I think he’s in a lot of trouble. Because if you rush in on me, he’s gonna get caught.”

While Delaney recognizes that he's not a well-known name in the jiu-jitsu world, he believes in his skills. 'The Witness' has no intention of backing up when Barghi comes out swinging and plans to use his length and wrestling background to deter Barghi from moving in without caution:

“You know, I’m not necessarily a household name in the ju-jitsu world, but my submission game is solid. And I’ll go toe to toe with anybody. So yeah, he’s gonna have to be careful on that front. If he wants to stand up and bang, he’s got a big problem to figure out because I’m a lot longer than he is and a lot taller than he is. And I’m not going to back up scared like some of his other opponents did."