Ode Osbourne isn’t just doing it for himself. He’s doing it for the kids.
One of the newest members of the promotion’s bantamweight division, Osbourne (8-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) will debut Jan. 18 at UFC 246 against Brian Kelleher (19-10 MMA, 3-3 UFC).
But fighting isn’t his only profession. The 27-year-old also works as an assistant teacher in Grades 5 and 6 at Woodlands School in Milwaukee.
Despite his newfound UFC fighter status, Osbourne said he hasn’t struggled to balance his two careers. In fact, it’s been quite the contrary.
“It’s the recipe,” Osbourne told MMA Junkie. “If you look at yourself, you’re only going to be doing what you limit yourself to. If you set a limitation for what you are, that’s what you’re going to become. If you set your limitation to just typically training and going home and sleeping, that’s what your mindset is. You’re going to be just focused on that.
“But for me, I work every single day at school. I leave, go train and go home. It’s normal to me. My body sometimes gets tired. But for the most part, my body is used to it. I think a lot of times it’s beneficial to have that. I call it positive distraction. You have an environment of kids that you’re constantly helping – and they’re helping you mentally in a lot of ways. Kids are like puppies. They are. They’re exciting, frustrating and loving at the same time.”
The kids follow his fights, according to Osbourne. However, having a professional athlete as one of their educators has become normal – except for when a new student comes to town.
“They follow it, but they’re so used to me now,” Osbourne said. “They’re cool with it. They don’t even care. That’s cool. You can always tell when there’s a new kid on the block. They’re like, ‘Oh my God, he’s a UFC fighter.’ And the other kids are like, ‘Ugh, this kid.’”
At the end of the day, Osbourne hopes to be a positive influencer not only for his school kids, but all children. In this day and age of Instagram role models, Osbourne hopes to provide kids with an alternative influence – a positive one.
“They (tune in) and talk about it stuff like that,” Osbourne said. “They like it. It’s been motivation for them. They all follow me on Instagram and stuff like that. People always ask, ‘You allow your students to follow you on Instagram?’ I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, I let the students follow me on Instagram.’ Because the stuff I see them following, a lot of it doesn’t have any filter or anything.
“So some of the stuff I see them following, I’d rather have them follow someone that’s positive, (someone) doing good things in society and trying to be inspirational – and they’re following Cardi B.”
As for the fight itself, Osbourne is angling to stick out from the pack – and he thinks he will. Fighting on the same card as Conor McGregor, there’s a lot of opportunity to earn new fans.
“On the whole entire card, I’m going to be the best performer,” Osbourne said. “They’re going to look at it and say, ‘The best fighter on that card or the best fight on that card was “The Jamaican Sensation.”‘ That’s my prediction. It’s going to be the best fight on that card.”
UFC 246 takes place Jan. 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
UFC 246's Ode Osbourne hopes to give his students positive alternative role model to Cardi B
