Altamimi Says Nearly Five Years of Depression Followed Bellator

Adel Altamimi stayed away from competition for close to five years and was not sure he would ever fight again. The former Bellator fighter is now 3-0 in bare-knuckle boxing and says the sport fits him better than anything he has tried. On October 10 he faces Tom "Tits" Mowbray at BKB 60 in Newcastle's Utilita Arena.

Mowbray is a late replacement. Liam Howell had been named as Altamimi's opponent earlier in September, and Altamimi confirmed the switch in a recent interview. All three of his bare-knuckle wins came inside the distance: David Mora in round three in April 2025, Jay Eggleston in round one at BKB 51 and Eduardo Perez de la Paz in round four at BKB 56 in July.

From Baghdad to the Kyokushin mats

His fighting life began at nine in Baghdad. His older brother had wanted to train Kyokushin karate before he died, and Altamimi took up the idea. He calls himself a "bad kid" who was often in trouble for fighting at school, and he got his father's permission to train on the condition that he kept studying.

"I found Kyokushin karate was kind of home, kind of therapy," Altamimi said. "It was everything to me at that time."

He estimates he had more than 400 contests in tournaments where a run to the final could mean four or five fights in a day. He remembers fighting while bruised, bleeding and hurt, with more opponents still waiting.

Away from sport, he worked as a contractor and convoy driver alongside the US Marines during the Iraq War. He was captured with his cousin and best friend by Al-Qaeda and rescued by Marines, an episode that featured heavily in coverage when he arrived in Bellator. People still ask him about it, and he does not mind. "It is part of my story and this is who I am," he said.

The break and the return

After his last Bellator fight, his priorities changed. He opened a business, lost his father and put on weight. He describes nearly five years of depression. When he thought about coming back, he wanted something direct, and bare-knuckle boxing offered that.

"I wanted something aggressive, something really crazy, because it was a big challenge with myself," he said. "I started doing it and fell in love with it. I felt it was better than any sport I had ever done."

The win over Perez de la Paz earned Fight of the Night. Altamimi recalls putting his opponent down again and again, and seeing him get back up. His corner told him to keep fighting. "I didn't feel my body," he said. "There was no more body; it was only mental."

He says he asked BKB for a path to the championship as soon as he signed. Rolando Dy defends the super-welterweight title against Scott McHugh in the BKB 60 main event. "The second I signed with BKB, I told them I wanted the belt," Altamimi said. "I hope after this one I will get the belt."

Source: LowKick MMA