Abdul Raheem - The Call From Islam

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Abdul Raheem – The Call From Islam

Written by Dean Sutherland

Edited by Max Power

My name is Abdul Raheem. My life has been a great one and I now plan on dominating the world of MMA. People from my home country call me ‘The Call from Islam’ because of my beliefs and I fight for the Muslim world in MMA every time I step into the cage. I have the one true God Allah on my side and I shall not be defeated in my career. Here is how I got to where I am the now.

I grew up in the Holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. My family was quite well off. My father is a famous doctor in Saudi Arabia and personal doctor of Alwaleed Bin Talal a Saudi Prince. I grew up with my three brothers Muhammed, Dabid and Al Abidu who all followed in my father’s footsteps and became doctors but I on the other hand wanted something else in my life.

Through-out school I was always the toughest guy in the playground which often got me into trouble. By the age of fourteen my father disowned me from the family and banished me from the house when I got put in a youth jail for putting two boys into a coma. Once I was out of jail I stayed in Saudi Arabia, living on the streets and begging for money on most days just to feed myself. By the age of sixteen I got my first job as a body guard of Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He gave me a place to stay and let me train in his gym to keep me fit.
 
I often get asked how my time in jail went in Saudi Arabia. I have to say it is where I became the person I am today. I stopped fighting just for the sake of it. It was easy for me in jail I just had to keep my nose clean and keep my head down and do my time. It was exactly what I had done. There were no drugs or jail house fights for me. I just wanted to put in my time and get out of there as quickly as possible. I was always big for my age so it kept everyone from trying to fight with me so I was fine and did my time and got out of there. I made no friends and kept to myself as it was the best way for me to deal with it. I did my prayers and asked for Allah's forgiveness for what I had done and hopefully he has answered them and did so willingly.
 
Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan then got into the world of MMA. He fell in love with the ground game and became president of the ADCC. While he fell in love with BJJ I fell in love with striking. Watching such strikers as Cro Cop and Wanderlei Silva I wanted to follow in there footsteps. It was the Sheikh that then noticed my skills and wanted to put them to an ultimate test against a BJJ expert in a MMA fight. He had us fight in the gym with no rules. The man I was fighting against was none other than the UFC fighter Mark Kerr undefeated at the time of the fight. He tried to use his wrestling and take me down but as he stood back up from missing the takedown I landed a head kick to his temple and he fell face first on the ground, rendering him unconscious. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan then decided that I had to go and represent his house in a K-1 tournament in Tokyo. 
 
I flew out to Tokyo for the fights. In the first round I was giving an easy opponent who I quickly knocked out in the first few seconds of the fight. I went backstage to prepare for my second round fight when a man approached me and told me I was to go down in the second round and I would be paid ten thousand dollars. Instead I went out there and dropped my opponent in the second round and got myself into the finals. I fought a very tough fighter who lasted to round three before I managed to land a spinning back kick to the face and he went limp. As I went backstage to collect my money for winning I was told to leave and never return to Tokyo again otherwise I would be murdered. A few words were exchanged between my coaches and they told me not to worry about the money and to just leave quickly and take the next flight back to Saudi Arabia. This was sadly the last time I had visited Tokyo.
 
Going home, I visited the Sheikh to tell him what had happened. He paid me one hundred thousand dollars and told me it was time to fight in the United States. The Sheikh wanted me to always remember that I was fighting not only for him but for the people of Islam. It was this moment where I have been given the nickname ‘The Call From Islam’.

He then introduced me to Max Power, my current manager and mentor. He told me that he would help me get fights in the States and was welcome to train at his private gym. We flew out and I met up with my teammates but I instantly wanted to get into the cage and get my first professional fight.

Max got me my first fight in Epic FC. Epic was not in the states but with his own money, Max had funded my flights and accommodation without hesitation. He believed in my potential and in doing so, allowed me to trust him without hesitation.

I entered the Open- weight Division where I made quick work of my opponent, finishing him in the first round. A month later I reentered the cage where I had to face a much tougher opponent. The results were the same, ending the fight with a devastating head kick. Not too long after, I started to earn a reputation for my head kicks, after I had finished my third fight where I broke my opponent’s orbital bone with yet another head kick. Comparisons with Mirko Cro Cop were soon made as a new generation of fighters begun to emerge in the Mix Martial Arts scene. 
 
I then decided to head back to the states where I trained more extensively on the ground, delaying my return to Epic FC. A wise choice as the organization went bankrupt soon after.

I was training full time, two scheduled training sessions a day with the gym and two training sessions outside the gym. Max believed I needed to take a break and purchased me tickets for him and myself to head back to my homeland.

I arrived back in the Middle-East and to my surprise my father was waiting for me at the airport. We went home and spoke to one another. I found out then that he made me leave the family because one of the boys I had beaten up years prior, had a father who was a powerful man. He had threatened to take everything away from me and my family by destroying my family’s practices. My father took me into my old bedroom which had been renovated and was near unrecognizable. As I stepped into the room, I was in shock. It was full of pictures of my fights and interviews I had done around the world. He told me that he would always be my father and was proud I could make something of myself outside of being a doctor. After staying there for a while for rest and recovery I felt rejuvenated and a brand new dedication toward my goals was set.
 
My next fight was in the Ultimate Proving Ground in Las Vegas. I had a very tough opponent whom I was told was a regular competitor in the ADCC from the Sheikh. I went into the fight and for the first time ever in modern MMA history; a lot of Muslim supporters were there. They were cheering my name in Islamic as I had walked towards the cage.

The fight was very straight forward. I had trained very hard my whole life to strike with anyone and I had confidence to knock anyone they put in front of me. Lenikonu Palowunu was a highly skilled opponent on the ground, with a history of wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu so the training camp leading up to the fight had been my Takedown Defense. True to training, Palowunu kept on trying to take me down during the fight. I was also surprised at his stand-up skills and at the beginning of the first round, was hammered with kicks and punches before I found my range and started to return some of my own. I landed a left hand soon after that dropped him and landed more shots until the referee jumped in to end the fight. 
 
Now I have taken the time to train more and decided to keep my goals true and strive to become a legend in MMA. My manager has the exact same goals for me and has funded me well in my training and life outside the cage.

My father has also moved out to the States to become a doctor so that he is able to maintain a relationship with me as well as keep an eye on my injuries should I sustain any during future fights. I still keep in touch with the Sheikh who wants me to go and compete in the ADCC at one point in my career to become the first K-1 and ADCC champion ever. It is something I am considering a lot but for now it is MMA and reaching the elusive pound-for-pound status. In the next few years you will be hearing more from me as I climb the rankings and become not only the best Muslim fighter in MMA but the best fighter in the world.

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