Growing up as the grandson of Muhammad Ali was a blessing for up-and-coming mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Biagio Ali Walsh.
Walsh, now 25, has many fond memories of his grandfather, a legendary boxer known as “The Great,” despite Ali having Parkinson’s disease as a child.
He remembers watching Westerns with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood at Thanksgiving, watching Ali do magic tricks, drawing pictures with him, and reading books with him — in 1974. Most are about Ali, including his legendary Rumble in the Jungle fight with George Foreman.
But Walsh loved boxing and used to hit mitts and bags at his uncle’s gym. Although his younger brother Nico has become a professional boxer, he had no interest in seriously pursuing martial arts and instead played American football. And his grandfather never encouraged him to fight.
Nevertheless, being Ali’s grandson meant being dragged into street brawls by people who wanted to show off. When he was a 14-year-old freshman, a high school senior forced him to box at a friend’s house party.
“We ended up boxing and I beat him,” Walsh told Al Jazeera with a laugh.
Walsh entered MMA and quickly rose to prominence just a few years later, at the age of 22, angry and depressed. He signed with Professional Fighters League Promotions in September 2022.
It’s been a steep learning curve for Walsh, who is primarily a striker with a 5-1-0 record and is currently preparing for a lightweight bout with Joel Lopez on the undercard of next month’s 2023 PFL World ( He is training for a record of 3 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws. Championship in Washington DC.
If Walsh wins, he could go full pro and hasten his journey to achieving his dreams, but he says it’s not about the belt, it’s more spiritual and altruistic.
“I fell in love with this sport and it changed my whole life. Mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually,” he told Al Jazeera online from Las Vegas, where he is based. Ta.
“This sport has brought me closer to God.”
“I forgot my purpose.”
Walsh played American football and studied film in college. But after that didn’t work out, he took a job as an assistant strength and conditioning coach and considered going into real estate. But nothing seemed to fit him.
“I felt like I missed being an athlete. I missed striving for something and having some sort of purpose,” he said.
During that time, he fell into depression and turned to drinking and drugs.
“I was kind of spiraling down this dark road,” he said. “And that’s what inspired me to fight and come back into the light. [Training was] The only thing that excited me. ”
His friends and clients frequented the Extreme Couture mixed martial arts gym in Las Vegas, home to UFC fighters such as Sean Strickland, Chris Curtis and Dan Ige.
And he became a fan of mixed martial arts, preferring the versatile sport to the more specialized field of boxing.
“[MMA is] Kind of like a street fight. You can’t just punch someone, you can also kick them in the head, knock them down, choke them, etc. ” he said with a laugh. “You have a choice.”
He made his amateur debut in June 2022. However, he became so nervous that he clenched his teeth, forgot to breathe, lost the match, and ended up in the hospital.
But the second match “was like night and day,” he said. “I was very calm and then it just kept getting better and better.”
But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t nervous about making his PFL debut on the undercard of the 2022 World Championship at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where his grandfather fought many times.
“I was about to commit myself! I was scared,” he said.
However, he won that fight and all three subsequent bouts by first-round knockout.
However, he still could not afford to fully devote himself to learning combat techniques and worked late as a bouncer in a nightclub.
After his last fight, a second-round knockout over Ed Davis at Madison Square Garden in August, he quit that job and was able to rely on sponsorships and income from Only Fans, but this hastily added that the post was not included. Racy content.
Walsh believes the undefeated Lopez, who fights on November 24th, will be his toughest opponent yet. But he is also keen to play against equally attacking strikers.
“I feel like those fights are the most exciting. I mean, look at everyone. [UFC star] Justin Gaethje. “He’s such a fan favorite because he’s got a banger,” he said. “That’s what I really value.”
‘Be humble’
Walsh said his growing faith has helped him cope with the nerves and pressures that come with fighting and being Ali’s grandson.
“I think it’s very important in a sport like mixed martial arts to have a very strong relationship with God, because you’re going there and you don’t know if you’re going to die,” he said.
Although he grew up Muslim, Walsh says he didn’t know much about his religion until he started fighting, but it inspired him to learn more and evolve as a person.
“If you read the Quran, it says: [material success] That’s not what really matters. “What’s really important is to have a good relationship with God, to do good deeds, to accumulate good deeds, and to be kind to others,” he said.
“For example, when you die, you don’t get a Ferrari, you don’t get a house, you don’t get anything. You get who you are as a person and what you worshiped.”
He also recalls advice he received from his grandfather, who made a name for himself with his poetic trash talk and braggadocio, but also parlayed his success into activist and humanitarian work.
“I would say the biggest piece of advice he gave me was to stay humble,” he said.
Walsh said he wants to use his success to help others, especially the homeless, and he also wants to use martial arts to rescue children from underprivileged or abusive homes.
“I’m not rich yet. But when I’m rich, this is what I want to do…I don’t really care about not having a belt, I don’t care about my record or anything like that,” he said. .
“I just want to be an exciting fighter. Then I think I can get funding to help a lot of people.”
