10 February 2024 , 08:00
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It's never wise to pick a fight with the grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali - and a school bully once found out the hard way.
Biaggio Ali Walsh is keeping up the family name as he makes his professional MMA debut later this month at the PFL vs Bellator Champions event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 25-year-old has already put together a respectable amateur record of 6-1 with all of his wins coming by knockout.
Whilst still in his early teenage years, Biaggio recalled one of his first fighting experiences at a house party with some friends. "It was a moment that was very intimidating because the person that kept calling me out at this house party was older than me. He'd graduated high school and I was just going into my freshman year at high school," he told Mirror Fighting.
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"I was intimidated, the dude kept running his mouth all day. He was saying 'Oh you're Ali's grandson? Let's box'. He was doing it all day and when night came, I said 'I don't want to fight, I want to go to sleep'. The other people wanted to see it so we boxed and I left him with a bloody nose, it was nice."
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Ali Walsh may have been known for his grandfather at the time but he didn't have any plans of a fighting career, instead focusing on American football. He eventually fell out love with the sport and turned to an "out-of-control lifestyle", with MMA eventually putting him back on track.
“I never wanted to go professional in football. I always knew that deep down, I think after football is when MMA fell into my lap. I was working at Adidas and trying to figure out my life but I didn’t enjoy anything I was doing. The only thing I liked was going to the MMA gym to train, that’s when I wondered how far I could take it," he added.
Ali Walsh trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas with the likes of former UFC champion Sean Strickland and despite being known for his boxing, he wants to show off a different side of his game in his professional debut. "You might see me wrestle a lot in this next fight, I know people like to see knockouts but I hope I can show off what I've been working on," he added.