23 August 2023 , 16:14
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Muhammad Ali's grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh struggled with drinking and drug abuse after failing to land a spot in the NFL before turning to Mixed Martial Arts.
The 24-year-old PFL prospect was a standout college football player, but missed the cut with major teams and appeared to be out of luck following graduation. And as he struggled to come to terms with his future while living in Las Vegas with a famous surname and unlimited nightlife options, he turned to alcohol and later drugs.
It wasn't until Ali Walsh found the Xtreme Couture gym in Nevada that he decided he wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and pursue fighting. Although a different discipline to the great one, as well as his brother Nico, he has no doubt that Ali would be proud of how he's doing, earning himself a contract with the sport's No.2 promotion before even turning professional.
“What’s weird is when I played football and I got into college I never wanted to go pro in football," he told Mirror Fighting ahead of his return tonight in New York City. “I don’t know what it was there was just something in my heart that didn’t want to go pro and when I was done with football I was just depressed and lost.
“I was doing a lot of stupid stuff, going out, trying dumb stuff and when I found MMA it gave me something to look forward to. I would go to the gym and record my sparring, I’d want to improve on the sparring and in a sense I think this sport changed my life in a way.”
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He has yet to lose under the PFL banner, landing three first round knockouts with another big performance expected at Madison Square Garden's Theatre. Within a few months of signing with the promotion he's already being touted for a professional turn and has the glare of the ESPN and DAZN spotlight, which he feels is a result of his hard work after his post-football struggles.
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“I think it saved me because I didn’t like the lifestyle that I was going down when I was done playing football," he continued. “Being in Las Vegas there’s a lot of drinking and partying and a lot of stupid stuff. When I was done playing football I felt free. I just felt free, I didn’t have a sport that I had to stay disciplined in so I’d go out a lot, drink a lot, try different drugs - I admit to it 100 per cent.
“I just did not like the lifestyle I was heading towards, I became depressed, I’d cry myself to sleep some nights. I felt like I had no purpose, I became this potential big football star and now I’m in a room full of losers, really, and I’m trying stupid stuff. I became severely depressed.”
"I worked at Adidas and quit to become an intern assistant strength and conditioning coach at an Athletic facility in Vegas. When I was working there a lot of the guys I was training were guys that I knew over at Xtreme Couture. I remember looking at them and I was like, ‘I miss being an athlete, I miss putting in this hard work and having a goal in mind.’
“I just told myself, ‘You know what? I’m only 22-years-old, I’m just going to go for it and see how far I can go into the sport of MMA.’ So far so good, I’m still only an amateur but the sky is the limit.”
Ali Walsh lost his debut, but didn't allow himself to stay down, insisting that he was never tempted to return to his old lifestyle after tasting defeat. “After that fight I wanted to fight the next week," he insisted. "I had a vengeance after that… kind of like a movie.
“After that I was sad that I lost but I was glad that I still did well, I dropped the guy, I still was doing really, really good in the fight. I just wasn’t breathing. I think in a fight you should be breathing! You’re going to gas out if you’re not and you’re holding your breath the whole time. After that, I was just ready to get back to it.”
Biaggio Ali Walsh takes on Ed Davis at the Theatre in Madison Square Garden tonight live on DAZN. UK Viewers can tune in from 11pm.