Muhammad Ali's grandson Biaggio Ali-Walsh is putting his football and modelling career on the sidelines to pursue MMA full-time.
Ali-Walsh makes his amateur MMA debut tonight against Devin Rothwell at F usion Fight League. The 23-year-old was signed to the University of California's football team, the Berkeley Bears, but has since ditched to dedicate his future to fighting.
He started training MMA at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas at the start of Covid-19 pandemic. Over two years later and Ali-Walsh will step into the cage for the first time and he credited the sport for improving his mental state.
After college football I felt very lost and didn’t like where my life was heading," he told FITE TV. "Pursuing MMA makes me feel more emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally positive. I did no previous combat sports before MMA. I was always just a huge fan of martial arts and boxing.
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"I have been training MMA for about two and a half years now. Covid hit shortly after I began training so there was obviously a little delay but I worked out in the garage during that time. I train everyday two or three times a day. I want to become a champion, the organisation or promotion doesn't matter. I want to make a name for myself and continue the tradition of fighting in my family."
"I would say that growing up in the world of boxing would make me a striker but I do find myself pretty well-rounded. I began training with no specific base and started learning all the disciplines at the same time."
Ali-Walsh will follow the hopes of his brother Nico, who is 5-0 in boxing, in trying to become a combat sports world champion. He admitted it's hard to fight a balance between modelling and training and will only entertain future modelling opportunities if it fits around his MMA schedule.
"There is no balance between modelling and training because I am rarely ever modelling," he continued. My last modelling job was in 2020 so those type of gigs do not happen so often. I am solely focused on finishing college and getting better in the gym. If a paid modelling job were to come up, I want to make sure it works around my school and gym."
