Biaggio Ali Walsh, the grandson of Muhammad Ali. When Biaggio Ali Walsh cut his college football career short, the grandson-of-a-legend went off the rails after turning to alcohol as his life spiralled out of control.
The 24-year-old was in a bad place after falling out of love with American football and admitted he turned to a lifestyle of partying, something that goes against his religion.
Walsh is now making waves in the Professional Fighters League and boasts an amateur record of 2-1, with both his wins coming by first round knockout.
The grandson-of-a-legend who trains at the world-renown gym Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas has credited MMA for turning his life around.
“When my football career was over, I was lost. I lost control, I was a big party animal,” Walsh told Mirror Fighting. “I was going out, doing stupid stuff and trying new things. I didn’t like the lifestyle I was heading down and I just found myself very confused and lost. I didn’t know what to do, I felt like I had no purpose anymore.
“I got an internship at a sports facility and was also working at Adidas. When I was interning a lot of the fighters I worked with came from Xtreme Couture, where I train. I thought why I am coaching these guys at 22-years-old? I didn’t want to have questions later on in life about ‘Would I have been a good fighter?’. That’s when I told myself I’m going to just go for it and that way I’ll be a lot happier in the end.”
“When I started taking it more seriously, I found myself getting away from that lifestyle because you can’t be a party animal and then train MMA expecting to do good in the gym. You’re going to gas out sooner and get your a** whooped, that’s exactly what happened. I thought to myself ‘I’m going to choose this route instead of that road’ and ever since then I have felt better, my life has opened up in a whole new way.”