Sean Strickland had no idea he was sparring with Muhammad Ali’s grandson.
For years, training alongside the former UFC champion at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Biaggio Ali Walsh has gone from a highly touted amateur prospect to a budding MMA superstar while competing under the PFL banner.
After a successful amateur campaign that saw him score six straight finishes, Walsh made his pro debut last year at February’s PFL vs. Bellator event, earning a unanimous decision win over Emanuel Palacio. He’s since added another highlight-reel KO to his resume, putting away Brian Stapleton a mere 55 seconds into their August 2024 clash.
Biaggio Ali Walsh delivers a rocket straight to the dome and gets a quick 1st round stoppage!
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On June 27, he’ll look to go 3-0 when he meets Ronnie Gibbs at the PFL World Tournament in Chicago.
Gearing up for his return to Chi-Town, the 26-year-old spent some time sparring with Strickland in Las Vegas. During a recent session, Strickland inquired about Walsh’s family history. It was then that the UFC star realized he had been throwing hands with the grandchild of ‘The Greatest’ this entire time.
“Sean talks a lot of trash,” Ali Walsh noted in an exclusive interview with Bloody Elbow. In fact, we were literally done sparring yesterday [Tuesday] and he came up to me and he’s like ‘you’re Muhammad Ali’s grandson?’
“I said ‘Sean you didn’t know that? Doesn’t the boxing make sense.’ He started smiling and thought it was really cool… I’m in the PFL and I’m an amateur, that doesn’t really happen, right? I thought it was kind of funny. Xtreme Couture has got a lot of cool guys.”
Biaggio Ali Walsh talks about the pressure of being an amateur fighter on a global stage
Just two fights into his amateur career, the PFL signed Walsh and immediately thrust him into the spotlight. Asked about the experience of cutting his teeth on a global stage, Walsh believes pressure always brings out the best in him, and he recognizes that the pressure will only continue to build as he works his way up the MMA ranks.
“I always felt like I was the best under pressure,” Walsh explained. “That pressure is where I think I’m forced to be the best version of myself. That’s how I deal with it, but it’s going to get worse… My third amateur fight was at Madison Square Garden as the curtain raiser for the world tournament for PFL, I can’t even tell you how scared I was for that.
“I didn’t expect that; my third amateur fight being on this kind of stage. I give a lot of credit to God first of course and also the experience I had with football growing up playing for Bishop Gorman here in Vegas with the lights and cameras.”
