Float like a butterfly, sting like your grandpa: Biaggio Ali Walsh enters the family business, sort of

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Published: 01 Apr. 2023, 18:59 Updated: 03 Jan. 2024, 16:16

Float like a butterfly, sting like your grandpa: Biaggio Ali Walsh enters the family business, sort of

Biaggio Ali Walsh

Mixed martial artist Biaggio Walsh is a rising star on the Professional Fighters League circuit with two wins to his name and a big fight coming up on April 7.

But there’s one thing that sets Walsh apart from the crowd — his full name is Biaggio Ali Walsh and he is the latest member of one of the greatest fighting dynasties the world has ever seen.

Ali Walsh is the grandson of Muhammad Ali, the American boxer known with very little hyperbole as “The Greatest.” His aunt is undefeated former boxer Laila “Madame Butterfly” Ali and his younger brother Nico Ali Walsh turned pro as a boxer in 2021.

In this May 25, 1965, file photo, Muhammad Ali stands over Sonny Liston after knocking Liston down during their heavyweight championship bout in Lewiston, Maine. [AP/YONHAP]

Biaggio Ali Walsh may have chosen a slightly different sport, but he’s definitely continuing the family tradition.

“I’m at a point now where I think that I was born for this,” Ali Walsh said. “My brother was born for this. My aunt was born for it. I feel like there’s certain people in our family that were just born to fight.

“Sometimes when I go to the gym and I’m sparring and I get my butt whooped, I thank God for that. And I go back the next day and try to get better and better and better. I think that it might be in our blood for sure.”

Ali Walsh fell into mixed martial arts (MMA) after his American football career fell flat when a change in coaching staff at his university saw him suddenly sidelined from the squad.

Considered a top prospect will a full-ride scholarship, Ali Walsh spent some time bouncing between universities before deciding that college football clearly was not working out for him and returning to Las Vegas.

A friend invited him to the gym, and what started out as a way to stay fit quickly grew into his own take on the family industry.

“I went to the gym initially just to stay in shape and learn how to fight,” Walsh Ali said. “Eventually I started to just really love it. I was interning as an assistant strength and conditioning coach and I just remember standing there thinking to myself, ‘I’m 22 years old. Why am I a coach right now? I miss being the athlete.’

“So it was that that moment really, when I was like, you know what? I’m going to take MMA a lot more seriously.”

Ali Walsh signed with the Professional Fighters League, an MMA organization that attempts to organize fights into a more structured format similar to other sports.

Fighting in the amateur lightweight category, Ali Walsh will take on Isaiah Figueroa in his first bout this season on April 7 in Las Vegas.

Walsh Ali sat down with the Korea JoongAng Daily on March 14 to discuss the upcoming fight, his training regimen and what it’s like to grow up as Muhammad Ali’s grandson. The following are edited excerpts.

Q. Your grandfather was Muhammad Ali. What was that like growing up?

A. I had a normal childhood, really. I just had a famous grandfather. I was like any other kid, I had friends at recess and did everything that every other kid did.

But my grandfather was super famous, so growing up, we always kept it a secret. We never went around telling people, “Oh, I’m Muhammad Ali’s grandson.” We were never like that. If somebody found out that that was our grandfather, we’d be like, “who told you?”

My parents made sure that me and my brother Niko were very close with our grandfather and close with our family. It was, honestly, a normal childhood. Except when we were with him, it wasn’t so normal, especially if we went out with him.

If we’d go to a restaurant, somebody would notice that Muhammad Ali had just entered the building and then two people would know and then 10 people know. And eventually the whole restaurant would stand up and start clapping. And as a little kid, I was like, “Oh, Papi must be really important.”

My childhood was pretty normal, but when we were with him, and if we ever went out with him, that’s when it was a little bit abnormal.

Muhammad Ali

You’re currently listed in the amateur category. What does your progression look like from there?

They label my fight as a showcase event, even though it’s still a real fight. But the ultimate goal is to go pro and be signed with the PFL.

I’m still a baby in the game. I’ve only had three fights. I’m planning on getting more and more fights and getting as much experience as I can and then eventually turning pro whenever the time comes.

My goal for this year is to get three or four wins and then see what happens from there. You know, right now I’m just focused on April 7, and then once April 7 is done, I’m going to focus on when I’m going to fight next and I’m just going to try to stack up as many fights as I can.

What does your training regimen look like in the months leading up to a fight?

It’s pretty grueling. I’m in the gym twice a day. I spar twice a week, sometimes once a week, depending on what my body’s telling me.

Usually on Mondays we’ll do wrestling, grappling in the morning and in the evening. Tuesdays I’ll probably hit the bag in the morning and then get ready to spar in the afternoon.

On Tuesday nights I work at one of the nightclubs out here and I don’t get off work until like 5 a.m., so on Wednesday mornings I sleep in a little bit. But then I go to the gym right after and hit the bag or do some grappling.

Thursday is the same as Tuesday and Friday is the same as Monday. And then on Saturday I’ll do some more grappling. But basically it’s every single day, once or twice a day depending on the day.

Biaggio Ali Walsh, left, celebrates after beating Bubba Jenkins in his Professional Fighters League debut on Nov. 25, 2022. [PROFESSIONAL FIGHTERS LEAGUE]

What are the most important skills for a fighter to develop?

For MMA, you’ve got to know how to kickbox, how to box, how to wrestle and some jujitsu. Those, I would say, are the four main pillars of MMA.

Obviously there’s other martial arts like taekwondo. Some guys have taekwondo backgrounds, or karate, Sambo or even judo. But I would say that the four main martial arts to be able to compete and good in MMA are wrestling jujitsu, kickboxing and boxing.

If you’re watching a fight, what are you looking for? What are good indicators that somebody has got some serious skill?

I like to see someone who’s calm, like really calm. That shows a lot of experience. You can run a thousand miles, you can do this and that, but if you’re in a fight and you’re not breathing or you’re too tense, you’re going to gas out quicker than the guy who’s calm. That’s one thing that I look at.

If I’m looking for an opponent, if I’m watching a film on my opponent, I want to see all his tactics. I want to see when he’s jabbing. If he feints before he jabs, if he shoots for a takedown, is his head on the outside or the inside? Does his right hand drop when he throws a jab? Does his left hand drop when he throws the right hand? These are certain things that I look at to try to memorize and know what tactics I’m about to face when I’m entering the cage.

What does the recovery look like after a fight? How long have you got to prepare for the next one?

So far I’ve had at least two months before my next fight. It’s been December, January, February, March. For this fight. It’s been four months. So kind of double the break for me, but I’m okay with that because I’m in the gym all the time and I’m just getting better and better and trying to improve more and more.

When I have four months instead of two months off, I’m thinking, “Oh, okay, well, that’s two extra months to just get better.”

Sometimes, God forbid, an injury happens, so it might be a little bit longer or something. That’s usually how it is. Usually after a fight I’ll take like a week, maybe two weeks off from the gym and kind of just relax. But then I’m back in the gym.

How difficult is it to maintain your weight class?

It’s a little difficult for me because I eat donuts and pizza and all the good food. Come on, I live in Vegas.

As soon as I get a fight, I’ve got to start eating a lot cleaner. I’m only drinking water. Even when I’m not in camp, I’m only drinking water.

Right now, I’ve got meals prepped that are like 300 to 400 calories each meal, which is not that much. I’m used to eating like 900 calories because I like good food.

Are you and your brother Nico fairly competitive? Do you think you could take him in a fight?

Oh, yeah. We used to go at it for sure. I used to beat his butt too, but right now he’d probably beat me in boxing.

Me and my brother, we’ve always been close. We have that big bro, little bro relationship, but we were always very close as little kids and we’re even closer now.

We’re also very supportive of each other. Seeing him accomplish so much was inspiring for me when I was transitioning into MMA. I’d go to Nico and I’d ask him questions about diet, weight cut, mindsets, whatever. I know MMA and boxing are two different sports, but it’s still a fight.

Nico Ali Walsh

Muhammad Ali was famous for his speed. Do you think you’ve inherited that?

For sure yes, 100 percent.

At first it was in my legs when I played football, but now it’s in my hands for sure. I truly believe that speed had to have been passed down.

My brother has it as well. He’s got the power too. I think we both have certain attributes that my grandfather had that just came back, came down genetically. I think in terms of mentality too; a lot of fighting is mental, about 85 percent of it is mental. And I think we both have the mentality to be a champion.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]