It took former UFC champion Sean Strickland nearly four years of training alongside PFL fighter Biaggio Ali Walsh before he realized Biaggio is the grandson of the legendary boxing icon, Muhammad Ali.
Strickland, known for his outspoken personality, is a prominent figure at the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas. This is where Ali Walsh honed his skills, progressing from amateur to the professional ranks. Biaggio, 26, is currently competing in the PFL and is set to fight again on June 27 in Chicago.
While it`s widely known that both Biaggio and his brother, Nico Ali Walsh, are the grandsons of Muhammad Ali, Strickland apparently remained unaware of this fact until recently. He made the discovery just this week when he inquired about his teammate`s family history.
Years of Training Without the Realization
Despite years of training together in Las Vegas, Sean Strickland and Biaggio Ali Walsh`s friendship hadn`t reached a depth where Strickland noticed the famous Ali surname or considered why Biaggio was fighting on major platforms like ESPN during his amateur career.
Ali Walsh shared the humorous moment in a recent interview.
“Sean talks a lot of trash,” Ali Walsh noted. “We were literally done sparring yesterday, 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`s PFL Journey
Biaggio Ali Walsh joined the PFL in 2022 after only two amateur fights. This provided him with the unique opportunity to fight on a significant stage while still developing his skills. He competed in five amateur bouts under the PFL banner before turning professional last year.
He currently holds a 2-0 professional record and is preparing to face Ronnie Gibbs when he fights in his hometown of Chicago on June 27. Ali Walsh discussed his approach to dealing with pressure:
“I always felt like I was the best under pressure,” he explained. “That pressure is where I think I’m forced to be the best version of myself. That’s how I deal with it…”
He recalled a particularly challenging early experience:
“…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.”
Ali Walsh credited his background playing football at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, with its environment of “lights and cameras,” for helping him handle the spotlight.
