Biaggio Ali Walsh, a grandson of Muhammad Ali, made his debut in mixed martial arts this past weekend.
Muhammad Ali grandson, Biaggio Ali Walsh, loses MMA debut
Biaggio Ali made his first walk to the octagon on Fusion Fight League’s Rumble Under the Rims card this past Friday, June 3. Walsh opened up strong against fellow debutant Devin Rothwell. Biaggio managed to get up from the takedowns in the first round and was displaying strength in the clinch.
Nico Ali Walsh, brother of Biaggio, was in attendance at the event along with family friend and rapper Flavor Flav. The undefeated professional boxer with five wins under his name so far watched on as the Xtreme Couture prospect struggled with his conditioning towards the final seconds of round two.
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The former model and collegiate Football star turned out to be a good draw and kept it competitive in the bout. Biaggio even dropped his opponent with a slick three-punch combination reminiscent of his grandfather’s early days before being taken down quickly.
Rothwell put on a relentless pressure on Biaggio who was unable to defend the takedown attempts. Although he was able to get up early in the fight due to his sheer strength advantage, Biaggio was quickly out of gas due to his lack of technique.
Ali Walsh looked solid with his striking abilities showing a natural penchant for the stand-up exchanges. Rothwell appeared to be more well-rounded with a clear game plan that had him try to takedown repeatedly. He found success with a sloppy takedown that was enough to put Biaggio in a dangerous spot.
From there, Rothwell quickly locked in a rear-naked choke that forced Biaggio Ali Walsh to tap out with just under a minute left in the second round. He may have lost his debut in the sport but Ali Walsh is going nowhere.
Biaggio talked about how the sport gave him a new meaning in life after his collegiate football career was over and with minimal damage in his first showing, he will likely be back soon for another go in the cage.