It cost Sean Strickland the best part of four years of training with Biaggio Ali Walsh to realize who his famous grandfather is.
Former UFC champion Strickland is one of the loudest and most influential voices in the Xtreme Couture Gym in Las Vegas, where Ali Walsh has tightened his skills from amateur level to the pro ranges. Now the 26-year-old competes in PFL, where he returns to Chicago on 27 June.
It is a well -known fact about not only Biaggio, but his brother Nico Ali Walsh that they are the grandsons of boxing icon Muhammad Ali. Strickland, however, only noticed this week when he asked his teammate about his family history.
Sean Strickland has needed for years to realize that Biaggio Ali Walsh is the grandson of Muhammad Ali
After years of training together, Sean Strickland and Biaggio Ali Walsh have developed something of a friendship in Las Vegas. However, they were clearly not close enough for Strickland to notice the famous last name of his teammate, or the reason why he fights as an amateur on ESPN.
Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
“Sean talks a lot of waste,” Ali Walsh noted in an exclusive chat with Bloodyelbow. In fact, we were literally finished sparring yesterday [Tuesday] And he came to me and he is like “You're the grandson of Muhammad Ali?”
“I said,” Sean, you didn't know? Is boxing not logical. ” He started to smile and thought it was really cool … I am in the PFL and I am an amateur, that doesn't really happen, right?
Biaggio Ali Walsh distinguishes his skills in the PFL
After only two amateur fights, Biaggio Ali Walsh was registered with the PFL in 2022, where he had the chance to fight on a huge stage during training. He accepted five amateur attacks before he was transferred to the professional ranks last year.
He is currently 2-0 as a professional and takes on Ronnie Gibbs when he returns to his hometown of Chicago on 27 June. “I always had the feeling that I was under the best,” he explained. “That pressure is where I think I am forced to be the best version of myself.
“That is how I deal with it, but it will get worse … My third amateur fight was in Madison Square Garden as the curtainraiser for the world tournament for PFL, I can't even tell you how scared I was.
“I did not expect that; my third amateur fight was on this kind of stage. Of course I give God a lot to God and also the experience I had with football that grew up with playing for Bishop Gorman here in Vegas with the lights and cameras.”