Muhammad Ali's grandson opens up about his drugs and depression hell ahead of huge cage fight that could make him an MMA star

EXCLUSIVE

Many MMA fans think Biaggio Ali Walsh is about to have the biggest fight of his life when he takes on Joel Galarza Lopez in the Professional Fighters League - but the grandson of Muhammad Ali fought a far harder battle when he overcame drug abuse and depression.

The 25-year-old goes into the November 25 bout with a 5-1 record in cage fighting, and is tipped to turn professional if he wins.

With his brother Nico Ali Walsh and aunt Laila Ali making their mark in pro boxing, he'll be continuing the family tradition his granddad started - but MMA is far more to him than a way to make money and find fame.

Before having his first cage fight in June last year, Ali Walsh was struggling badly after he finished playing American football, as he explained to Daily Mail Australia.

'I live in Sin City, Las Vegas, so the access to all types of party drugs and going out, all that stuff, it's here, right in my face,' he said.

'So when I was done playing football I was thinking, "I'm free! I don't have to wake up and go to practice, I don't have to do this and that!" So I did whatever I wanted. 

'Really what I was doing was just numbing myself from the pain I was experiencing mentally. 

'I felt pain because I wasn't getting the opportunities that I expected in football, there was so much expected of me. I was just numbing myself and it didn't help me mentally, emotionally or spiritually. It took me away from that. 

'But since I started training in MMA, took it seriously and decided to fight, it changed my whole lifestyle. MMA forces me to live healthy.'

Thanks to his surname, you'd expect Biaggio to have picked up the family sport of boxing.

When Daily Mail Australia asked why he chose to grapple, kick, choke and arm bar his opponents instead, his answer was revealing. 

'I think growing up I was always the bad kid. I always had an anger issue deep down inside, I don't know where it came from,' he said. 

'MMA is pretty brutal, it's very aggressive, and I think it suits my personality more.'

After losing his first fight when he got choked out, Ali Walsh has reeled off five straight victories, all via striking instead of submission.

And yes, he does have his grandfather - widely regarded as possibly the greatest boxer ever - to thank for some of his success in the cage.

'I've been watching my grandfather's fights since I was a little kid,' he said. 

'I have a favourite fight of his, it's when he fought Cleveland Williams ... he was in his prime, he was the best Muhammad Ali.

'The way he sets up his right hands with his jabs, his fast jabs, that's something I take from his book. The way he throws rights to set up hooks. There are so many things that I've taken from him.'

Surprisingly, Ali Walsh has also learned some lessons from his granddad's greatest rival and the man who handed the GOAT his first loss as a professional.   

'Even Joe Frazier, I watch a lot of Joe Frazier too,' he explained.

'With him it's the left hook. And his head movement, too. 

'It's really funny, my friend Mads Burnell, my teammate, his favourite fighter is Joe Frazier and his style is a lot like Frazier's, so whenever we meet in sparring it's kind of like Ali vs Frazier, because I have to fight like my grandfather and be longer, while he's inside throwing those hooks.' 

Asked whether he's more inspired by what 'The Greatest' did inside or outside the ring, he only takes a split second to answer.

'It's outside the ring,' he said. 

'You see celebrities nowadays, they're kind of arrogant and cocky, they don't want pictures, they don't want autographs.

'But my grandfather, he never said no to a photograph, never said no to an autograph, people were giving him their kids and he's hugging and kissing them, he just spread so much love. You don't really see that that much nowadays. 

'I want to re-set that example that my grandfather set and fighting is the only way I can do that.' 

The 2023 PFL World Championships will be screened from 9am AEDT on November 25, live & exclusive on Stan Sport