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LAS VEGAS — When he wasn't bamboozling his boxing opponents in the ring or advocating human rights causes outside of it, Muhammad Ali charmed children around the world with magic.
Ali befriended Caesers Palace hypnotist Jimmy Grippo, spent time with David Copperfield backstage after the illusionist's Las Vegas shows, and had a personal magic man called Terry La Sorda teach him tricks, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
One of Ali's favorite tricks was levitation — something he was able to keep doing long after he started to suffer from Parkinson's, author Martin J. Smith reported.
Few people loved Ali's magic more than his grandson Biaggio Ali Walsh.
Speaking to Insider by the training cages at Xtreme Couture MMA in Las Vegas, ahead of his ultimate fighting debut for PFL MMA at the Hulu Theater in New York City on November 25, Ali Walsh recalled the legend of his grandfather.
"It's weird," the 24-year-old said. "I always looked at him as this icon when I wasn't with him, but when we were together he was always, just, my grandfather.
"There's this grey area of confusion," Ali Walsh said. "I watched his fights, heard his trash talk. Then I'm with him and part of me thinks about how I was just watching him knock George Foreman out on YouTube.
"But, at the same time, we're doing magic tricks, watching classic Western movies, and horrors."
This year has been a stand-out one for Ali's descendants in combat sports.
Laila Ali, a women's boxing icon, was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame earlier in the summer.
Nico Ali Walsh has extended his unbeaten run as a prospect boxer, and Biaggio makes his eagerly anticipated MMA debut against Tom Graesser in the prelims during PFL's big pay-per-view event later this month.
"You know what?" Biaggio told Insider. "This might be our year."
Biaggio is Nico Ali Walsh's brother. Their mother, Rasheda Ali, is one of Muhammad Ali's daughters. Laila is Biaggio and Nico's aunt.
Pursuing another sport seems counterintuitive ,considering how boxing must coarse through the veins of Ali's bloodline.
For Biaggio, though, it was a natural fit. He even told us Muhammad himself may have dabbled in MMA had the sport been as popular 70 years ago as it is today.
"He did have that exhibition fight with the wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976," Biaggio said.
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Ali Walsh was an accomplished high school football player and earned a male athlete of the year award from the Review-Journal in 2016 after helping guide Gorman Bishop to the state championship.
After a brief stint playing at Cal-Berkeley in 2018, Ali Walsh returned to southern Nevada for a briefer spell with UNLV.
During this time, he had already become obsessed with Conor McGregor, who had peaked with his UFC featherweight win, his UFC lightweight win, and a lucrative foray into boxing for a landmark bout against Floyd Mayweather.
Once Ali Walsh called time on his football career, a friend of his took him to Xtreme Couture for grappling and kickboxing training — and the rest is history.
"I came here and I just fell in love," he said. "I kind of just dove into it and told myself, 'I'm gonna do this.'"
Ali Walsh is, obviously, a born striker. He's still an Ali, after all. However, he learned ground game, said he competed in a North American Grappling Association (NAGA) tournament, and won a match by triangle submission.
Despite competence on the mat, he still loves to punch. "I like to throw them bombs," he said. "I like to stand up and bang, like, to see what you got."
Photo by Professional Fighters League (PFL MMA)
Any Ali family member who competes in pro fighting will have a target on their back.
It is something Nico Ali Walsh told Insider earlier this year, ahead of one of his knockout wins on ESPN.
Nico recalled his aunt Laila pulling him aside prior to one of his amateur bouts, to tell him that all pro fighters would be doubly determined to finish him in the ring so that they could tell a story about knocking out one of Muhammad Ali's descendants.
Biaggio, too, feels that target but uses it as motivation to ensure that when his opponents produce their best night, he also produces his.
"People are going to want to knock out my grandfather's grandsons," Ali Walsh said. "People are going to want to hurt me, and stuff like that, but it makes me want to be more prepared.
"This sport is 90% mental and 10% physical. So, I don't just train physically — I train my mental side, too. I talk to psychologists, I meditate, and I do all types of things that could help my mental game. And it's working.
"I know I'm gonna have a target on my back for my entire career — and that's okay."
