Considering his famous grandfather’s faith and connection to the kingdom, Biaggio Ali Walsh recognises the additional significance that comes with making his professional MMA debut in Saudi Arabia this week.
“Absolutely,” the American tells The National. “What are the odds that if somebody would've told my grandfather in his thirties, ‘Hey, you're going to have a grandson, he's going to fight in a new sport called mixed martial arts, and he's going to fight in Saudi Arabia'?
“You would've never guessed stuff like this. What God has written out is the best plan of all. It's crazy, but it means the world to me. And it's just, I don't know, it just feels like the beginning of a good story.”
Ali Walsh’s grandfather has arguably the greatest story of them all. Certainly, one of the most chronicled.
As the surname suggests, and the chosen vocation alludes to, Biaggio is two generations removed from Muhammad Ali, the three-time world heavyweight boxing champion and, for many, the pre-eminent personality in sports history. Ali Walsh’s mother is Rasheda Ali, one of “The Greatest’s” nine children.
Speaking from his bedroom in the Las Vegas base he shares with younger brother Nico, himself a pro boxer, and a couple days out from his first trip to the Gulf, Ali Walsh acknowledges the extra sentiment attached to this weekend.
Six and one as an amateur – he rides a six-bout winning streak having dropped his first fight – the lightweight competes on Saturday night in Riyadh, his pro debut also marking the Professional Fighters League’s inaugural outing in Saudi Arabia.
The background of my grandfather and the respect that he gets in the Middle East, and to be able to fight out there, I'm super excited.
Biaggio Ali Walsh
There, at Kingdom Arena in the capital, Ali Walsh will face Argentina’s Emmanuel Palacio on the much-anticipated “PFL Champions vs Bellator Champions” card.
Given his grandfather became synonymous with fighting in less-traditional boxing backyards – Saudi, granted, is fast becoming a hub for big-time combat sports – this week’s setting for his pro bow feels almost as if it was meant to be.
“Oh yeah; it's just a feather in the hat,” Ali Walsh says. “It means everything. The background of my grandfather and the respect that he gets in the Middle East, and to be able to fight out there, I'm super excited.
“We actually found out when we were in Africa for my brother's fight [in December]. So just to be able to travel all over the world and meet people and fight out there, be able to do the sport that I love, it’s super cool. I wouldn't want any other job.”
Maybe, with that luminous lineage, his path was already marked out. It’s not only their famous grandfather, or the now-professional brothers in combat sport. Aunt Laila Ali retired undefeated from boxing having held all the major belts at super-middleweight, and the IWBF light-heavyweight crown.
“It might just be in our blood,” Ali Walsh confirms. “Maybe it's in our genetics to want to fight.”
Of course, fighting, or more pertinently boxing, was a central component throughout his upbringing. Ali Walsh, 25, remembers watching “almost every single Manny Pacquiao fight” growing up, tuning in also whenever Miguel Cotto or Floyd Mayweather Jr were inside the ring.
“That’s my childhood basically,” Ali Walsh says. “Anytime there was a boxing card, we would have a fight night at the house.”
His grandfather featured prominently then, too. The family would travel to Ali’s residence in Michigan for Thanksgiving or other celebrations, but time together became more frequent when the former boxing star relocated to Phoenix, not far from Vegas.
“I have memories from my entire life up until he passed away [in 2016, aged 74, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease],” Ali Walsh says,
“Since I was super little, to early teens, to high school. There's a countless amount of memories.
“Obviously, he had Parkinson's and it got worse and worse over the years. When I was a lot younger, he could speak a little bit clearer as opposed to when he got older. But a ton of memories. It was clutch to be able to have him live so close to us.”
Understandably, boxing represented an obvious bond; even when Ali’s speech became ever-more slurred as Parkinson’s took tighter hold, depriving one of sport’s great orators of what was perhaps his most potent weapon.
“We used to watch some of his old fights,” Ali Walsh says. “Sometimes he'd be reading a book and, of course, it’s a book about himself and it's his fights and everything.
“We would watch movies as well. Some of our favourite ways to communicate with him was through magic. He loved magic.
“So that was kind of how we communicated with him, through activities like magic, watching a movie, an old fight, drawing. He loved to draw.
“One of the common things he would draw is a little [boxing] ring with two stick figures and then do a bunch of dots around it until it covered the whole napkin, or piece of paper or whatever. The ring with the audience.”
In view of his family tree, they have been more eyes on Ali Walsh right the way through his athletic development, first as he played American football at college level until his introduction to, and swift affinity with, MMA. With that, predictably, comes perhaps unparalleled pressure.
“Absolutely,” Ali Walsh says. “I'm only human. In anything that I do, there's going to be pressure just because of who I'm related to. If I was playing tennis, they would talk about ‘Muhammad Ali's really good, tennis-player grandson’.
“But there's more pressure because I'm in a combat sport. So I definitely have a ton of pressure. Dealing with the pressure is what's most important, though; I think certain things in my life have happened to prepare me for this kind of pressure.
“Like in high school, when my people found out who I was related to, MaxPreps [high school sports magazine] came out with something, and then it just blew up. So the media poured in and the interviews and everything started when I was really young in high school, and same thing in college.
“I didn't get as much when I wasn't playing football in college, but I still had media going on. So all of that stuff before when I was playing football just prepared me for this next chapter in my life to be able to deal with the pressure. I think it's only going to get worse and worse and worse.”
Ali Walsh delivers the last line with a laugh, but he aware of the burden of expectation. It helps, for sure, to have Nico as a sounding board and someone to kind of share the load.
Nico may be two years Biaggio’s junior, but he graduated to pro boxing in 2021. Competing as a middleweight, he is 8-1 since, with one no contest.
“He's actually inspired me a ton,” Biaggio says. “Seeing him start boxing when he was 15 and seeing him stay consistent and just be at where he is today.
“Now we're the two Ali Walsh brothers that fight, and their grandfather is this iconic figure. It's just crazy how everything's happening the way it is.”
It has brought Ali Walsh to Riyadh this week, where he makes the transition from amateur to pro. The decision was made off the back of his most recent fight, last November, when he connected with a powerful hook to “knock out cold” Joel Galarza Lopez in the second round at the 2023 PFL World Championship in Washington.
It marked Ali Walsh’s fifth successive win since joining the PFL. All five have been finishes. None have gone beyond Round 2.
The switch to pro should be seamless, he figures, since he has risen from his second fight taking place “in a warehouse or a barn” in southern Utah to, in the very next bout, competing at Madison Square Garden.
Clearly, the PFL has provided a pretty perfect platform.
“Oh man, it means the world to me, literally,” Ali Walsh says. “Just because they see potential in me. That says a lot to me. And not only that, being Ali's grandson too, it is a great story as well, and it could bring a lot of eyes.
“But that wouldn't matter if I wasn't performing, or I was 0 and five or something. At first, I was very hesitant signing with the PFL. I was at Starbucks with my coach and one of my teammates, and I remember telling them, ‘Yeah, PFL is thinking about signing me. I haven't even won yet, and they want to sign me’.
“So I was super hesitant. But I said, ‘You know what? Anyone who wouldn't take this opportunity would be stupid; this is an opportunity of a lifetime'. So I took that opportunity, and I'm just trying to take more advantage and work my butt off and perform well in the cage.”
Ali Walsh hopes to do that this weekend. He describes the card as “awesome” – it includes four champion-versus-champion bouts, headlined by 2023 PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira against Bellator counterpart Ryan Bader.
He says, as well, that it's an “honour” to be able to compete on the same bill as Yoel Romero, the long-time UFC middleweight title challenger.
“I can't even really put it into words how grateful I feel,” Ali Walsh says, puffing out his cheeks. “I can't find a word. It's weird.”
That it all plays out in Saudi only increases the magnitude.
“I'm a practising Muslim as well, and to be able to go to a Muslim country and fight as a pro on a card like this, it means everything," Ali Walsh says. "I'm super grateful.
“At the end of the day, I always tell myself the fight's just a fight, whether it's here, there or anywhere. And I tell myself this to obviously calm my nerves and stuff, because every fighter gets nervous before fights.
“But yeah, man, it means the world. I don't know how else to put it. My mum's been to Saudi – she went to Jeddah a couple of times – and she loves it.
“I was actually hoping to someday day fight in the Middle East, and it just so happens to be in my first pro fight and first fight this year. It feels like it’s meant to be.”
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Representing%20UAE%20overseas
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PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
More coverage from the Future Forum
The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Read more from Mina Al-Oraibi
All%20The%20Light%20We%20Cannot%20See%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
NBA FINALS SO FAR
(Toronto lead 3-2 in best-of-seven series)
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Game 5 Raptors 105 Warriors 106
Game 6 Thursday, at Oakland
Game 7 Sunday, at Toronto (if needed)
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars
