In Brief
- Biaggio Ali Walsh, grandson of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, lost by submission to Gamid Khizriev at PFL Austin, in just 2:32, at lightweight.
- Khizriev locked in a modified “twister,” an extremely rare submission in MMA, forcing his opponent’s immediate tapout.
- The Russian fighter remains unbeaten, improving his professional record to 5 wins, 0 losses.
- Ali Walsh (4 wins, 2 losses) suffers his second career MMA loss by submission.
The PFL Austin preliminary card delivered one of the year’s most spectacular submissions. Matched against unbeaten Gamid Khizriev at lightweight, Biaggio Ali Walsh tried to reverse position from the bottom, before getting caught in a “twister” fully locked in by his opponent. The pain was immediate: Ali Walsh tapped out after just 2 minutes and 32 seconds of action, with no option but to concede the tapout.
The twister, sometimes nicknamed the “Scottish twister” in its modified version, remains one of the rarest submissions in MMA, requiring extreme control and flexibility to pull off. Its rarity makes it a standout moment whenever it occurs on a card, regardless of the standing of the two fighters involved.
Since its introduction into modern MMA, the twister has remained tied to a handful of grappling specialists, the submission requiring simultaneous control of an opponent’s back and hips before forcing a twist of the spine. Its rarity on professional cards (barely a handful of recorded cases in top-level MMA over the past fifteen years) explains why each new occurrence, like Khizriev’s over Ali Walsh, immediately draws the attention of the sport’s technical observers.
Who Is Gamid Khizriev?
With this win, Gamid Khizriev improves his professional record to 5 wins and 0 losses, confirming the prospect status several observers of the Russian circuit had already given him. The fighter, from the Dagestan region, comes from a family already well known in MMA: he is the brother of Timur Khizriev, also signed with PFL, and of Aliaskhab Khizriev, under contract with the UFC. A lineage that fuels the expectations placed on him as he climbs the PFL lightweight ladder.
Ali Walsh, a Name That Carries Weight but a Still-Fragile Path
For Biaggio Ali Walsh, this loss is a reminder of how hard the path he chose really is. A grandson of Muhammad Ali through his mother, the American came to MMA after a college football career, carried by a name that immediately draws media attention and the PFL’s own interest. But over time, his results have been mixed: now at 4 wins against 2 losses, two of them by submission, his path illustrates the gap that remains between inherited name recognition and the technical level required to hold one’s own in a division as deep as the PFL lightweights.
This loss does not call into question Ali Walsh’s place in the organization, the PFL continues to bet on his commercial potential as much as his sporting one, but it confirms the fighter still has work to do, particularly on the ground, if he hopes to one day climb toward the top of the division.
Key Takeaway
Gamid Khizriev produced one of the standout moments of PFL Austin by submitting Biaggio Ali Walsh with a rare twister in just 2 minutes and 32 seconds, staying unbeaten as a professional. A performance that confirms the Russian’s progress, while Ali Walsh will need to rework his ground game if he hopes to turn around his recent results.
