VERBAL TAP (Episode 62) with Joe Wilk

[buzzsprout episode='155518' player='true']

Raf’s Recollection | Joe Wilk is not afraid to beat the shit out of John Travolta.

Yeah, he went there.  Let’s hear you get that kind of exclusive out of him on another MMA podcast.

Of course, we already know that when you talk to someone with the sharp wit of Joe “The Nose” Wilk, you will easily walk away from the conversation with at least a dozen killer soundbites.

Verbal Tap devotees might recall, Joe stopped by last year to talk about his fight team, his gym, and how he guided Kevin to the promise land of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

And after taking a year off to recover from injury, we are stoked to hear he will be fighting on March 15th over at Ralston Arena in Kansas (https://www.cagetix.com/).  If you’re in the area, you have no choice, you must go.  Joe Wilk is a fighter who makes sure you get your money’s worth.  From the promos to the walk out to the crazy fight style, Joe makes sure you are entertained from start to finish.

On the podcast, we got the chance to ask Joe what it was like to train with just one hand (also, Joe wants to make sure that I write that he tapped out all of his purple belts with said one hand), reveals his Victory Fighting 42 game plan, and tells us how he would beat up famous celebrities (and Kevin!).

And if you continue listening to the podcast after Joe gets off the line, I think you’ll be entertained by the way we outline Kevin's strategy to beating Joe Wilk in a jiu-jitsu match-up.

But Wait, There’s More

In the spirit of the Oscars, Kev and I decide to hand out a handful of awards to some of the most notable MMA Headlines for your entertainment.  Such awards include: Best Use of TRT, Best KO Everyone Read About (Because No One Saw It), and Best Dicktease (just listen to it, we’re a grown up talk show, I promise).

And, I don’t want to give anything away here, but there may be a special guest appearance from a recently retired UFC Welterweight Champion.

What I’m saying is, “GSP” makes an appearance.  So listen in for that.

And Don’t Forget

Throw places at me to train out here in Los Angeles.  Hit me up at @VerbalTapCast on the Twitter and hashtag #TrainHereRaf.

VERBAL TAP (Episode 26) with Dave "The Caveman" Rickels

[buzzsprout episode='96046' player='true']

Raf's Recollection | You still can't convince me that Dave "The Caveman" Rickels is not the illegitimate love child of Will Ferrell.  Deny it all you like, but I dare you to look at the accompanying photo over on the right hand side and tell me otherwise.

Aside from the uncanny resemblance to the comic legend, Rickels also shares the same appreciation for bombast and ironic detachment.  I mean, this is the same guy who once walked out to one of his fights like this.

However, let's get one thing straight: Rickels is more than just a court jester.  This is a man who endued not one, but two Bellator tournaments and has memorably finished more than 60% of his fights.

And, as he puts it, he may not have a style that you can really define, but he'll definitely go out there and put on a show in the cage.

Which is why we were beyond stoked to have "The Caveman" join us right as news broke that he would be getting a title shot against Bellator Lightweight Champ, Michael Chandler, on July 31st.

And our EXCLUSIVE chat with the Lightweight contender goes everywhere.  In addition to giving us a preview in his title match against Chandler, The Caveman takes us on a journey that's part-discussion about strippers, part-discussion on the types of foods that the Caveman sneaks in while training for a fight (let's just say the man is a connoisseur of both).

In fact, there's a distinct moment in the podcast where Rickels was *this close* to making us second guess the name of our podcast/website (The name he throws at us in the podcast certainly has a ring to it, especially considering how much Kevin and I bicker).

And, of course, what discussion with a Combat Sports Center member would be complete without some kind of competition attached?  In here, Rickels calls out fellow CSC training partner, Joe "The Nose" Wilk, to a competition that we look forward to hosting on our website sometime later this summer.  For more details, just listen to the podcast.

In other news...

Kevin and I also decided to try out a new thing on the show.  We happened to be recording just as the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly referred to as "Worlds") came to a close. A few minutes after the final results of the competition were posted, I happened to stumble upon a link of the video posted below.  Because Kevin and I are such jiu-jitsu nerds (and suckers for multitasking), we decided to take time watch the final match between Rodolfo Vieira and Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida on-air.  That's right, the beginning of the podcast features play-by-play commentary by yours truly and one K. Phillips.

No, we don't do a service to the good people who teach us jiu-jitsu, but what we lack in general knowledge, we more than make up for in stupidity and pop culture references. Frankly, we both had a blast doing it and you can definitely expect to see more of these in the future.  So go ahead and cue up the match as you listen to the very beginning of the podcast to join in on the fun (Our eternal thanks to JiuJitsuTVPR for being so quick to post this!)

CORRECTION: During the shout outs, I incorrectly gave the location for Captain Derek Herrera's fundraiser (my apologies to our good friend Mr. Phil Sparagna and company, I'm sometimes functionally illiterate).

The fundraiser is actually going down in Coronado Firehouse Bar and Grill in California.  If you're in the So Cal area and are interested in helping a wounded warrior and fellow MMA/BJJ practitioner out, give the following link a view and head on over to the bar on Saturday June 8th!