VERBAL TAP (Episode 46) with Cody Bollinger and Sarah Moras

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Raf's Recollection | One of my favorite things about watching people tweet during The Ultimate Fighter is the amount of vitriol that’s spewed at a fighters’ direction.  Certainly, we are no strangers to having fun at the expense of the cast members, but you won’t often find me or Kevin telling the fighters how much better we are than them.

Or how we, ourselves, would have acted so much better in a given situation.

For the record, these are my favorite kinds of tweets, #Humblebrags at the expense of a fighter’s success or misfortune.

Hindsight is a wonderful gift, and I’m sure only a handful cast members ever really know the pressure that comes with living in a house like that for six weeks.

Which is why when Cody Bollinger agreed to come on the podcast, I thought it might be a good idea to read some of the tweets the internet wrote about him (hope one of them was yours, you might have to listen in!)

If you haven’t seen the episode yet (and are patiently waiting for the “One Minute Review” to catch you up to speed), let’s just say things didn’t go well for Cody on last week’s episode.

In fact, they kind went “Dana Meeting” bad.

To his credit, Cody showed up, listened in on our “One Minute Review,” made some comments about the episode, Coach Miesha Tate, and, yes, even responded to some the interesting tweets written about him.

Right after our interview with Cody, Sarah Moras stops by.  Sarah’s been one of my favorites on the TUF because of her awesome talking head segments.

She has a very honest speaking style that never pulls any punches (even when talking about herself).

Sarah describes her history with some of the other TUF cast members, talks a little bit about her trademark arm bar, details where her fighting travels have taken her, the types of guys she trains with and even speaks a little bit about her interactions with the winner of TUF:18’s Best Cameo award, Tim Gorman.

And, in my favorite part of the podcast, Sarah tells us an extended (and much better version) of how she got into MMA and reveals how the very funny "Peggy Morgan is a 'giraffe'" comment happened.

If you get the chance, go support her and our friends over at FightForSomething.ca.  You can pick up one of her fighter t-shirts right here!

Gentleman’s Agreement

One thing that amazes me about the sport of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is the amount of respect displayed between teammates.  It’s one of the reasons I like the sport so much.  I’ve always been the type of person who thrives in team environments and I love that while gyms do a great job at refining an individual’s abilities, it's typically done through a strong team dynamic.

Having said that.  I’m still really confused about the part where you let a teammate win via gentleman’s agreement.

For those not in the know: There is a practice in competitive BJJ where two members of the same team will settle final matches in a jiu-jitsu tournament through a prearranged agreement (where the two fighters do not have to fight).

Yes, you can win a tournament this way.  Yes, it happened at worlds this weekend.

Granted, I recognize what a terrible human being I am.  And, believe me, I’m no authority when it comes to any matter competitive BJJ.  Additionally, I completely understand not wanting to create a rift between teammates—and I even kind of get that it’s the “right thing” to do—but it’s still kinda weird to me.

However, the gentleman’s agreement thing got me and Kev to wonder how a black belt finals match at Worlds between us would look like (I’ll pause for your laughter).  Aside from hilarious and highly improbable, I’d still love to hear what you all think about this BJJ practice.

But Wait, There's More!

We also play another installment of Over/Under Kevin about this week's UFC's Fight for the Troops 3.

Give a listen and let us know what you think of Kevin's picks!

VERBAL TAP (Episode 45) with Josh Hill and Julianna Pena

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Raf's Recollection | Take it easy on Kev this week, gang.  It's been a rough couple of days.

When we finished recording the podcast on Sunday, Kev and I had what we considered to be one of our best episodes.  In fact, Kevin was so pleased with the way things were turning out during the editing phase, he actually sent me several texts just to say how awesome the episode was.

Of course, we didn't know this at the time, but that euphoric sentiment would turn out to be the kiss of death.

Just moments after putting the final touches on the podcast (and right as he was uploading it to our site), Kevin happened to notice that his audio went missing.  Something happened during the conversation process that eliminated a significant portion of Kevin's vocal track.

Now, while the thought of having a Kevin-less podcast is something that sounds fantastic in theory, just think about how crazy I would have come off.  Oh sure, my voice would make it seem like I was in the middle of a conversation with someone else, but the large chunks of radio silence from Kevin would have made me sound downright insane.

Just to give you an idea of how the podcast would have sounded without Kevin, please consider the following visual metaphor on the right hand side here.

Anyway, Kev took the day to get his head together and we (somehow) managed to slab together a podcast for your listening pleasure.

In fact, I don't know if it's a testament to his talent or a slight on the production value we normally carry on this dog and pony show, but you can hardly tell there were any major audio problems in this podcast (and if you do, keep it to yourself, please. No one likes a show-off).

Nonetheless, should you feel so inclined, send Kev a nice message (@PhillipsKevin1 on the Twitter) to let him know his efforts are appreciated.  We'll go back to treating him like shit next week.

The Gentleman

While I don't have the kind of extreme beef that Dana White does with "The Gentleman," Josh Hill, I do give him a little bit of grief on the podcast.  It has nothing to do with his (ironically stated) struggle of growing up "really, really ridiculously good looking" or even the fact that he has a truly impressive grappling record of 36-1 (North American Grappling Association).

It has more to do with the fact that he's so damn polite.

It's almost upsetting.

While Dana's spared no expense telling us what a "one trick pony" Josh Hill is throughout the season, I wasn't very surprised when the extremely well-mannered Canadian did the extremely well-mannered Canadian thing of not talking shit about Dana White (the nerve of this guy!).

But that doesn't stop me from trying to prod.  And I'd even like to think we got him to have a couple moments of (dare I say?) "edge" during our interview, where we also ask about his MMA journey, his family's roots in pro wrestling, and his fight against former-opponent-turned pal, Mike Wootten.

We even issue a challenge for the next time he comes on the podcast.  Let's see if he's got the stuff to prove us wrong.

The Vixen

I suppose we could have subtitled this podcast "The Gentleman and The Vixen" (I swear this wasn't by design, I'm only stupidly realizing this now), but we also get the chance to talk with the "Venezuelan Vixen," Julianna Pena.

As one of the first TUF cast members to fight (and therefore share their narrative), we've arguably gotten to know more about Julianna than most of her fellow cast members this season.  We certainly touch on topics like the letters she wrote to her teammates, how it felt to be portrayed as the underdog, and even got to ask if she felt her housemate makeovers paid off.

However, I'll put this out there right here and now:  One of our questions brings out one of the most unexpected stories Kev and I have ever heard on the podcast.  It's a story that not only helps identify what makes Julianna so mentally and physically tough, but also gives you an idea of why she fights.  It's an awesome story and, frankly, I'm happy she was willing to share it with us.

Additionally, if you happen to be in the Spokane, Washington area, be sure to support Julianna's team at Northern Quest Resort and Casino's "Conquest of the Cage," as both her brother-in-law and her training partner Elizabeth Phillips will be fighting in the co-main event.  Tickets for that fight can be found right here.

Odds and Ends

Among some of the Odds and Ends topics that make it onto the podcast this go round include: Which UFC Fighter would make a great WWE Superstar, how good of a public speaker is Dana White, and why we can't stop talking about Lyoto Machida's scarf.

All this and more on this week's podcast!

VERBAL TAP (Episode 42) with Tim Kennedy

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Raf's Recollection | Tim Kennedy wants to die fighting a set of bionic sharks underwater.

Yes, you read that correctly.

That’s really all you need to know about the guy to understand the man (the myth, the legend) that is Tim Kennedy.

Few people truly embrace their inner-crazy the way that Tim Kennedy does. He knows he’s crazy and doesn’t care. In fact, he wants you to embrace the crazy. Should you need further proof, please see Exhibit A below:

Or Exhibit B:

Or Exhibit C:

That last one proves he’s crazy (who re-does a scene from Anchorman? What brave soul would dare do that!?). But recently we’ve seen a different side of Tim Kennedy in that of a UFC roaster.

For those not in the know: Kennedy was originally supposed to fight Lyoto Machida at next month’s UFC Fight for the Troops 3. Then Michael Bisping had to go and ruin everything by “injuring his eye” (likely story Cyborg Bisping)—forcing the UFC to give Mark Munoz a new opponent for UFC Fight Night 30. That’s when the UFC said, “hey, why don’t we give Machida to Munoz instead?”

So when the Munoz straight up stole Machida, Tim Kennedy did what any unreasonably crazy guy would do: he took to Twitter and called out practically everyone in his division (and even Alistair Overeem for shits and giggles).

But unlike you, me or the thousands of people who take to Twitter to harass their favorite MMA Fighters, Tim Kennedy can actually back up his threats. And while it’s fairly difficult to take a threat from a Green Beret lightly, Kennedy sent out challenges that were filled with irony and self-deprecation.

@TimKennedyMMA how dare you talk about my hair!!! That's crossing the line bro! I'm always available — Chris Camozzi (@ChrisCamozzi) September 28, 2013

You need to know Mr. @wandfc that one of my secret agents poised your food yesterday. You have to fight me if you want the antidote. #life — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013

All @ufc fighters, This is the dude that you are all too scared to fight. pic.twitter.com/iIYwqcY09D — Tim Kennedy (@TimKennedyMMA) September 28, 2013

And, for a while, the internet was truly being used to its full potential. Finally, the UFC relented and handed Kennedy a fighter worthy of his time: Rafael Natal, a fighter who may or may not understand the hilarious design behind Kennedy’s Twitter attacks.

On the podcast, we get to know the real Tim Kennedy: he figures out how to solve the government shutdown, talks faulty Wikipedia page entries, and even discusses the music he wishes he could walk out to in a fight.

But that’s not all. Turns out, Tim isn’t done attacking prominent figures in the world of Mixed Martial Arts. He continues his roasting of some of the more well-known personalities (no one is safe from this man’s relentless hilarity. No one!). So download the podcast above to listen in for all the fun.

Live from New York...

Also on the podcast, I give you all the full scoop behind my trip to New York for NBC Late Night Writer’s Workshop and even tell you how great it was to train at Vitor Shaloin’s (let’s just say I have a lot of work to do with my BJJ game, friends).

Give us a listen and let us know what you think, folks!

BTW

If you're looking for a new gi (and who isn't?), you definitely want to give a look to our pals over at VeryHardToSubmit.com.

As someone who got to see a version of this up close, I absolutely love the look of it and actually got to talk with the guy who made it while training at Shaloin's.

I can't recommend it enough, folks.  Give the website a look and give some love to our friends at VHTS!

VERBAL TAP (Episode 40) with Joe Schilling

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Raf's Recollection |There's nothing worse than missing a UFC card.  If you know me, you know I absolutely hate missing a UFC card.

I have a set of calenders in my house and at work that meticulously map out UFC cards, Fight Nights, and Ultimate Fighter episodes months in advance.  But, every so often, you hit a weekend where you have a set of plans you just can't get out of.  That was the case for Saturday Night's UFC 165. Not just for me, but also for my co-host.

Of course, it had to be on a night when a potential Fight of the Year took place.

But fear not Verbal Tap Cast fans, because Kev and I are committed to giving you the very best coverage, we wouldn't just talk blindly about a set of fights we didn't get the chance to watch.  That's why we brought in a panel of folks to help us ring in our 40th episode AND piece together exactly what took place during the fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson this weekend.

We start with our pal, Ben Unanaowo(a sports enthusiast/couch potato who's never short on opinions about sports) giving us a play-by-play account of the UFC 165 main event. But we wouldn't be doing our job if we just left it at that.  Given the controversial nature of the fight—with a public outcry among MMA fans who were angry with the judge's decision and the multiple interpretations from spectators on how the fight went down—we decided to bring in two experts to give this epic battle the attention it deserves.

Enter our experts:  Making the case for the Jones, training partner and podcast favorite Bubba McDaniel drops by tell us why the judges were right to score the fight for the champ, while Swedish MMA Fighter Marcus Kowal (and owner of SystemsTrainingCenter.com) makes the case for Gustafsson.  Bubba and Marcus walk us through every angle of the fight and even tell us the implications for the Light Heavyweight division.  And our conversation DOES. NOT. DISAPPOINT.

And if you guys are fans of having experts drop by to talk about the fights, we're more than happy to bring it back and (maybe) even hold a full on debate between panelists on the next go-round for controversial fights like this.  Let us know what you think.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE: That's not all fight fans!  In addition to our signature World Famous "One Minute Review" of this week's The Ultimate Fighter, we also talk with Kickboxer Joe Schilling who fights this Saturday at GLORY Kickboxing in Ontario, California.  In our EXCLUSIVE interview Joe, he talks about how he got the name "Stitch 'Em Up," his gym in Los Angeles (The Yard), his clothing line (Can't Stop Crazy), and we discuss if he's really a bad guy or not (spoiler alert: he's not).

So do us a solid, check it out and let us know what you think!

VERBAL TAP (Episode 39) with Jimmy Quinlan

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Raf's Recollection | Of all the Ultimate Fighter cast members I've done impressions of, perhaps no one has had a better sense of humor about it than  Jimmy "Crash" Quinlan.

On one particular installment of the show (Episode 14), Kev and I spent approximately 10 minutes worth of time discussing the finer points of a Jimmy Quinlan impression.

Which is why it was somewhat refreshing when I ran into Jimmy at the UFC Fan Expo earlier this year, I didn't get punched in the face (he had more than one opportunity to do so).  When you do impressions of folks with such a strong wrestling background, you almost expect to be on the receiving end of one of their patented overhead slam takedowns.  Fortunately for me, Jimmy's always just laughed off the impression and played along.

It also doesn't hurt that Jimmy identifies himself as a bit of a "smart ass."  So not only does that make him exactly the type of person we like talking to on the podcast, but it also makes him the kind of guy who is impervious to comments like "What is happening?" and "wtf am I watching" when he posts videos like this:

We at Verbal Tap wish nothing but the best to Jimmy as he takes on Luc Bondole at New England Fights' "NEF X" this Saturday at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine.  For more information about tickets, hit up this website and be sure to follow Jimmy on the Twitter at @JimmyCrashBJJ.

Also on the podcast, we do our World Famous "One Minute Review" of the second episode of The Ultimate Fighter, we play a game of "Over/Under Kevin" to figure out how to bet on this week's UFC 165, and we also chat about this video:

I must have watched this clip over 20 times in the past few days. Maybe it's because it bares a certain resemblance to a Pro Wrestling Hall of Famer's signature move: Rolles Gracie does the best Ric Flair fall I have ever seen in MMA.  Ever.

If you doubt me, simply watch the video above and compare it to the art that is the Ric Flair flop below.  #YoureWelcome