VERBAL TAP (Episode 50) with Carlos Condit

[buzzsprout episode='134707' player='true'] Raf's Reflection | I don’t think you could have scripted a better 50th episode. This may go down as one of our finest shows.

Granted, I’m still equal parts amazed and baffled that we’ve made it to 50 episodes (I’m amazed how the time has flown by; baffled at how I haven’t killed Kevin yet).

But when you consider that this time last year, Kevin and I started this podcast talking about a Carlos Condit fight (where Kevin debuted his now long-documented love affair with all things Carlos Condit), it’s truly remarkable that the man himself would grant us some time to talk with him just days before his upcoming fight against Matt Brown.

And really, our interview is a testament to Carlos Condit’s fearlessness.

While most people tend to keep a distance from their stalkers, Carlos actually indulges Kevin’s love affair. Perhaps it’s because Kevin isn’t exactly a threat to him in the slightest. Perhaps it’s the way one typically carries themself when they are nicknamed a “Natural Born Killer.” Perhaps it’s because he’s a badass muay thai skills that could render the both of us extinct in a single strike.

Who can say?

Nonetheless, Carlos proved to be a great sport, answered a series of questions from our very own obsessed fan-boy, and managed to give us one of our best interviews ever in the process.

But That’s Not All...

What better way to end our coverage of all things Ultimate Fighter than to bring on BOTH newly crowned winners from Season 18? That’s right, we’ve got both Chris Holdsworth and Julianna Pena.

We ask both Chris and Julianna about their fights, their celebrations, and get some great insight into what it actually feels like to win the Ultimate Fighter.

But what’s impressive about Chris and Julianna is the fact that they were both willing to squeeze us in just hours after winning their respective fights.

Holdsworth manages to find the time to talk with us moments before catching a flight at the airport, while Julianna fends off “dying” to call in to the podcast.

As two people whose UFC careers are about to take-off, we couldn’t be more grateful they carved out the time to talk with us (again) during what must be one of the craziest (and most significant) weeks of their lives.

We’re truly honored to share in their celebration and cannot wait for what lies in store next for these two very talented fighters.

He’s Baaaaack

No Verbal Tap milestone would be complete without a visit from our good friend Bubba McDaniel.

Here at Verbal Tap, Bubba is family. Not only is he an engaging UFC fighter with a great sense of humor, but he’s fiercely loyal and has always made time for us.  When the three of us get on a call together, it’s like listening to three longtime friends gather round to drink some beers and shoot the shit.

And while we are now the show that’s lucky enough to book great guests like Carlos, Chris, and Julianna, Bubba was actually the first guest to come on the show. Last season, Bubba caught wind of our Ultimate Fighter mockery, thought it was funny, and actually offered to be on our podcast.

At the time, we weren’t really doing interviews on the show (mostly because we weren’t entirely sure we had the capability of doing so). And really, up until that time, we were complacent having me do impressions of all the fighters. However, a real fighter provided even more comic possibilities—especially if they proved a good sport with being made fun of.

But we did some research, changed some audio settings, and boom, the rest is history.  After Bubba came on, the game changed for us.  Suddenly other fighters became interested in coming on our show as well.

So when you talk "gold standard" here at the show, there’s a reason Bubba is the first person that always comes to mind—and why he’s always welcome on our show.

Messages

While our guest booking for this episode turned out to be pretty spectacular, one of the things that makes this episode so unique is the mix of well-wishes and trash talk we received from some of our favorite guests over the past year.

Kev and I had long been considering the idea of opening up a voice mailbox where we could get some friends of the podcast to leave us messages. When it came time to put the 50th episode together, we figured we’d put out a note to some of our former guests and see what happened.

The result is magical.

It really ties the episode together in a way we couldn’t have expected. When we reached out to folks, we didn’t really provide them with any guidelines; we just asked if they wouldn’t mind leaving us a message for our 50th episode—fully expecting them to go all Comedy Central Roast on us.

And there is plenty of fun at our expense. But there was a surprising amount of sincere congrats and appreciation for the show that we do—which is really awesome to hear.  We’re humbled by our friends’ support and we thank each and every one of the guys who called in to leave us a message.

[Now, don’t get too used to me saying nice things. I’m going back to being the same asshole you’ve all come to know and put up with shortly.]

Although, I will close with this.

I didn’t get to hear this podcast until late Wednesday night (after a marathon weekend of playing host to family guests and writing/producing another installment of my own Late Night talk show) right before going to sleep.

As I put in my headphones to listen to the podcast, I actually found myself getting lost in the very show I had helped to produce and create. Between all of the great interviews, the fantastic messages from our friends, and even a solid performance from both me and Kevin this week, I realized that we truly are making the podcast we always imagined possible.

So thank you to all of you who have been here for these 50 special episodes. Whether you’re a former guest, long time listener or even some random internet troll, thanks for checking us out.

And to those of you who are new: Welcome, we’re just getting started.

VERBAL TAP (Episode 49) with Paul Moran, James Koh, and Davey Grant

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Raf's Recollection | This is a hell of a show.  We've got a little bit of everything on this one.

We begin with my BJJ podcast arch-nemesis, Paul Moran, from Open Mat Radio who helps us with our comprehensive  coverage of last weekend's FIVE GRAPPLING event out in Anaheim.

Paul describes how the event looked on the live stream and we contrast it to the observations I made while watching the event live.

Obviously, Paul does the best he can to match the superb BJJ analysis and commentary that I bring to the table.  But, along the way, we make some solid observations about the production, presentation, and spectacle that was FIVE GRAPPLING (if you haven't done so yet, check out my EXCLUSIVE interview with James Puopolo above)

Also, we get to know more about Paul and his whole life story blah, blah, blah.  Paul's so great, he's beloved in the jiu-jitsu community, go support his critically acclaimed podcast Open Mat Radio or something.  Boring.  Onto the next guest.

On a serious note, tho.  Check out all that FIVE GRAPPLING had to offer.  The entire event is up for view right here:

James Koh

I have such an appreciation for newscasters who bring a positive perspective to the sport of mixed martial arts.  If you aren't lucky enough to catch the kind of solid work James Koh does out here in LA with his show Cage Talk, you are truly missing out on the work of a sports journalist who shares a true passion for MMA.

Cage Talk is a panel sports talk show that airs immediately after every UFC on FOX telecast.  Not only is it fun and full of energy, but James finds great ways to get UFC Fighters to help break down fights.  It's unlike any other local programming put on by our Los Angeles, FOX 11 affiliate—and it's the perfect show for those who are looking for a lively discussion right after a major UFC card.

I was so glad we were able to get James on to talk about a variety of topics, including last week's Pacquiao fight, comparisons between the UFC and the NBA (don't get Kevin started), and even bring on the UFC Middleweight Champ, "GSP," to respond to criticism James makes about his fighting style.

For more of James Koh, give his work a look right here.

Davey Grant

And, of course, it wouldn't be a true installment of Verbal Tap without another spectacular "1 Minute Review" with yours truly.  This week, we brought in Davey Grant to help us make sense of what the hell went down the week of his semi-final match-up against Anthony Gutierrez.

We learn a little bit more about DJ Davey G and even get a chance to have him try to talk shit to "Chris Holdsworth" on our show.

Truth be told, now that we've had both cast members on the show, Kev and I are going Switzerland on this one and staying out of making any predictions.

We're just looking for a great match between our friends Holdsworth and Grant—and we have no doubt we're in for a great fight.  Truly, may the best man win.

Next Week on Verbal Tap

Don't forget, next week is our big 50th Podcast.  You're definitely gonna want to tune in for that one.  Tell a friend and get excited.

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 43) with Jessamyn Duke and Chris Holdsworth

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Raf's Recollection | Sometimes the UFC hype machine jumps the gun and overuses the phrase "must see" fight.

We get it, promoting fights is a tough business. And when you promote hundreds of fights a year, you sometimes run out of ways to get people to tune in, sometimes saying the same things over and over again.

For example, fans of The Ultimate Fighter are no strangers to the phrase "you won't want to miss the _______ fight of the season."

Most intense.  Craziest.  Most controversial.  You name the cliche, they've done it.  Thousands of times.

However, in the case of Jessamyn Duke and Raquel Pennington, you had a fight that was truly worthy of the UFC hype machine.  And we here at Verbal Tap were lucky enough to get Jessamyn to drop by the podcast to talk about the instant classic fight between her and Raquel.  But that's not all, Jessamyn shares some inside scoops about The Ultimate Fighter house, discusses if she has any regrets missing out on the pre-fight pool party, and listens in on the 1 Minute Review of her episode (letting us know exactly what she thinks of my impression of her).

Moments later, we backtrack and do the episode of The Ultimate Fighter (Episode 5) that Kev pathetically tried to review on the last podcast.  BJJ black belt and TUF cast member Chris Holdsworth drops in to listen to the second 1 Minute Review, describe his fight against Chris Beal, and even takes a moment to critique the season premiere of The Walking Dead(?).  And while you're listening to the podcast, do us a solid and check out the great stuff Holdsworth has over at his personal website ChrisHoldsworthMMA.com (otherwise he's going to beat me up a whole bunch).  The dude is very funny and has already promised to start putting up some awesome videos on his page (we've got some solid BJJ-themed video short ideas if you're up for 'em Holdsworth).

But What About Phil Harris?

Calm down.  It wouldn't be a true MMA podcast if we didn't cover the controversy surrounding Rousimar Palhares and the "screaming tap" heard all around the world.  Our resident go-to BJJ Expert, BJJ Breakdown's JOHN EVANS, drops by to weigh in on the controversy and tries to explain what the hell happened when when Toquinho caught Mike Pierce in a nasty looking heel hook.

I Trained at Some Guy Named Marcelo Garcia's Academy

In our shout outs, I describe my training session over at Marcelo's in New York.  I can't say enough good things about the wonderful people over at Marcelo's and the patience they displayed in teaching me techniques that were far beyond my capabilities.  As a complete stranger, they truly treated me like one of their own and were committed to making sure I got the most out of my experience.  I just want to say "thank you" to all of them for being so cool.

It was a nice in a lifetime experience and I truly hope I can return back there some day when I'm somewhat less terrible at jiu-jitsu.

"The Goose"

While we crack wise about the gi I received from BJJHQ in the video above, I can't thank the good people over there enough for sending me the "The Goose" here after hearing me talk about the crack-like addiction I have to purchasing stuff from their website (it's taking in my being not to buy every thing going up on the rolling deals sale right now).  For the last year and a half, I've been rolling with the same (boring) white, judo gi.  And while I love this stupid gi, every time I train, I have to race home to immediately put it in the wash so that I can train again the next day.  And now, I am happy to report that I can now alternate gis and (finally) walk into my jiu-jitsu classes like one of the cool kids with this awesome looking gi.  Serious props to them and Kev and I are going to be filming a video in the near future to show our appreciation.

All I got for now.  Give the podcast a listen folks.  I don't think you'll be disappointed!!!

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!