Dylan James Bowker

Bowks Talking Bouts #14: Victor Valimaki

I spoke to light-heavyweight and heavyweight mma fighter Victor Valimaki. I asked the MFC and UFC veteran about kidney damage from cutting 37 lbs (1:10), fighting for Unified MMA on June 9th (2:10), fighting for free in his next fight to prove a point to promoters that he's coming abck for the right reasons (8:12), thoughts on GSP vs Bisping (12:04), the turning point from training jiu jitsu for fun to becoming a professional full time fighter (13:54), being of Finnish descent and getting a big submission win in Finland (15:47), playing a big role in building up MFC and the overall grassroots mma scene in Canada (17:24), being inactive for three years then fighting mma legend/ a man who inspired him to enter the sport in Dan Severn (19:42), what it was like fighting at a military base during his UFC run (23:02), a detached retina in the Roger Hollet fight that he calls his most painful injury (24:23), taking part in a U of A study on the rate of injuries among boxers and mma fighters (25:42), whether men's mma will get a cruiserweight division in the next few years (27:13), what kind of music he trains to (29:49), the five round war with Lew Polley that he considers his benchmark fight (30:57), and so much more!

Bowks Talking Bouts #13: Manny David

It was great to catch up with former co-host Manny David. We talked about battle rap, what the future holds for the women's strawweight and men's flyweight divisions, me possibly being the Alex Jones of MMA pundits, comparing the UFC flyweights to WWE's Raw Cruiserweight division, the middleweight division getting massively shaken up, The likelihood of a fifth Pitbull-Straus fight down the line, AJ McKee being the Roman Reigns of Bellator, Bellator's system for their bluechip prospects, and one of Conor McGregor's main training partners fighting this weekend. 
 
Blackout 7 Recap (0:49), UFC on Fox recap (9:57), Bellator Preview (27:25), UFC Fight Night: Swanson Vs Lobov Preview (35:30), and more!

Bowks Talking Bouts #12: Dirtbag Dan

It was awesome to catch up again with Dirtbag Dan. We talked about his podcast, music, comedy, and some other projects of his. We also got into some UFC 210 fallout (2:34) and Bellator (10:10), UFC (18:54), Rizin (31:18), KOTD BO7 (37:58) previews.
 
The two of us talked about trying to get Cynthia Calvillo out to a BOTZ event (9:24), how competing on The Ultimate Fighter is like battling at The Bunker (12:31), the Nova Uniao guys possibly using their muay thai on trees in the forest (14:33), Demetrious Johnson's chances of tying Anderson Silva's title defense record with this upcoming bout and possible superfights for DJ (21:02), if Jacare tests the free agency amrket after this fight (27:09), one of the biggest prospects in the sport debuting in UFC (28:54), loving japanese mma dating back to the PRIDE FC days (31:45), if Rizin can grab some free agents going ahead (33:52), heavyweight women's mma (35:49), Thoughts on Rone vs Head Ice (38:06), potential match ups that can materialize for BO7 (40:13), The URL Diversity poster (43:12), and more!

Talking with Shotti P

I had a great talk with Shotti P ahead of his performance at Blackout 7 for King of the Dot. It was recorded on April 2nd and we talked about a number of topics. We got into how he rapped for many years before getting noticed in battle rap, a rapper making a diss track about him and how that got Shotti into rap (1:49), aiming to drop an EP by the end of the year (2:51), pro wrestling bars (3:42), The future of GZ vs main stage KOTD events (5:26), mixed martial arts and how Bellator is on the come up (6:08), thoughts on the Blackout concept (7:44), What goes into his pen game (9:44), possibly getting a Smack/ URL battle in the future (11:41), love for weed (12:22), common mistakes while baked (13:29), getting love from Alchemist (14:38), how his worst battle motivated his prep process going ahead (15:18), how he's never had a full week to rehearse before a battle (17:57), people telling Shotti how much he would love Oshawa (20:13), and more!  

One on One with Robin Black

I had a great talk with Robin Black who was en route to TKO 38 during our phone call. Robin is calling the fights and we got into quite the in-depth breakdown about that amazing card that goes April 7th on UFC Fight Pass. We also got into the post-Fight Network content Robin has been dropping (16:19), how he sang on-stage with Teenage Head and our love for the '77 GTA punk rock scene (18:51), trying to espouse the artistic merit of the sport during the money fight era (21:51), and so much more! 

Interview with RA the Rugged Man ft Rugged Baby

This interview was done Sunday, March 19th. I had a great talk with one of my all time favorite MC's about boxing/ mma crossover in the last few years, hip hop's new globalist take versus the approach of repping your city, his early days battle rapping and how that compares to the current landscape, RA's work as a filmmaker, being a new father, his vietnam war veteran dad who inspired some of the most poignant verses of his career, the PC movement and how thought policing is timeless, collaborating with Vinnie Paz and Biggie Smalls, a possible Run The Jewels collaboration down the line, and so much more!

Bowks Talking Bouts #7: Willy Gabes

This is a wrasslin' heavy installment of the podcast. Myself and Willy Gabes preview WWE Fastlane on Sunday, talk Jack Swagger's contract status, Smackdown fall out, Raw fall out, and more! 

Interview with Jesse from KEN Mode

I caught up over the phone with Jesse from KEN Mode. We got into the band's recent EP "Nerve", the evolution of the band's sound over the years into more of a noise rock centric sound, being in a band with his brother, live full band recordings done off the floor as opposed to isolating each instrument, working with Steve Albini who produced the record that got him into a career as a musician, analog recording versus digital recording techniques, Conor McGregor getting stripped of the featherweight title, the sadness of seeing Fedor compete in Bellator, current craft beer selections Jesse has been enjoying lately, the future of his touring podcast and community radio show, how Jesse doesn't want to be a member berry, the mutual appreciation for using dad or daddy in a joking way with buddies, how the song writing process usually gets going, the last couple records being the most collaborative of the band's career, building a business with his brother to help bands manage their finances, his experience as an accountant, love for WWF tag team champions Demolition and thoughts on the New Day breaking their record, the breakdown of his pedal board, his amp preferences, certain people confusing the intention of their lyrics, and so much more!