Tyler Toner file photo: Isaac Hinds | Sherdog.com
No?
Well, even WEC featherweight Tyler Toner has to pause for a moment when questioned about the various monikers he’s spun under.
“I used to do DJ battles, probably six or seven years ago,” says the once-beaten Coloradan prospect, who meets Diego Nunes at WEC 51 on Thursday night, in his home state. “I would just make up a DJ name right on the spot. I used ‘Icemaster Fire’ a few times and, yeah, ‘DJ Chicken Fingers.’”
The hobby has since taken a backseat to Toner’s burgeoning career as a pro fighter, but the turntablist culture remains a clear part of his life. When asked which DJ he hired to play his May wedding, Toner inhales sharply.
“That’s a touchy subject,” he cautiously offers. “There's a great DJ here in Colorado, I think he won the DMC nationals once, his name's DJ Vajra. I tried to get him and he was all about it, but...the bride’s parents weren't too into it.”
“It's because he didn't call back!” a female voice shouts in the background.
So, I wanted to know what WEC’s resident hip-hop head would put on his own custom in-this-moment-of-life, pre-biggest-fight-of-his-career, get-hype mixtape. “Thunder” (or “Chicken Fingers”) offered this track listing and commentary:
1. “Intro (from 'Out of Business')” -- E.P.M.D.
2. “Ante Up” -- M.O.P.
“Most of this is just stuff to get me amped up, like M.O.P. and Ghostface. I tried to organize it like a mixtape with some sort of flow.”
3. “Stakes Is High” -- De la Soul
“I would say this song applies to the Nunes fight. I feel like this is a make or break fight. It's still early in my WEC career, but this is my first really high-caliber opponent, a guy who's probably universally pretty highly ranked at 145. It's a good fight, high stakes, and I feel like, stylistically, it's a really good match-up for me.”
4. “All In Together Now” -- DJ Muggs and GZA
5. “The Key” -- The Knew
"The Knew is a local [Colorado] band. It's not hip-hop, more of a rock song, but I like it." You can download the track for free from the band's website: http://theknew.com/b4ie/
6. “No Mercy” -- Pharoahe Monch f/ M.O.P.
7. “Run” -- Ghostface Killah f/ Jadakiss
8. “Ready to Die” -- Andrew W.K.
9. “Never Scared” -- Bone Crusher f/ Killer Mike and T.I.
“When I was in Japan [for Shootboxing], I came out to 'Never Scared.' I took the fight on short notice and I wasn't really sure of who my opponent was. Then I looked him up online and saw that he had fought Ramon Dekkers, Tony Valente, he had over a hundred fights, and I just thought, 'oh, s--t, what did I get myself into?' So I picked that song to kind of show that I wasn't scared. I'm sure the Japanese fans didn't know what it was saying, but I think it got the point across.”
10. “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)” -- Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
11. “Dynamite!” -- The Roots
It’s interesting that Toner would choose eleven tracks for his mix: a win over Nunes on Thursday would be the eleventh of his MMA career. We’ll see if it is, in fact, “dynamite.”