This article contains a discussion of real-life racism and violence.
The Swedish underground fight club in The cage was a surprising moment in the MMA series, and some viewers may wonder if it was purely fictional or based on fact. The cage is a very dark TV show that deals with some of the harsh truths of MMA, but one scene was so horrific it didn’t even seem real. The cast of The cageand especially Taylor, were forced into some extremely dangerous situations, and at the end of The cageseveral people almost died. One particularly dangerous scene was a bit shocking and it wasn’t clear if it was realistic.
In The cage episode 4, Boss took Taylor to an underground fight club in Sweden to help him overcome the trauma of his brutal tournament knockout. Underground fight clubs aren’t too surprising, but The cagehad an unexpected twist: it was full of neo-Nazis. As Taylor climbed into the cage, spectators in the crowd called him “monkey boy“, and his opponent even had a mouth guard with a swastika on it. After winning, Taylor was almost killed by the crowd, and it turns out that The cage did not invent this element of the story.
Cage’s Swedish Underground Fight Clubs Are Real
Unsanctioned fights occur throughout Sweden and are even more brutal than The Cage portrays
Unfortunately, The cageThe country’s underground neo-Nazi fight clubs are not a work of fiction; the show actually didn’t portray them as brutally as it could have. Karim Zidan Sports Policy investigated Sweden’s underground fight club known as King of the Streets (KOTS) and revealed just how cruel street fights are. In The cageTaylor was informed that there was “no rounds, no rules, no referee“, which is a true KOTS motto, although some fights have referees. Real fights are also conducted on concrete floors, which means fighters can die from a bad fall.
“Whether by accident or design, KOTS has become a platform for some of the most notorious hatemongers across Europe, united by a shared propensity for violence and a mutual affection for combat sports.”
The cage managed to make the Swedish underground fight club terrifying, but it could have portrayed it even worse. KOTS fights regularly feature highly illegal moves such as eye gouging, spinal strikes, headbutts and bites, none of which Taylor has had to endure.. Real-world fight clubs are also extremely well organized, as KOTS has a large social media presence and fighters have to register to enter the ring. The cage touched on this aspect when Boss showed security an e-ticket before entering the ring, but the show didn’t go as deep as it could have.
Cage’s neo-Nazi fight seemed out of place, but it was very real
MMA has dark elements that are as surprising as The Cage showed them to be
When Boss brought Taylor into the underground fight, there was a marked change in the The cage‘stone. It was so dark and worrying that it seemed like it didn’t fit in. The cage in any way. Unfortunately, it fits perfectly with the show’s goal of highlighting the reality of MMA. Along with the hopeful and inspiring story of Taylor’s rise to fame in MMA, the sport also has some devastatingly dark realities, with Sweden’s neo-Nazi fight clubs being one of them.. The reality of MMA is just as shocking The cageThe underground fight scene made it seem so.
As unfortunate as the reality of underground fight clubs full of neo-Nazis is, it also highlights something The cage got it right. MMA and the culture surrounding the sport are very complex. There are real stories of underdogs and sporting legends, but there is also an ugly, unsanctioned element to it. The cage did a great job of showing the whole panorama of MMA, warts and all, and not just its uplifting aspects. This demonstrates that Franck Gastambide and the creators of The cage I really love MMA, which has helped make it one of the best shows on Netflix.
Source: Karim Zidan via Sports Policy