Vigilante MMA

Hello again dear Caged fan(s). Thanks for “tuning” in. Now before I do my weekly recap can I ask you something? Is this show actually growing on you? Because it’s growing on me. And granted, the show has as much to do about MMA as Kimbo Slice, but it’s entertaining and I’m starting to get involved in the fighter’s careers, especially Danger. I’m not going to hate, that kid can scrap. Lastly, what the hell is up with all the Polo gear? Every hat and shirt I see on those kids has that damn little pony on it. I thought the kids were still wearing Tommy…

Alright, the show starts off where it left off last week. As a reminder, Daniel aka the Golden Boy, won a big fight on the 4 year anniversary of his then girlfriend’s death. And while I’ll be the first to admit I was glad that he won the fight, when the deceased ex-girlfriend’s sister said, “you turned the worst day into the best day” well, I thought that was a bit much. But I digress.

Wes, who we’ll start calling “Big Head, Back Yard Scrapper” or BHBYS for short, is also still dealing with the fall out from last week. Of course Wes’ drama has nothing to do with MMA (he’s currently nursing a broken hand after a drunken bar fight) but rather has everything to do with him being a sh*tty dad and getting some random tail on the side. Seriously dude? Have you seen your girlfriend? There’s at least a 5 point gap between you two so instead of being a “gangster from Minden, LA” try not being such a douche. In related news, who gives a sh*t?

The drama then circulates over to “Karate Mafia” which again I must stress is an actual MMA gym in spite of its cliched Disney name, where we learn that owner Donny is going away for awhile, well 5 years to be exact. His excuse is vague to say the least but it has something to do with him killing somebody (on accident?). I think he may have even called in manslaughter, so it was unintentional, plus given his sentence it probs wasn’t straight up murder. Either way, homeboy be doin’ some jail time. Let’s just hope he doesn’t go to one of those “pound me in the a** prisons.” Lord have mercy.

So with Donny gone, he enlists the help of Danger, because he’s the best fighter there and is mature enough to handle the operations of the gym. Danger of course is none too pleased but accepts the responsibility because he doesn’t want to see Karate Mafia go down the sh*t tubes. Good for you Danger, good for you. As for the gym’s response…tepid at best. Questions about Danger’s experience come up but let’s face it, they train at a gym called Karate Mafia. Danger’s inexperience is the least of their worries.

Speaking of MMA gyms, Wes’ good buddy John Wesley has decided he wants to get back into the game and start training at one. We don’t know much about JW but we do know this; he trains with Wes in the backyard, he used to get in a bunch of fights in high school and he used to train in MMA 3 or so years ago. But unlike his buddy Wes, JW actually looks to be kind of a bad a**. And based on the few clips of him training, he looks to have some knowledge/skills inside the cage. And that’s a good thing because he already has a fight booked.

There are some other misc. teenage BS that happens…Wes and Red break up, Brittinni, Daniel’s current GF is wanting closure but not getting it, Danger is having a hard time dealing with training for a fight and running a gym and Wes is bored and likes to shoot firecrackers at his friends while at the same time saying things like “I’m a grown a** man.” I love irony.

Anyway, as mentioned both Danger and JW have big fights coming up, but this time, their fights are out of town and are against guys that are a step up in competition. At this point, I’m pretty invested in the show. I want to see how these fights are going to go down. JW is a street fighter with loads of power, but how will he handle a 3 year layoff? Danger is on a hot streak and has the talent but he’s also facing his “toughest opponent yet,” while also dealing with his new responsibilities at the gym.

JW fights first and looks pretty good, albeit out of shape. But you can tell he’s been in a fight or two. And given his corner’s advice “have fun and f*ck him up” you know he’s got some power. It’s on full display in rounds 1 and 2 with various punches and slams but you can see him fading away as time goes on. He musters up enough strength to pull off an arm bar in the last stanza for the win. And it’s only until you see the aftermath…him throwing up backstage, collapsing and being hauled off into an ambulance, do you realize how tired this kid was in the cage. Tough kid.

The last fight is Danger’s, which is par for the course. He’s clearly the best fighter and the main focal point on the show, in spite of his laid back personality, and his fights are always entertaining. Plus, he’s fighting his toughest opponent yet, this at least according to him. After some trouble in round 1, where he gets knocked down, Danger finds a way to victory in round 2 with a smooth takedown and some ground and pound. Again, I think this kid can fight. His combos look smooth, his ground game is slick and he’s composed. Not bad for a 21 year old kid. Most importantly, he also seems to have has his head screwed on straight. It’ll be interesting to see if this kid gets up to the pro ranks.

So there you have it. Another week of teen drama with a sprinkling of MMA. Who do you guys like? Are you losing interest or getting into it?

To recap the whole season, check out my past recaps:

Recap 1

Recap 2

Recap 3