Caged (TV series)

Caged is an American reality television series that aired on MTV from January 9 to March 12, 2012. It focuses on a group of young up-and-coming mixed martial arts fighters in small town Minden, Louisiana.

Cast

 * Wes Branch (Amateur 3-2)
 * Tony "Primetime" Kelley (7-2)
 * Daniel Payne (Amateur 6-3)
 * Matt "Danger" Schnell (9-2)
 * Luke "Fabulous" Regard

Impact of the show
Although the show is typically panned by MMA fans, it catapulted "Danger" (Matt Schnell) to the professional ranks after being discovered by Tito Ortiz. In November 2012, he won his professional debut against fellow newcomer Ryan Hollis by a split decision, and now fights in the UFC.

Tony Kelley made his professional debut in April 2013 winning by first round TKO against Kody Thrasher.

Critical reception
From Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly:

"Caged wisely substituted action for talk: We watched a lot of punching, kicking, and pounding... As a pop-documentary show, Caged follows the traditional arc of an old boxing movie: Fighters who have little else in their lives except their fists try to become champs to gain fame, some money if not fortune, and — a distant dream — a career. The Ultimate Fighter this ain’t. But that’s okay, because the first episode did a good job."

From Lucas High of TVGEEKARMY:

"I realize as I'm writing this that some readers will accuse me of blasphemy for what I'm about to say, but here it goes anyway: there are moments in MTV's new Mixed Martial Arts-based reality show Caged that remind me of my beloved Friday Night Lights. I know, I know, it's crazy to compare a reality show that has only aired a single episode to arguably the greatest television show of all time, and yet throughout the premiere I kept doing it."

From Stephen Boyle of Sports Illustrated:

"The show’s characters are its strongest feature. The wide variety of compelling backstories have to overlap in a town that makes Friday Night Lights’ fictional Dillon look big. Minden, La., the town featured in 'Caged,' doesn’t even have a bar that shows UFC fights so Branch and his buddies watched them in Paynes’ garage during their high school days. None of the shows characters are perfect protagonists. They’re all real characters that can be easily related to. Branch doesn’t have the time or the money to train at a gym. Instead he finds himself rolling around in backyards late at night after he gets off work. It’s easy to see why he’d throw back a couple Bud Lights while he breaks down his film. ....Caged definitely doesn’t follow the obviously stale recipe of The Ultimate Fighter. Cut scenes of bars and BBQ restaurants replace the same repeated gym poster introductions of the UFC’s reality show. While The Ultimate Fighter searches for the next Forrest Griffin, Caged gives you a real-life Tim Riggins.'"

From Josh Nason of Bloody Elbow:

"If you're into teen reality drama shows with a modicum of sports, this show is for you. Otherwise, MMA fans can skip the series which debuts Monday on MTV at 10 PM EST... Essentially, the show is no different than any teen reality drama on MTV... Perhaps this will be a real launching pad for some of the talent on the show, but there isn't much here of substance."

From Eric Ball of The Bleacher Report:

"MTV Caged: Cable Network Reaches New Low with Grotesque Fighting Show... MTV introduced a MMA style reality show on Monday night that had little to do with the sport... It’s really just depressing more than anything else... So it’s a show about fighting with words that’s masked as a show about fighting with your fists... If that’s your cup of tea, tune in Monday nights at 10:00 p.m. EST. If you just want to watch compelling fights in the ring, stick to Spike, HDNET and PPV."