'The Cage' Season 1 Recap & Ending Explained: Did Niko End Taylor's Career?

When it comes to the world of sports and performance arts, the word opportunity hangs over your head —individual talent, diligence—everything else gets overshadowed by a lack of chance to prove oneself. Netflix’s latest French sports drama series, The Cage, revolving around an underdog’s dream to make it big in the grueling world of professional MMA, highlights this particular issue through an intriguing, gritty narrative that takes a closer look at the psychological aspects of combat sports. Although the first season with five episodes might feel a bit on a shorter side, and the plot, which ticks all the expected checkboxes you’d expect from a sports drama, sometimes feels disjointed and cameo heavy, a fairly interesting ending will surely keep the viewers talking about the series for quite some time.

Spoilers Ahead

Why Did Taylor Provoke Ibrahim For The Fight?

Amateur French MMA fighter Taylor Keita aspires to become a top-billed professional fighter, a decorated UFC champion much like his idol, the legend Georges St-Pierre, but even after spending four years training in Muay Thai and three years in a local gym, he fails to get the approval of gym trainer Boss. Taylor is burdened by his mother Isabella and her moocher boyfriend, Régis’ constant demands for money, and given he didn’t have a decent academic career—like many others pouring their blood and sweat in the gym—the only shot he has at a successful life is through getting a chance at the ring. Dejected by Boss’ disapproving remarks, Taylor decides to quit his MMA career—but fate opens up a gateway for him right then, as one of Boss’ former students, the current reigning French welterweight division champion, Ibrahim Ibara, arrives at the gym to seek a sparring partner. Ibrahim is an aggressive, arrogant showboat, and Boss forbids his other students from engaging with his request, which is Ibrahim’s way of boosting his PR as he records fights where he pummels down amateur wrestlers. However, Taylor sees this as an opportunity to prove himself to Boss and decides to accept Ibrahim’s offer to spar. A much weaker, barely trained Taylor fumbles throughout the session as Ibrahim continues to antagonize him; however, the fight ends with Taylor landing a direct punch on Ibrahim’s face, handing the champion professional fighter his first KO, and the recording of the fight quickly becomes viral. An undefeated professional fighter facing his first fall at the hands of a nobody is a sure-fire recipe for overnight popularity. 

However, Boss still isn’t willing to provide any special attention to Taylor and sticks to his previous stance. Taylor’s newfound popularity lands him on a podcast with pro fighter Ciryl Gane, where he showcases his newfound confidence. Later on, Taylor even manages to get roped in by a sports media house during UFC Paris, where he directly challenges Ibrahim to a fight on live television. Ibrahim initially scoffs at the idea of accepting his challenge, but a deluge of social media opinions in favor of the matchup results in Ibrahim’s manager questioning his decision. Additionally, the legend Georges St-Pierre is revealed to have backed Taylor himself for him to appear in public to challenge Ibrahim. Because come on, who doesn’t love an underdog story? It should be mentioned at this point that Taylor has his friends—his love interest and a pro fighter, Elena; his childhood friend and fellow amateur fighter, Niko; and MMA nerd and close friend, Bilal, rooting for him at every step. 

Did Taylor Throw His First Fight With Ibrahim?

Taylor has a dream come true moment when, out of nowhere, Georges brings him to his residence in Canada and rigorously trains him in the hopes of Ibrahim accepting Taylor’s challenge. It is not explicitly stated as to why Georges goes to such lengths to help a novice like him, but possibly Taylor’s talent, and his hunger to achieve something in the octagon, reminded Georges of himself. Georges continues to promote Taylor while training him and publicly demeans Ibrahim, which finally prompts the champion to agree to accept Taylor’s challenge. 

As Taylor returns to his home, Régis and Isabella pressure him to throw his match with Ibrahim, as they seek to benefit by betting against him—and trampling his dreams for the sake of parental expectations, Taylor decides to agree to their proposal. On the other hand, the best fighter at Boss’ gym decides to leave for better career opportunities, which prompts Boss to gravitate towards Taylor, and he agrees to be his manager. 

During the match, Taylor initially remains on defensive and seems to be deliberately trying to lose the match in the second round to keep his promise to his mother; however, the mere thought that how much was put at stake by people who believed in him—for this match up to happen—reignites the fire in Taylor, and he bounces back strongly after the midpoint of the second round. Reminded of his motivations and dreams, Taylor launches a flurry of successful hits, putting Ibrahim on guard—much to the shock of his mother and Régis, who lose their bet money as a result. Taylor’s first match with Ibrahim ends with a tie, but it’s a moral victory for Taylor, which is celebrated by Boss and the rest of Taylor’s friends and followers. After returning home, Taylor learns that Régis needed the money to pay off some troublesome people who later arrived at their home to beat up his mother, and if the money isn’t arranged within one month, they will do worse.

Why Did Taylor Decide To Take Part In The Higher Weight Division Tournament?

With Taylor having a good start to his pro career, Boss wants him to guide slowly step by step to build a strong profile, which will help him to build a strong pro career and give him an entry to the prestigious UFC as well. However, for Taylor, the priority is to earn quick money at the moment, and he learns from Niko that by participating in excessively competitive higher weight division tournaments, he can earn big within a single night. As Taylor proposes the idea to Boss, he advises him against it as it could put his fledgling pro career at risk, but Taylor is unwilling to heed his advice and practically coerces Boss to train him to fight. With his skills honed further, Taylor appears dominant as he wins his first fight rather easily with a TKO; however, the second fight, where he is paired up with an adept grappler, nearly wrings every ounce of energy out of Taylor’s body – but he somehow wins that match as well. Seeing Taylor’s condition, Boss advises him to call off the third fight as he is in no condition to continue without putting himself in grave danger. However, adhering to Niko’s ill advice, Taylor decides to continue anyway, ignoring his coach’s warning, and ends up out of commission after receiving a horrid blow to the head. Taylor recuperates for the next three weeks, and despite losing the final match, he is revealed to have gathered a good amount of cash to deliver to his mother. Boss decides to pay a visit to Taylor’s house along with him and holds him in great regard in front of Taylor’s mother, who doesn’t seem to pay any thought about her son’s career anyway. Boss notices Niko’s ill influence distracting Taylor in different ways and advises him to stay wary of him. 

After Taylor’s TKO loss, Ibrahim starts making noise by demeaning him in the press and asks for a rematch, to which Taylor promptly agrees. However, the knockout defeat has left grievous mental scars in Taylor’s mind, as he starts suffering from PTSD but refuses to share the truth with Boss. On his match day with Ibrahim, Taylor gets a panic attack and finds himself unable to even approach the ring, and Boss, understanding his predicament, decides to call the match off. A furious Ibrahim issues a direct threat to Boss and his gym members in retaliation, and in return, Boss decides to warn Ibrahim by bringing up his past deeds. During his early years, Ibrahim trained at Boss’ gym, and had brutally assaulted a woman, who sought Boss’ help in desperation. Boss had kept her pictures as evidence against Ibrahim, which he now uses to threaten Ibrahim with if he ever dares to target him or his gym. 

How Did Taylor Get His Resolve Back?

Boss took an unconventional approach to helping Taylor as he brought him to a fighting pit—the idea is to let Taylor face his fears head-on in a no-regulation match against some of the dreaded dregs of society, which will help Taylor get over his traumatic experience and allow him to get his mojo back. Boss helps Taylor to get rid of his emotional burdens by reassuring Taylor of his faith in him, and eventually, Taylor lets his inner beast out inside the fighting pit. Taylor loses his control as his pent-up rage and frustration are unleashed on his opponent, who I am half sure is dead by the time Taylor leaves the ring—although it is not confirmed. As Boss tries to control Taylor, a huge ruckus ensues, and during a mass scuffle, someone stabs Boss. Taylor somehow manages to bring Boss to safety, but the injury turns out to be quite serious, which lands Boss in coma.

Three months later, Bilal’s investigation reveals that Ibrahim had sent his men to kill Boss in fear of his secret getting exposed, and an aggrieved Bilal asks Taylor to get revenge on Ibrahim in the octagon. Boss had promised for Taylor to be trained by legendary fighter Jon Jones’ mentor in Mexico, and despite mentally not being in the right shape, Taylor decides to honor Boss’ wish and ventures to Mexico to train. Taylor has gotten over his trauma, but in the light of recent experiences, his self-confidence has stopped to exist, and he finds it difficult to continue. As he shares his wish to quit with Jon Jones’ mentor, Jon Jones himself comes to his aid—and motivates the young lad by sharing his experience in and out of the ring. It seems like motivations and training from legendary professional fighters are all this guy needs to get his groove back, and in no time, Taylor is prepared for his long-awaited rematch with Ibrahim. With Boss in a coma, Taylor is in for a shock when Georges St-Pierre offers to take the position of his coach during the match day. 

Through all this time, Taylor wanted to win his mother’s approval and had arranged tickets for the match day for her and Régis, hoping they would show up on his big day. This fight means a lot to him, as Ibrahim is putting his title on line, and whoever emerges to be the victor will get entry to the UFC. However, as Isabella remains absent on the match day, Taylor grows concerned and decides to visit her with mere hours to spare for the event. Returning to his home, Taylor learns the shocking truth: his mother and Régis have decided to settle elsewhere, using the money he put his life on the line for. Isabella reveals that she had asked Régis to beat her up in the first place to emotionally manipulate Taylor into earning big for them. She has absolutely no regard for her son’s accomplishments and doesn’t even have a shred of regret for her crimes. Devastated, Taylor leaves his family for good this time and has strengthened his mental resolve at long last to realize his true potential. In the rematch, Taylor beats Ibrahim fair and square, despite suffering some initial hiccups, and puts their feud to rest. Taylor was able to get inside Ibrahim’s head by mentioning that he will bring him to justice by exposing his past crimes to the authorities for what Ibrahim did to Boss. After the fight, UFC matchmaker Mike Hamilton pays Taylor a visit to let him know that his entry to the UFC is official. At long last, the amateur fighter was able to turn his dream into reality. 

Did Niko End Taylor’s Career?

Taylor’s longtime friend, Niko, comes into the spotlight in the final moments of the season finale, as unlike Taylor’s friends, he isn’t taking his big win in a healthy way. Boss had warned Taylor against trusting Niko for a reason. Early in the series, Niko was revealed to be somewhat of an incel as he tried to discourage Taylor from pursuing a relationship with Elena, simply due to the fact that he himself couldn’t handle her rejection, and later on, on a number of occasions, it became apparent that Niko wasn’t happy with Taylor’s meteoric rise and newfound success. After all, the friend duo began their fighting career together, and while Taylor was able to find fame and recognition in the octagon, Niko always remained by the ringside. Additionally, his moral compass was twisted to begin with, as shown through the way Niko had no aversion to taking drugs to amp up his performance. During the final moments of the fifth episode, doping test officials arrived at the venue, and Niko requested they bother Taylor a bit later, on the excuse of allowing him the chance to celebrate his success. Niko secretly drugged Taylor’s water with an unknown substance, which will surely result in him getting detained by the dope test officials; his title will be taken, and his career will hit a roadblock. As the first season comes to a close, Taylor, unaware about Niko’s deceit, drinks the drugged water and remains busy celebrating his win—and his fate and his career remain in question. 

If the series gets a second season, it will be interesting to see how Taylor once again makes his way up from rock bottom, and surely he will be assisted by Boss, who will eventually recuperate from his injuries. Beginning with the story of an underdog, the second season of The Cage will chronicle the tale of a fallen hero, and Taylor’s future relationship with Niko will be intriguing for sure. 

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