‘Freight Train’ back on track

Gabe Rednose needed a breather.

Now he’s caught his breath.

Kingfisher’s Rednose will return to the mixed martial arts cage in May for his first fight since last October.

He’ll take on Thomas Clingan in a light heavyweight fight on May 10 as part of Peak Fighting Championship’s (PFC) card at the Amarillo Civic Center.

It will be Rednose’s first of a three-fight deal with (PFC) and his second professional fight.

The first was Oct. 10 when “The Freight Train” needed just 40 seconds to secure a triangle choke to force a submission by Aledre Bracey at a King of the Cage card in Worley, Idaho.

“I trained four to five times a day for four months straight and needed a break,” said Rednose, a 2016 Kingfisher High School graduate.

But now Rednose is back to training for his PFC debut at the American Elite MMA gym in Edmond with Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Matt Grice.

He trains three to four times a day, six days a week.

Rednose said he burns 5,000 6,000 calories a day as he works toward his fighting weight of 206 pounds.

“I’m focusing on sharpening all the blades of my arsenal in every way, shape and form possible,” said Rednose.

While Rednose is 1-0 as a pro, he was 9-2 as an amateur fighter.

His first fight was a submission win in 2018 and Rednose won his first three fights before losing in April 2019.

He won four straight after that before tapping out to a knee bar in the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation’s Pan-Am Championships in Monterrey, Mexico, in June 2022.

That prompted a long break as Rednose was sidelined by knee surgery.

He returned to the cage in August 2023 to submit previously undefeated Trae Cusac with a kimura at 2:32 of the second round.

That win earned Rednose the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization and the Hendo Fight Night organization’s cruiserweight championships.

Those weren’t the first title belts earned by Rednose.

He had previously claimed two heavyweight championships in Oklahoma and another in Arkansas.

Although he was quickly approached by the head of California Mixed Martial Arts to defend his cruiserweight championships, the fights never materialized.

He returned to the cage in October in what was his original aim - as a professional fighter. PFC was founded in 2018. The card featuring Rednose will be the organization’s 44th.

“It means a lot because they are the top promotion in the U.S. southwest,” Rednose said of the opportunity for the multi-fight deal.

“And they put a lot of guys on their roster into the UFC.”

Rednose said he knows he can’t look past his first fight, however. Although he’ll go in as the favorite, he said he’s learned to take nothing for granted…especially when there are a lot of unknowns.

“I don’t know a lot about my opponent besides he’s from Arkansas and comes to fight every time he steps in the cage,” Rednose said.