Carnage Media

By: Clayton Skulina

MMA action returns to Ohio when Findlay-based Carnage Fight Series returns to action at the Harley-Davidson Dealership in Upper Sandusky, OH for the promotion’s first outdoor show, “Carnage Fight Series 4: Route 30 Rumble.” The card, which is also the promotion’s first all-amateur show, is headlined by a trilogy fight between Kaiden “Go Stupid” Hastings (3-4) and Shawn “D’Creme” Freeman (3-3). This fight comes 5 months after their second matchup, with Freeman walking away with a 1st round rear-naked choke at Combate MVP in Bowling Green last April. Hastings won their first matchup in December of 2024 via 2nd round TKO at Carnage Fight Series 2 in a slugfest (watch their first fight here). Hastings, 21, fighting out of Demolition Fight Team in Findlay, is coming off a headkick knockout victory at ECC Cagefighting in Kentucky. He features a strong standup game, characterized by heavy leg kicks and utilizing a long frame. Freeman, 21, fights out of Garcia MMA in Bowling Green, unsuccessfully challenged for the CFS Featherweight title in June. He has a well balanced approach with a Taekwondo base, and is looking to utilize offensive wrestling and well developed cardio.

The co-main event for this show features US Army veteran James (Hotsauce) Gibson (5-5), of Tiffin, taking on Gabe Harris (3-1), fighting out of Bellefontaine. Gibson has been one of the most active fighters in Ohio in recent memory, with 10 MMA fights in addition to numerous boxing and kickboxing fights. Harris is coming off his first career loss via submission and is hungry to get back in the win column. Also on the main card are bantamweights Brice Spoon (2-2) and Nate Murphy (2-1) and welterweights Rayshawn “Hurricane Hands” Walls (1-1) and Tyler Anderson (debut).

The prelims feature heavyweights Blake “Mean” Treen (2-4) and Keyshone Osbourne (0-1), light heavyweights Josh Frazier (1-1) and Tristan Huston (debut), lightweights Austin Roberts (2-3) and Tobias Mendoza (1-0), and heavyweights Karson Alban (1-2) and Travis Jenkins (debut).

Clayton’s Picks of the Week:

Fight of the Night- Blake Treen vs Keyshone Osbourne (but keep an eye on the main event)

Obviously a trilogy fight is a big deal, and that fight is rightfully the headliner of this card. However, the raw power from Blake Treen, demonstrated by his knockout of Kenseth Ziegler with a single punch in April, and the creative striking of Osbourne makes for an interesting matchup. Add the fact that heavyweight is the most unpredictable division in MMA and it makes for a great fight.

Prediction- Treen via KO

Performance of the Night- Gabe Harris (Runner Up: Josh Frazier)

Although he took a loss in his last fight, Gabe Harris had previously finished all three of his opponents in the first two rounds. All of Gibson’s losses so far have been via finish, which makes me think that Harris will be eyeing a return to the win column before the final bell.

Prediction- Harris via submission

In regards to Frazier, he was training for a boxing bout at Sniper Series 2 before an opponent cancellation allowed him to take this fight on one week’s notice. Frazier, who trains closely with former UFC middleweight Dylan Budka, has experience in boxing, kickboxing, and MMA- naturally fighting at 170lbs. I’m curious to see how he adapts to jumping up two weight classes on a week’s notice.