Carnage Media

It’s time for Fights Before Christmas! Carnage Fight Series 5 goes down tonight at 7 PM est. This card is stacked from top to bottom, so let’s dive into our amatuer preliminary bouts.

Prelims

Grant Waybright vs. Shawn Freeman

CFS 5 wastes no time, as this card starts off with a bang. Grant Waybright steps into the cage against Shawn Freeman in what could be a show-stealing scrap. Waybright, a member of Demolition Fight Team, is 4-3 and looking to get back in the win column. We last saw ‘Wild Thing’ in a brutal battle with Andrew Gamblin, a fight that is a candidate for Fight of the Year at the 2025 Carnage Media Awards.

Shawn ‘D’Creme’ Freeman enters the cage at 4-4. Representing Garcia MMA, Freeman has been very busy this year. This is Shawn’s sixth fight in 2025. He’s 3-2 for the year, with impressive victories over Austin Roberts and Kaiden Hastings. Freeman won the last two legs of the trilogy against Hastings, bouncing back from a loss in 2024. Freeman’s last fight was a tough UD loss for the EGO Lightweight Championship.

Jonathan King vs. Markell Martin

Jonathan King enters this contest with a 1-1 record. Fighting out of Adrenaline Academy, King looks to turn his las victory over Chaise Boehmer into a streak with a win tonight over Martin.

Markell Martin makes his first appearance on a Carnage Fight Series show tonight. ‘Chaos’ is looking to bounce back from a submission loss to Ben Fain at BCM Fight Night 22 and return home to Columbis with a win.

Jay Bashaw vs. James Gibson

The next chapter in the Garcia MMA – Demolition Fight Team rivalry looks to be a thriller. Jay Bashaw looks to move to 2-0 after a UD win over Anthony Swartz at CFS 3. Bashaw also won tough split-decision kickboxing match agains Josh Frazier.

James ‘Hotsauce’ Gibson is one of the most active amateur fighters at DFT. Gibson is a tough competitor who is undefeated in fights that make it to the judges decision. He’ll need to be wary of submission attempts though, as most of his losses have been via submission.

Kyle Paul vs. Deacon Sawchuk

Adrenaline Academy’s Kyle Paul looks to push his undefeated record to 3-0 against Deacon Sawchuck in our featued preliminary bout. Paul was impressive in his previous two victories in 2025. He won a split decision vs Josh Frazier at CFS 2.

Deacon Sawchuk fights out of Ohio Fitness & Martial Arts Center. He’s looking to get back to his winning ways after a tough DQ loss at CFS 3. Sawchuk owns one of the fastest finishes in Carnage Media history, knocking out Jordan Desola at Combate MVP in nine seconds.

Main Card

Juwan Minniefield vs. Kaiden Hastings

Juwan ‘Bigg’ Minniefield is undefeated since returning to the sport this year. He’s had impressive wins over Shawn Freeman and Kev Buckner this year and looks to end 2025 undefeated in front of his home crowd.

Kaiden ‘Go Stupid’ Hastings is one of the most unique strikers you’ll ever see. He’s won three of his last four bouts, with two UD wins in kickboxing since July. Hastings looks to keep the momentum rolling by silencing the Sandusky crowd with a win.

Andrew Gamblin vs. Nate Murphy

This one is a candidate for Fight of the Night. Andrew Gamblin has been on a roll lately, winning four fights in a row, including two championships (EGO Fight Series, Carnage Fight Series). Gamblin brings his unique fighting style and championship pedigree back home to Sandusky.

Across from Gamblin will be Nate Murphy, another talented fighter out of Ohio Fitness & Martial Arts Center. He’s riding a three-fight MMA win streak, which includes an incredible knockout via knee strikes against Daniel Barrett Jr. at CFS 2.

JD McNett vs. John Leark

What’s more intriguing than a debut fighter? How about two debuts facing off! JD McNett and John Leark square off to see who will begin their pro MMA careers with a win. McNett had an impressive 6-3 amatuer record, taking on some of the best amateurs in Northwest Ohio.

Leark has two Muay Thai victories to go along with his 5-3 amateur MMA record. Leark has the size and reach advantage in this one, which may become a major factor.

Jimmy Sandlin vs. Jay Haas

Jimmy ‘The Sandstorm’ Sandlin has been involved in some of the best fights we’ve seen at Carnage Media this year and he’ll almost certainly be a candidate for Fight of the Year in 2025 Carnage Media Awards. He returned to form after two tough losses to Quintin Richards and Dylan Budka, earning back-to-back first round finishes heading into this bout.

Jay Haas steps into the cage after a quick turnaround from his last fight. Haas defeated Cameron Bennett via armbar in the first round on November 14th at Island Fights 93. Representing Unrivaled Athletics, Haas is looking to end 2025 with his 17th pro victory.

Charlie Cleveland vs. Cam Graham

Who doesn’t love a couple of heavyweights slugging it out for the Main Event? This one likely won’t make it to the judges’ decision, as these two have 11 KOs between them. Charlie Cleveland won his last fight via submission at EGO Fight Series 5 against Juan Silva.

Cam ‘Big Mac’ Graham is a seasoned veteran who will be looking to avenge a loss in his last bout against Alexandr Romanov. Representing Impact Fitness, Graham wants to return to Florida with another mark in the win column. ‘Big Mac’ is the 18th ranked pro heavweight in the Northeast. Both men predicted that this fight will end early when we spoke to them at weigh-ins. This Main Event may be over quickly, but it will certainly be explosive.

Fights before Christmas

For more on these incredible matchups, check out Clayton Skulina’s ‘Keys to Victory‘ article!

Don’t miss out on these epic matchups! Get your tickets now!