MIXING IT UP

A better life.

The opportunity for just that is what turned mixed martial arts from a hobby for Gabe Rednose into a potential career.

Next month very well could be a proving grounds on just how far Rednose can take that career…and how much better he can make the life for himself and his family.

A 2016 Kingfisher High School graduate, Rednose was recently selected to the American team that will compete June 22-24 in the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation (IMMAF) Pan American Championships in Monterrey, Mexico.

He’ll brawl in a single-elimination tournament in the 93 kg (205-pound) division against fighters from across North and South America. IMMAF’s Pan American member nations include Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, St. Martin, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela and the U.S.

Winners in each division will qualify for the IMMAF World Championships later this year in Abu Dhabi.

“I see him sweeping the Pan Ams and getting ranked at the worlds,” said Joe “Daddy” Stevenson, an MMA veteran and owner of Cobra Kai Martial Arts where Rednose has spent much of the last month training.

It was Stevenson who very well may have plucked Rednose out of obscurity and began the launching pad for his career.

As it turned out, Rednose was more than ready. • • •

During his wrestling career at KHS, Rednose was moderately successful.

He reached state as a heavyweight in his senior season. Though he didn’t place, Rednose still showed enough potential to land a spot at Otero College in La Junta, Colo.

However, Rednose didn’t last a full year.

“I realized college wasn’t for me and came back home,” he said.

Still, Rednose had the “itch to compete.” With his background in wrestling, MMA seemed like a natural progression.

“I trained in my garage with a few buddies,” he said. Among them were Ryan Kelly and James Morgan of Hennessey.

“But I never took it serious.”

He took it serious enough to step into the cage and put his skills to the test.

Rednose made his fight debut Sept. 8, 2018, at a Rage in the Cage event at Lucky Star Casino. He needed just 1:36 to defeat Cody Ledbetter by submission.

He won again in January 2019 and then again just two months later. That March 2019 win via punches over Oscar Delcid won him the Gladiator Cage Fighting heavyweight title.

After suffering his first defeat in April 2019, Rednose bounced back just two weeks later to defeat Phillip Rutledge at 2:59 in the first round. That victory garnered him the Rage in the Cage heavyweight championship.

COVID-19 wiped out chances to fight in 2020. Although he didn’t fight in 2021, Rednose began a journey to better himself physically.

When he returned to the cage at the Martial Combat League 3 event in February of this year, Rednose fought as a heavyweight, but weighed just 216 pounds.

Then came April 16…the night that very well might have changed Rednose’s life.

He weighed in at 203.8 pounds and was set to take on John Bentley for the North West Fighting Alliance’s (NWFA) light heavyweight championship in Bentonville, Ark.

Bentley was a Division 2 wrestler who was undefeated in his own fighting career.

One of the judges for the scheduled three-round fight was none other than Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. • • •

MMA had yet to truly grab hold in American sports culture, even at the turn of the millennium.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) had been holding events since 1993, but struggled to catch on. Eventually it was purchased by casino executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, who turned it over to Dana White to run.

Born from the new ownership was the Ultimate Fighter, a reality-television show that featured up-and-coming fighters who were vying for six-figure contracts in the UFC.

In January 2005, Forrest Griffin defeated Stephan Bonnar in the finals of the light heavyweight tournament in a toe-to-toe battle on a live broadcast that eventually had 1.9 million people tune in.

That fight is credited with launching the UFC and, therefore, MMA’s popularity in the U.S.

Later that same year, Stevenson defeated Luke Cummo to become the Ultimate Fighter 2 welterweight tournament winner.

Although he was already an experienced veteran, that was the start of a solid run in the UFC, which began to skyrocket in popularity.

Before retiring from fighting in 2016, Stevenson managed a 33-16 pro record and on top of running his gym in Victorsville, Calif., he is the coaching director for the U.S. team that will travel to Mexico.

• • • Stevenson was ringside to watch the card a few weeks back in Bentonville.

In walked the new-look Rednose to take on Bentley.

The former Yellowjacket needed just 1:30 to earn the technical knockout.

Nicknamed “The Freight Train,” Rednose lived up to the moniker, but what truly caught Stevenson’s eye was Rednose’s post-fight actions.

“He did very well, but what caught my attention was how well-mannered and polite and respectful he was to his opponent and everyone after he won,” Stevenson said.

“Usually after a fighter wins, they’re screaming and celebrating. For sure, Gabe was happy he won, but he was very, very respectful.”

When the event was over, Rednose got the opportunity to meet Stevenson. They talked and the good vibes continued.

It led Stevenson to wonder what Rednose would look like if Stevenson were able to lure him to California “and I could give him some drills.”

On a whim, Stevenson made the offer to Rednose.

“I threw it out there and he jumped at it. He called me the next day and he was out here the next week,” Stevenson said.

“A lot of people are a lot of talk. He jumped at the opportunity.”

Rednose’s eagerness didn’t end with the plane ride.

MMA training is notoriously brutal. On top of studying the different disciplines of the sport, there is the seemingly endless amounts of cardio.

“He lost six or eight pounds the first day from all the training,” Stevenson said.

“A lot of people quit, but he just worked through everything.”

Before working with Stevenson and his wide array of coaches, Rednose admitted he “just relied on my wrestling and ground-and-pound to get the win.”

Now?

“I’ve improved in all aspects of my game,” he said. “Joe can break down the game to the smallest bits of mechanics possible and explain it very well,” Rednose said.

“In just this one month I have 100 percent become a better fighter than I ever was.”

Part of Rednose’s ability is natural, said Stevenson.

“He definitely hits you hard,” said the coach. “You look at that and it excites you because that’s something when you fine tune a fighter, those are the people who knock you out.”

Stevenson said his job as a coach was to “clean up” all aspects of Rednose’s fighting.

Rednose, he said, has had to be willing to do the rest.

“Fight IQ is really important. It helps you determine where you want to take the fight and why,” Stevenson said. “Gabe’s awareness of what type of fighter he is has doubled or tripled.

Now he’s training with a purpose because he understands a lot more than he did and in just a short amount of time.”

Rednose’s size, natural abilities and work ethic have made him a rare find, Stevenson said.

“There are a lot of really good smaller and medium sized fighters and they have to work tooth and nail,” Stevenson said. “When you find that big guy that also wants to work tooth and nail?

“That’s a gem.”

• • • The training doesn’t come without sacrifices beyond those that are physical.

First of all, Rednose is a full-time employee in the IT department at Lucky Star Casino.

“I was blessed enough that they allowed me to take off the month to train and get ready for this massive opportunity that came about,” he said.

However, it was an unpaid leave of absence.

That’s where his hometown has stepped up to aid him in his quest. A number of local businesses and even some individuals have sponsored “The Freight Train” in his quest.

“It means more to me than they’ll ever know,” he said.

The time in California has also meant time away from his family.

Rednose and his longtime girlfriend, Katelyn Heskett, have two children.

Their daughter, Parker, will turn 3 in August. Riot, their son, turned 1 in February.

Rednose was not only fighting on the mats of the Cobra Kai facility, but his own emotions for the last month.

“I’ve really struggled being away from them and leaving Katelyn alone with them,” he said.

“It’s not that she can’t handle it. She’s a great mom and has really held it down for us while I’ve been away.”

Rednose’s first stint in California was essentially a tryout for the U.S. team.

The head of the selection committee for that team? None other than Forrest Griffin, who turned that fateful fight into a UFC Hall of Fame career.

“Forrest ends up picking a team member if there’s like a tie between guys,” Stevenson said. “But everyone agreed about Gabe.”

The next several weeks were spent with Stevenson as well as striking coach Luis Iniguez and other renowned coaches and fighters like Bobby Green and Dominick Reyes.

“He’s really worked hard with guys who have been or are in the UFC, so he sees where he’s at and where he needs to be,” Stevenson said. “Now we’ll use this amateur world (Pan Am Games) as a good gauging stone.”

One day after returning from California, Rednose was in Oklahoma City setting up training with renowned Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Rafael Lovato, himself a veteran MMA fighter.

The fact Rednose returned home and immediately worked to get better further cemented Stevenson’s belief in him.

“Actions speak louder than words,” he said. “Most big guys just want to be famous. The big guys who will sacrifice just like him are few and far between.

“It’s just cool when you find someone like this. You know they’re going to do great things and you get to find them at the beginning of their career. I’m very excited to coach him and see it happen.”

For Rednose, the purpose of his training is more than becoming a better grappler, a more refined striker and a potential participant in a world championship.

There’s something else that makes the literal blood, sweat and tears all worth it.

It’s Katelyn and Parker and Riot.

“It was some of the toughest times I’ve had,” he said of being away from Heskett and their two young children.

“But I’ve told myself more than a thousand times these last 30 days is that I’m sacrificing now to give them a better life later.”