BKFC champ Kai Stewart determined for crossover fight vs. Sean O'Malley to determine King of Montana

BKFC champ Kai Stewart is just like the rest of us ungloved fight viewers.

Even though he holds the promotion’s featherweight title, he too is trying to figure out what the hell bareknuckle boxing is – and where it’s headed.

“There’s really no such thing as a bareknuckle boxing coach because it’s so new,” Stewart recently told MMA Junkie. “I’m literally making this sport up as I go. Professional boxers like Austin Trout, he specifically cited before fighting for the world title against Luis Palomino that he watched Kai Stewart fight to really learn how to activate that clinch work, to really bring the whole rule set from BKFC. I’m a really individualized person. My girlfriend has held the most mitts for me since my title reign started. We just kind of make things up as we go and we’ve been crushing it, clearly.”

Clearly, is right. Stewart, 24, is one of BKFC’s only truly homegrown champions. He didn’t jump over from MMA success to revamp his career in a new experience, no. He came up through the ranks and now has a 7-0 record with four title fight wins, including his most recent, a victory over former UFC contender Jimmie Rivera.

“The combat sports world doesn’t give a f*ck about us fighters, so I found my route,” Stewart said. “I found where I’m going to succeed the best and exponentially grow. I started bareknuckle to be a ticket seller, make some extra money, and get a puppy. I never got the puppy, but I ended up getting four world titles so it worked itself out.”

Unlike many of his bareknuckle brawler counterparts, Stewart’s roots in combat sports are in wrestling. He began down the MMA path, but ultimately diverted when the success and paychecks built up in bareknuckle.

That’s not to say Stewart isn’t ruling an MMA return out. He thinks bareknuckle has grown him as a fighter. But there’s no real reason for him, financial or otherwise, to pivot – well, except for one thing.

“Now, I’m going to be so much more of a complete fighter whenever the superfight between me and Sean O'Malley happens,” Stewart said.

It might seem far-fetched and maybe it is, but Stewart wants to keep the idea alive, just in case. Stewart and O’Malley have a little bit of history. Both born in Montana, Stewart said the two have crossed paths both in-person and online.

“I’ve never said a bad thing about O’Malley,” Stewart said. “I kind of joked about Myles Mazurkiewicz, the wrestler that beat him, because he talked sh*t about wrestlers on his Instagram story. That was in 2020 and then he mentioned how I was talking sh*t in his DMs in 2023 after knocking Aljamain out. Clearly, I hit a nerve with him. There’s no real beef on my end. But yeah, he’s definitely sad-eyed that I hurt his feelings talking sh*t in the DMs. So now I think we should just fight. If I suck, let’s fight.”

While the UFC isn’t a company to entertain cross-promotion, Stewart dreams of one day filling a stadium for an all-Montana showdown with O’Malley.

“Let’s do an outdoor show,” Stewart said. “Let’s fill the Grizziles Stadium in Montana. That holds 20,000 people and we’d fill it easy. Something just doesn’t sit right. I’ve never said a bad thing about O’Malley. I kind of joked about Myles Mazurkiewicz, the wrestler that beat him, because he talked sh*t about wrestlers on his Instagram story. That was in 2020 and then he mentioned how I was talking sh*t in his DMs in 2023 after knocking Aljamain out. Clearly, I hit a nerve with him. There’s no real beef on my end. But yeah, he’s definitely sad-eyed that I hurt his feelings talking sh*t in the DMs. So now I think we should just fight. If I suck, let’s fight.

Until that day comes, if it ever does, Stewart plans to continue raising the ceiling as to what’s possible when you fight without gloves.

“At this point, it’s legacy,” Stewart said. “As much as I want those big paychecks, I’m not in it for the money. I’m having so much fun. As long as I’m having fun, I’m going to keep doing this. I’m already a world champion, I don’t have to do this. I get to do this. The goal is to keep winning enough belts that I get a Montana ranch with a river creek running through it. That’s the Montana dream. Obviously, I want those superfights, just to see how good I really am. That’s what I want.

“In the end, money can buy me some really cool stuff. But in the end, it’s like how good am I and how good can I get? I’m only three years into boxing. Whether I go to MMA, whether I try some gloved boxing, whether I knock out superstars in other organizations out, I’m down. But I’m going to leave a really, really crazy legacy. Bareknuckle is going to be the biggest combat sport in the world some day. People are going to look back and say ‘Kai Stewart changed the f*cking game.'”