GREAT FALLS — Great Falls CMR alum and two-time defending Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship featherweight world titlist Kai Stewart is set to defend his belt once again at BKFC 62.
After defeating Howard Davis in his first title defense and improving to a perfect 5-0, Stewart will head to the east coast and take on Bryan Duran (6-0).
Duran, a Miami native, will be fighting in his back yard since the fight will be taking place in Hollywood, Florida. Despite being the champion, Stewart feels like he will be entering into the ring as the underdog. Going against Duran in essentially his hometown leaves Stewart not wanting to leave the decision up to the judges.
“I’ve heard so many horror stories regarding the Florida State Athletic Commission. My ultimate goal is to put this guy's lights out,” said Stewart. “I signed a (knockout) bonus and we’re going to take that home.”
Not only is Stewart looking to win by knockout, but he is also looking to finish the fight with limited cuts on his face so he can enjoy some Miami activities when he is done in the ring.
“There (are) a couple companies that want to take me swimming with sharks, they want to take me to the coral reefs, and they want to show me the underwater ocean,” he said. “I’ve never gotten to do that. With cuts, you can’t be swimming underwater so we’re going to try to get out of this fight unscathed and go party in Miami.”
The fight card will have three championship matches with Stewart’s being the main event. As the headliner for BKFC 62, it marks the first time that he will headline an event outside of Montana. Stewart told MTN Sports that he is grateful to be a trailblazer for Montana athletes in this aspect.
The cherry on top for Stewart has been the promotion of this fight coming from UFC legend Connor McGregor. McGregor has recently become a part owner of BKFC and been active on social media regarding Stewart’s upcoming fight.
“I was 16 years old sitting at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s here in Montana watching him knock out Jose Aldo and I told myself, I can do this, I can be like him. For him to come over and now he’s posting my stuff onto his Instagram page, it’s like a dream come true but we've got to act like we been there,” said Stewart.
“We got to win this fight and once I win this fight, who knows? I could be rubbing elbows with Connor McGregor here real soon.”
Stewart and Duran will enter the ring on June 21 at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Florida.
