Kai Stewart tests skills with Louie Lopez at BKFC 44: Stewart vs. Lopez on June 9th. This headliner is to cement the inaugural BKFC featherweight champion.
The fistic fireworks are set to broadcast on FITE TV and the Bare Knuckle TV app. The pugilistic proceedings take over Great Falls, Montana.
Stewart spoke to Dylan Bowker of Bare Knuckle News before this historic bout. Excerpts from the chat are below.
Kai Stewart
Does it feel like there’s a synergy to this moment with the partisan support and the fact that it’s a historic championship clash?
“Yeah, absolutely. Everything’s aligning perfectly for me because this is my hometown. Been my hometown; it’s a dream come true to be able to fight for my first world title bare-knuckle. First 145-pound title, the opportunity to become the youngest champion, all in front of my home crowd that I’ve had since I wrestled on these mats in town. So everything’s full circle, everything happens for a reason, and I just truly think the stars are aligning for it to be my night.”
BKFC
When did all this bad blood first kick off with Lopez?
“Well, almost instantly which is what lead to him calling me out in MMA back in 2019. I think it was August of 2019 and right before an MMA fight, there was a rainstorm. He was first fight of the night, I was second fight of the night, and he just left. He left the arena. This wasn’t against me but this is where our beef started. Some of my family missed my fight because they were a little bit late to the show.”
“But instead of being second fight of the night, I was first fight of the night because he ran out. Blamed it on the rain and I started some banter there. I definitely started it but then he would call me out. Boom, that’s kind of how she all started. Then it snowballed into this huge rivalry because I’m big rivals with his coach (Joe Riggs) as well. So it’s just a big deal up here in Great Falls. Everybody knows about this rivalry.”
BKFC 44
As much as there’s the beef here, you’re coming in at number one while Lopez is the number two ranked BKFC featherweight. Do you see this as a defined clash between the two irrefutable best in the weight category right now?
“I am definitely not one to take away from anybody’s accolades. No matter the hate, no matter what’s going on. I do think that Louie Lopez had a lot of; I don’t believe in luck, I do believe in happenstance. I truly believe that the Howard Davis fight. Honestly think Louie was flown down there as a B-lister. I think Howard Davis is still the number two guy in the division. Truly believe myself as the number one.”
“But I think; yeah, I think that Louie’s earned it. But he also got his jaw broken by Rusty Crowder. So there’s just certain things that make you think eh, but it’s like he did earn it. He did beat Howard Davis, so here we are.”
Kai Stewart vs Louie Lopez
There’s definitely an ever-growing nature to the 145-pound division. Recently Jimmie Rivera mentioned that someone from BKFC told him his next fight would be for the belt. Does the depth in this division excite you should you get your desired outcome this weekend?
“Interesting. He (Rivera) probably plans to fight sometime in 2024 again next. Because then I could totally see that making sense because he is a UFC name. He did look pretty good against Howard Davis, especially the height difference. So that’s a fight that excites me. Looking ahead because I truly believe I’m going to win this title. I put in the work, I put in the efforts.”
“I would absolutely love to share a ring with Dat Nguyen or Jimmie Rivera. Just because they’re bigger names and bigger names means bigger cheques. I’ve earned it and I think I come out on the winning end of those fights too. That’s; yeah, the division is definitely, definitely stacked and it’s growing. It’s exciting being the frontrunner and seeing all the talent, so.”
Who do you ultimately think your first title defense will be against if you in fact become champion here at BKFC 44?
“Yeah, in my personal opinion, I truly believe they’re going to give the next title shot in the division to Dat Nguyen. He’s getting old, he’s getting to the point where he’s not going to want to fight anymore. So I think it’s going to be him next. That way it doesn’t delay things, so. Because between bare-knuckle fights usually, typically you need some time to rest and recover. So I think that Dat Nguyen will be next and then we’ll see.”
