GREAT FALLS — Great Falls native Kai Stewart has fought all over the world.
Next month, he'll step onto one of the biggest stages of his career.
The undefeated BKFC featherweight champion (9-0) will headline Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship's first event at Fenway Park in Boston — the iconic home of the Red Sox — on Aug. 29, putting his featherweight title on against Boston native Harry “The Hitman” Gigliotti (1-0) in front of an expected crowd of thousands.
When Stewart first got the call, he admits he didn't immediately grasp the magnitude of the opportunity.
WATCH: Kai Stewart headlining BKFC event at Fenway Park
"I get the Fenway Park call and at first I didn't really understand the significance of it," Stewart said. "Then my phone blew up. Being able to headline a monumental event, the first-ever combat sports at Fenway ... I love being that road warrior."
The event marks another milestone in a career that's taken the former CMR state wrestling champion from Great Falls gyms to championship fights around the globe.
Despite the international success, Stewart says Montana remains at the center of who he is as both a fighter and a person.
Back at Flow State Athletics in Great Falls, the wrestling mats and familiar faces serve as a reminder of where his journey began.
"Nobody makes money off this gym," Stewart said. "We keep the doors open so we have a place to grind."
Stewart believes that blue-collar mentality has fueled his rise through BKFC, where he's compiled a perfect 9-0 record while capturing six world titles.
"I want to continue to show that blue-collar Montana work ethic and make my literal dreams come true," Stewart said. “We’re on track so far."
Stewart and his fiancée, Dakota Rhoads, recently got engaged in Hawaii after one of his fights. A fighter herself, Rhoads is a familiar face in Stewart's corner, working alongside the coaches who have helped shape his career. She says that when the action starts, Stewart can always pick out her voice.
"He's told me before that he's never heard any of his cornermen before, but he will hear me. Every single time I yelled something out, he would immediately do it," Rhoads said.
Gigliotti will be the heavy hometown favorite, giving the Montana native another opportunity to embrace the role he's grown to enjoy.
"I get to go against a Boston hometown guy. I love being that road warrior," Stewart said. "I'm going to be walking out to the oldest, most iconic baseball stadium in the country, and I get to walk out as the very last fighter."
For a fighter who grew up in north-central Montana dreaming big, it's another opportunity to prove he belongs on the sport's biggest stages.
