BKFC champ Kai Stewart reveals he was ‘so close’ to fighting Cody Garbrandt in bare-knuckle before he re-signed with UFC

Kai Stewart is the six-time defending BKFC featherweight champion about to go for his seventh in a row when he faces Harry Gigliotti at the upcoming card at Fenway Park in Boston on Aug. 29, but he admits after already clearing out his division that he’s starting to look for bigger and better challenges.

While he says he’ll never turn down a fight when BKFC comes calling, Stewart thought he was finally going to get a massive crossover matchup when he was in talks for a showdown against former UFC champion Cody Garbrandt. At the time, Garbrandt was nearing the end of his contract with the UFC and Stewart says he was confident that  fight between them was going to happen.

“I was so close to fighting Cody Garbrandt,” Stewart told MMA Fighting. “It was so close to being done for KnuckleMania that I just feel like I have to get that one. That’s a fight I really need for me, just because I want to show that I can hang with the best of the best.”

Back in 2025, Garbrandt revealed that he inked a new multi-fight deal to stay with the UFC with his next bout booked on Saturday when he faces Adrian Yanez at UFC 329. But Stewart says just before the UFC decided to keep Garbrandt on the roster, a bare-knuckle brawl between them was on the table.

To his credit, Stewart says Garbrandt told him personally what happened and why they wouldn’t be fighting but losing out on such a huge opportunity still stings to this day.

“I actually heard it from his mouth,” Stewart said about Garbrandt. “I was going to keep it a secret. I was just told that it’s not done and they’re not talking about it but we talked to Cody Garbrandt face-to-face. He straight up said ‘yeah, UFC gave me an offer I couldn’t resist.’

“I was like f*ck! We were this close! But in due time. 100% god’s plan. I’m put in the situations that I’m put in for a reason and it wasn’t my time yet. We’re inching closer to that time and it starts Aug. 29, home plan, Fenway Park. It doesn’t get much cooler than that.”

Ideally, Stewart would still love the chance to throw down with Garbrandt in BKFC, but he’s also looking ahead at other opportunities that could be awaiting with him with another big win.

“Hey Cody Garbrandt can still stop being a bitch and take the gloves off and come fight me,” Stewart said. “I’m saying that opportunity and offer is still out there. Whatever weight class he wants me to do.

“[First] I need to beat this guy, who is decorated in his respective ‘B’ list organization, but I’m going to go out there and beat him and then we’re going to re-evaluate how I can maximize my money, maximize my exposure and stay busy. If it takes two weight classes, to keep me busy, I will do that. But I need to stay busy and the fights need to make sense.”