The battle that we had all been waiting for finally materialized during the 250SX main event in Seattle, where Haiden Deegan and Levi Kitchen engaged in an intense head-to-head fight for the race’s duration. What we can take from Saturday night is that while there is tension amid their rivalry, an undertone of competitive respect remains.

There’s no love lost between the defending Western Division champion Deegan and Monster Energy Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Kitchen. Wherever you’d like to trace the origin to, a certain boiling point moment was St. Louis’ second SMX World Championship Playoff round last year, where a costly collision had an impact on the title picture.

In Deegan’s mind, Kitchen’s move in Missouri – and the important points lost – ultimately cost him not only the SMX title, but a $500,000 pay day, which is something the 20-year-old appears yet to let go of. Instead, he’s upped the ante in taunting the number 47, taking every opportunity possible to fire his shot at Levi in 2026.

Combine that with Kitchen being a genuine title challenger, as the previous two 250SX seasons have shown us, and we thought we were in for a series of fireworks in the class, however, average starts and a sequence of mistakes from ‘The Chef’ have made this year’s western region a runaway for the number one after six rounds.

Finally, though, we were treated to what we expected ever since Anaheim 1 or even in the lead-up, and that was a true Deegan vs Kitchen showdown, which was something even the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider admitted that he relished in the aftermath post-race.

Image: Octopi Media.

“I wanted to battle, that was my goal,” said Deegan after the race. “I wanted someone to put up a battle – like, I hate to say the races get boring because that’s kinda like… I mean, I already am cocky, so it is what it is [laughs]. It’s nice to have a race where you holeshot and win, that’s amazing, but a good battle like that, I feel like, makes me better as a rider.

“I feel like these races where I am just out there alone, it’s nice, but it’s not really making me too much better, I’d say. But these battles, though, just kind of critiques that race craft.

“I haven’t been that stoked in a long time after a race,” he continued. “I was ecstatic, for sure. I even went to do a little emote afterwards, and I just was like, ‘Nah.’ Levi came up, I’m like, ‘Yeah, this one feels good, I’ll be a good guy,’ and it was fun. That was a good battle – I think it’ll go down in the history books, for sure.”

As for the interaction after the race and on the podium, the question on everyone’s mind was, ‘What was said?’ Deegan gave an answer, suggesting that, despite their colorful past, when you’re pushed to the limit by another competitor, a certain level of respect is there:
“Yeah, I mean, a good battle like that – it never really got too out of hand, and we went for 15 minutes plus one lap, battling. So, it was just ‘good job,’ really, that was a dogfight, and neither of us had it easy.”

After a season underscored by struggles, we did get to see 25-year-old Kitchen’s full potential, which is right where we thought it might be. First turn incidents, coupled with unforced errors have held him back in 2026, although his performance in front of his hometown Washington fans verified why many considered him a title threat.

Image: Octopi Media.

He posted a fastest lap time of 49.947s in the main event – which was 0.713s clear of the second-quickest rider in Deegan – and while still listed P5 in the overall standings, we’re at least starting to see signs of life from Kitchen closer to his expected form. And that’s important for his career trajectory.

“The difference between riding offensive and defensive is hard – and that’s probably where I got caught up, I’d say, once I got into the lead,” recalled Kitchen. “I felt I put in a couple of good laps and then started riding defensively once I got into the lappers, and then he was there.

“Once we started doing the cat-and-mouse thing, it was like… we weren’t really racing forward, but we had to do that, obviously, as we were both going at a similar speed tonight. It was fun.

“I haven’t spoken to him since… it’s been a long time,” Kitchen admitted. “And we both shook hands after that one, because it was fun. We were pretty clean, you know, there was nothing too bad, and we were doing some cat-and-mouse things which were kind of fun. I had a blast tonight – I’m sure he did too, so overall it was good.

“Obviously, everyone knows there has been some history, but for me, sportsmanship is more important than anything. Off the track, however things go, when we have the helmets on and have a race like that, and everything stays clean, and we put on a show for the fans, I’m going to respect him.

Image: Octopi Media.

“He’s pushing me to another limit, and I am trying to keep him on his toes, and I think I did that tonight.”

There have been few riders who have posed a genuine challenge to the prodigy that is Haiden Deegan, and not many who could take him to his limits for an entire race. But Levi Kitchen is one of those riders, and we’ve seen that this year, even in their qualifying back-and-forths.

Deegan and his camp know how much work they put in, which means that when there is another rider who can run the outright pace, you can’t help but show some respect to that, because they’re aware first-hand what it takes to be of that caliber.

And I think that’s what we saw on Saturday night between the pair. Wherever the ‘bad blood’ originated – with St. Louis adding fuel to a pre-existent fire – performances like Seattle succeed those feelings, with all that’s left to say being ‘good job.’

For us, we saw a classic fight for supremacy – at least on that very night inside Lumen Field – and this is one that we will all speak to or reference for years to come. It was a mega effort by both opponents, and the even neater part is that each of them could acknowledge the other’s efforts heading into the 250SX West mid-season break.