Vitaly_Minakov

Vitaly Minakov

Vitaly Minakov

Russian sambist, judoka and mixed martial artist

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Viktorovich and the family name is Minakov.

Vitaly Viktorovich Minakov (Russian: Виталий Викторович Минаков; born February 6, 1985) is a Russian mixed martial artist, sambist and judoka who competed in the heavyweight division. A professional competitor from 2010 till 2021, he competed for Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator MMA Heavyweight World Champion, M-1 Global and Fight Nights Global.

Quick Facts Born, Nickname ...

Mixed martial arts career

MMA career

Minakov made his professional MMA debut in November 2010. He is a Sambo World Champion, (2008–2011).

Minakov defeated UFC and Bellator veteran Eddie Sanchez on June 7, 2012 at Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 7. He won via KO in the first round.

Minakov defeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and UFC veteran Fabiano Scherner on September 17, 2012 at Fight Nights - Battle of Desne. He won via KO in the first round.

Bellator MMA

In June 2012, Minakov was signed in Bellator.[1]

He made his debut the following fall at Bellator 79 on November 2, 2012. He defeated a Moldavian National Champion & Judo Black Belt [2] Vladimir Starcencov via TKO in the second round to win his Bellator and North American debut.

Minakov faced Ron Sparks on June 19, 2013 in the Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal.[3] He won in the first round by technical knockout.

Minakov faced Ryan Martinez at Bellator 97 in the finals on July 31, 2013. He got the TKO victory via punches in the third round, after he took Martinez down and secured full mount.

Minakov faced and defeated Alexander Volkov on November 15, 2013 at Bellator 108 to win the Bellator Heavyweight Championship.

Minakov faced Bellator Season 9 Heavyweight Tournament winner Cheick Kongo at Bellator 115 on April 4, 2014.[4] He won via unanimous decision to retain the Bellator Heavyweight Championship.

Minakov was stripped of his Bellator MMA title on May 14, 2016 due to inactivity.[5]

Post-Bellator

After leaving Bellator MMA, Minakov returned to fight in his native Russia, under Fight Nights Global promotion. He fought seven times since July 2015 and won all seven of his bouts by finishes.

Return to Bellator

On August 23, 2018 it was revealed that Minakov and his management team had reconciled with Bellator and reached an agreement for a new contract.[6] The new contract was for 6 bouts at $300,000 per fight, with his win bonuses applied on top of that fee.[7]

On January 16, 2019, RusFighters LLC, Minakov's agent and manager, filed a lawsuit in the Orange County Superior Court against Minakov and Ali Abdelaziz, claiming Minakov breached the agreement with RusFighters when he used Abdelaziz to sign the new contract with Bellator.[7][8] On February 28, 2020, the courts agreed that RusFighters LLC is owed 20% of any gross performance compensation of any bout during the term of his 6 bout Bellator contract.[9]

In his return, Minakov faced Cheick Kongo in a rematch at Bellator 216 on February 16, 2019.[10] He lost the fight via unanimous decision, marking his first professional loss in MMA.[11]

Minakov was to face Javy Ayala at Bellator 225 on August 24, 2019.[12] However, on the day of the fight, it was announced that Ayala was pulled from the bout due to undisclosed medical reasons. Minakov instead faced Tim Johnson.[13] Minakov won the bout via first round knockout.

Minakov was rescheduled to meet Ayala at Bellator 232 on October 26, 2019.[14] However, Minakov was unable to obtain visa for the bout, leading to Ayala being pulled from the card also.[15]

Minakov was scheduled to face Tyrell Fortune on October 23, 2021 at Bellator 269.[16] However in August, it was announced that Fortune pulled out due to unknown reasons and was replaced by Said Sowma.[17] He lost the bout after it was stopped due to a broken finger.[18]

Championships and accomplishments

Martial arts

  • Global-MMA
    • Global-MMA Fighter of the Year 2013.

Sambo

Judo

  • Russian Judo Federation[21]
    • 2006 Russian U23 Championships: 1st place
    • 2005 Russian U23 Championships: 3rd place
    • 2004 Russian U20 Championships: 2nd place

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
24 matches 22 wins 2 losses
By knockout 13 1
By submission 7 0
By decision 2 1
More information Res., Record ...

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Minakov Signing in Bellator". mmafightcorner.com. June 14, 2012. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  2. [2]
    "Vladimir Starcencov, Judoka, JudoInside". Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  3. [3]
    "Judo Master at Bellator 96". tapology.com. May 19, 2013.
  4. [4]
    Staff (2014-01-17). "Vitaly Minakov vs. Cheick Kongo title fight slated for Bellator 115". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-01-17.
  5. [5]
    John Morgan (2015-05-14). "Bellator cuts lightweight champ Will Brooks, strips heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov". mmajunkie.com.
  6. [6]
    Steven Marrocco (August 23, 2018). "Ex-champ Vitaly Minakov re-signs with Bellator as potential title challenger". mmajunkie.com.
  7. [7]
    Gift, Paul. "MMA Agent: Ali Abdelaziz Interfered With Vitaly Minakov's Bellator Contract". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  8. [8]
    "Manager sues ex-Bellator champ Vitaly Minakov, Ali Abdelaziz". MMA Junkie. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  9. [9]
    "Former agent seeks to recoup lost commissions from Russian Heavyweight represented by Ali Abdelaziz". mmapayout.com. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  10. [10]
    Staff (February 16, 2019). "MVP vs. Daley". www.bellator.com.
  11. [11]
    Dave Doyle (February 16, 2019). "Bellator 216 results: Cheick Kongo gets unanimous decision nod over Vitaly Minakov". www.mmafighting.com.
  12. [12]
    Simon Head (July 30, 2019). "Bellator 225 co-headliner set with ex-heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov vs. Javy Ayala". mmajunkie.com.
  13. [13]
    "Javy Ayala out of Bellator 225 co-headliner; Tim Johnson steps in to fight Vitaly Minakov". MMA Junkie. August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  14. [14]
    Ken Pishna (September 23, 2019). "Vitaly Minakov vs. Javy Ayala signed for Bellator 232". mmaweekly.com.
  15. [15]
    "Bellator 232: Vitaly Minakov's fight with Javy Ayala canceled due to visa issue". mmajunkie.com. October 22, 2019.
  16. [16]
    "Минаков проведет бой против Форчуна на турнире Bellator в Москве". ТАСС. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  17. [17]
    FightTime. "У Виталия Минакова сменился соперник". fighttime.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  18. [18]
    Anderson, Jay (2021-10-23). "Bellator 269 Results: Injured Finger Brings Early End to Vitaly Minakov vs. Said Sowma". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
  19. [19]
    Mike Bohn (August 25, 2019). "Bellator 225 post-event facts: History made with 14 fights and 14 finishes". mmajunkie.com.
  20. [20]
    "Виталий Минаков". Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  21. [21]
    Vitaly Minakov at JudoInside.com Edit this at Wikidata
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