Vitaly Minakov Explained

Vitaly Minakov
Виталий Минаков
Birth Name:Vitaly Viktorovich Minakov
Birth Date:6 February 1985
Birth Place:Bryansk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Nickname:The New Emperor
Nationality:Russian
Weight:265lb
Weight Class:Heavyweight (265 lb)
Reach In:78
Style:Sambo
Stance:Orthodox
Fighting Out Of:Bryansk, Russia
Team:Eagles MMA
Fight Nights Team
Rank:1st Razryad Grand Master in Sambo
Black belt in Judo
Master of Sports in Freestyle Wrestling
Years Active:2010–2021
Mma Kowin:13
Mma Subwin:7
Mma Decwin:2
Mma Koloss:1
Mma Decloss:1
Sherdog:63046

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.

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

Sambo

Judo

Mixed martial arts record

|-| Loss| align=center|22–2|Said Sowma|TKO (finger injury)|Bellator 269||align=center|3|align=center|3:08|Moscow, Russia||-|Win|align=center|22–1|Timothy Johnson|KO (punches) |Bellator 225||align=center|1|align=center|1:45|Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States||-| Loss| align=center|21–1| Cheick Kongo| Decision (unanimous)| Bellator 216| | align=center|3| align=center|5:00| Uncasville, Connecticut, United States| |-| Win| align=center| 21–0| Tony Johnson| TKO (punches)| Fight Nights Global 82: Minakov vs. Johnson| | align=center|2| align=center|0:38| Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 20–0| Antônio Silva| KO (punches)| Fight Nights Global 68: Pavlovich vs. Mokhnatkin| | align=center|2| align=center|1:37| St. Petersburg, Leningrad oblast, Russia| |-|Win| align=center| 19–0| DJ Linderman| KO (punches)| Fight Nights Global 59: Minakov vs. Linderman||align=center| 3|align=center| 3:09| Khimki, Moscow Oblast, Russia||-| Win| align=center| 18–0| Peter Graham| Submission (armbar)| Fight Nights Global 50: Fedor vs. Maldonado| | align=center| 1| align=center|1:01| St. Petersburg, Leningrad oblast, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 17–0| Josh Copeland| Submission (kimura)| Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 20 | | align=center| 2| align=center| 2:50| Moscow, Moscow oblast, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 16–0| Geronimo dos Santos| Submission (armbar)| Fight Nights Global: Dagestan| | align=center| 1| align=center| 3:14| Kaspiysk, Dagestan, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 15–0| Adam Maciejewski| TKO (punches)| Fight Nights Global: Sochi| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:20| Sochi, Krasnodar krai, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 14–0| Cheick Kongo| Decision (unanimous)| Bellator 115| | align=center| 5| align=center| 5:00| Reno, Nevada, United States| |-| Win| align=center| 13–0| Alexander Volkov| TKO (punches)| Bellator 108| | align=center| 1| align=center| 2:57| Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States| |-| Win| align=center| 12–0| Ryan Martinez| TKO (punches)| Bellator 97| | align=center| 3| align=center| 4:02| Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States| |-| Win| align=center| 11–0| Ron Sparks| KO (punches)| Bellator 96| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:32| Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States||-| Win| align=center| 10–0| Vladimir Starcencov| TKO (punches)| Bellator 79| | align=center| 2| align=center| 0:27| Rama, Ontario, Canada||-| Win| align=center| 9–0| Fabiano Scherner| TKO (punches)| Fight Nights: Battle of Desne| | align=center| 1| align=center| 3:51| Bryansk, Bryansk Oblast, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 8–0| Eddie Sanchez| KO (punch)| Fight Nights: Battle of Moscow 7| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:59| Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 7–0| Karol Celinski| TKO (corner stoppage)| Faxe Forward Challenge 2: Russia vs. Latvia| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:55| Riga, Vidzeme, Latvia| |-| Win| align=center| 6–0| Ivan Frolov| Submission (guillotine choke)| AntMMA: Ultimate Fighting of Bryansk| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:45| Bryansk, Bryansk Oblast, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 5–0| Juan Espino| TKO (punches)| League S-70: Sambo 70 vs. Spain| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:09| Moscow, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 4–0| Valery Scherbakov| Submission (armbar)| M-1 Challenge 22: Narkun vs. Vasilevsky| | align=center| 1| align=center| 1:05| Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 3–0| Vitalii Yalovenko| Decision (unanimous)| M-1 Selection 2010: Eastern Europe Finals| | align=center| 3| align=center| 5:00| Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 2–0| Alexander Zubachov| Submission (rear-naked choke)| Sambo-70/M-1 Global: Sochi Open European Championships| | align=center| 1| align=center| 0:27| Sochi, Krasnodar Krai, Russia| |-| Win| align=center| 1–0| Ruslan Kabdulin| Submission (armbar)| M-1 Selection 2010: Eastern Europe Round 2| | align=center| 1| align=center| 4:19| Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine|

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Minakov Signing in Bellator. mmafightcorner.com. June 14, 2012. August 27, 2012. January 31, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170131200759/http://www.mmafightcorner.com/2012/06/14/bellator-fighting-championships-announces-signing-vitaly-minakov/. dead.
  2. Web site: Vladimir Starcencov, Judoka, JudoInside. 12 July 2015.
  3. Web site: Judo Master at Bellator 96. tapology.com. May 19, 2013.
  4. Web site: Vitaly Minakov vs. Cheick Kongo title fight slated for Bellator 115. mmajunkie.com. Staff. 2014-01-17. 2014-01-17.
  5. Web site: Bellator cuts lightweight champ Will Brooks, strips heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov. mmajunkie.com. John Morgan. 2015-05-14.
  6. Web site: Ex-champ Vitaly Minakov re-signs with Bellator as potential title challenger. August 23, 2018. Steven Marrocco. mmajunkie.com.
  7. Web site: Gift. Paul. MMA Agent: Ali Abdelaziz Interfered With Vitaly Minakov's Bellator Contract. 2021-06-26. Forbes. en.
  8. Web site: 2019-02-14. Manager sues ex-Bellator champ Vitaly Minakov, Ali Abdelaziz. 2021-06-27. MMA Junkie. en-US.
  9. Web site: Former agent seeks to recoup lost commissions from Russian Heavyweight represented by Ali Abdelaziz. 2021-06-27. mmapayout.com.
  10. Web site: MVP vs. Daley. www.bellator.com. Staff. February 16, 2019.
  11. Web site: Bellator 216 results: Cheick Kongo gets unanimous decision nod over Vitaly Minakov. www.mmafighting.com. Dave Doyle. February 16, 2019.
  12. Web site: Bellator 225 co-headliner set with ex-heavyweight champ Vitaly Minakov vs. Javy Ayala. Simon Head. mmajunkie.com. July 30, 2019.
  13. Web site: Javy Ayala out of Bellator 225 co-headliner; Tim Johnson steps in to fight Vitaly Minakov. MMA Junkie. August 24, 2019. August 24, 2019.
  14. Web site: Vitaly Minakov vs. Javy Ayala signed for Bellator 232. Ken Pishna. September 23, 2019. mmaweekly.com.
  15. Web site: Bellator 232: Vitaly Minakov's fight with Javy Ayala canceled due to visa issue. October 22, 2019. mmajunkie.com.
  16. Web site: Минаков проведет бой против Форчуна на турнире Bellator в Москве. 2021-08-02. ТАСС.
  17. Web site: FightTime. У Виталия Минакова сменился соперник. 2021-08-31. fighttime.ru. ru.
  18. Web site: Anderson. Jay. 2021-10-23. Bellator 269 Results: Injured Finger Brings Early End to Vitaly Minakov vs. Said Sowma. 2021-10-23. Cageside Press. en-US.
  19. Web site: Bellator 225 post-event facts: History made with 14 fights and 14 finishes. Mike Bohn. August 25, 2019. mmajunkie.com.
  20. Web site: Виталий Минаков. 12 July 2015.

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