The victory in the Grand Prix gave Minakov the right to title fight with Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov. On November 15, Vitaly Minakov was still allowed to go under the Russian composition. He climbed into the cage in the company of his colleagues in the Fight Nights Team Kamil Gadzhiev and Batu Khasikov. Volkov, as expected, tried to keep his opponent at a distance with the help of kicks, but Minakov managed to enter the clinch on the second attempt and answer with his knees to the body. Having warmed up his opponent a little, he made a risky throw of Volkov on himself, but on the ground he easily turned him over. Alexander managed to tie the opponent on the ground and wait for the referee to return the fight to the standing position. Perhaps the return to the usual element relaxed the champion a little, or he was expecting new takedown attempts from Minakov. Instead, Vitaly carried out a swift attack, which ended with a right uppercut. Volkov was on the ground, but for some time he tried to defend himself. Minakov put all his strength into finishing blows until the fight was stopped. “My tactic for the fight was constant pressure on the opponent, and it was successful,” Minakov said after the fight. “The next challenger, Cheick Kongo, loves to knock out his opponents, just like me. Let's see whose tactics will be winning, but I will not give up my belt just like that.
April 4, 2014 Vitaly Minakov, playing in tournaments mixed martial arts under the auspices of Bellator, for the first time in his career, he defended the heavyweight division title. Experts note that Minakov moved well in the battle against the Congo, was more active and more often took good positions from above. In addition, his advantage was noticeable in the final fifth round, when it seemed that the Russian could finish off his opponent. This did not happen, and the fighters had to wait for the decision of the judges, who unanimously gave Minakov the victory with a score of 48:46. “I fought the strongest representative of the heavyweight division. I won, which means I'm a real champion, ”said the Russian on the Russia 2 channel after the fight, which extended his winning streak to 14 fights.
Title deprivation
In May 2016, Bellator President Scott Coker announced that Vitaly Minakov was no longer the Bellator MMA champion. Cocker explained that the Russian heavyweight remains on the organization's roster but will be stripped of the title due to inactivity. Last time the Russian defended the championship belt in April 2014, defeating Cheick Kongo by unanimous decision, after which he did not appear in the cage of the American organization, but spent three fights under the Fight Nights banner. On June 17, he fought against Peter Graham, winning by submission in the 1st round.
Titles and achievements
- Sports sambo
- Champion of Russia among students (2007) in weight up to 100 kg
- Champion of Russia (2008) in weight over 100 kg
- Four-time champion world (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) in weight over 100 kg
- Honored Master of Sports of Russia
- MMA
- Bellator Heavyweight Championship (1 defense)
Results table
| Result | Record | Rival | Way | Tournament | date | Round | Time | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victory | 19-0 | DJ Linderman | KO (Punches) | EFN 59 - Minakov vs. Linderman | February 23, 2017 | 3 | 3:09 | Khimki, Russia | |
| Victory | 18-0 | Peter Graham | Pain hold (elbow lever) | EFN 50 - Emelianenko vs. Maldonado | June 17, 2016 | 1 | 1:01 | Saint-Petersburg, Russia | |
| Victory | 17-0 | Josh Copeland | Pain hold (kimura) | EFN Fight Nights - Moscow | December 11, 2015 | 2 | 2:50 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Victory | 16-0 | Geronimo dos Santos | Pain hold (elbow lever) | EFN Fight Nights | September 25, 2015 | 1 | 3:14 | Kaspiysk, Russia | |
| Victory | 15-0 | Adam Maciewski | TKO (punches) | EFN Fight Nights | July 31, 2015 | 1 | 0:20 | Sochi, Russia | |
| Victory | 14-0 | Cheick Kongo | unanimous decision | Bellator 115 | April 4, 2014 | 5 | 5:00 | Reno, Nevada, USA | Defended the Bellator Heavyweight Championship. |
| Victory | 13-0 | Alexander Volkov | TKO (punches) | Bellator 108 | November 15, 2013 | 1 | 2:57 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA | Won the Bellator Heavyweight Championship. |
| Victory | 12-0 | Ryan Martinez | TKO (punches) | Bellator 97 | July 31, 2013 | 3 | 4:02 | Rio Rancho, New Mexico, USA | Heavyweight Grand Prix Final. |
| Victory | 11-0 | Ron Sparks | TKO (punches) | Bellator 96 | June 19, 2013 | 1 | 0:32 | Tuckerville, Oklahoma, USA | 1/2 Heavyweight Grand Prix. |
| Victory | 10-0 | Vladimir Starchenkov | TKO (punches) | Bellator 79 | November 2, 2012 | 2 | 0:27 | Rama, Ontario, Canada | Debut in Bellator. |
| Victory | 9-0 | Fabian Scherner | Knockout (strike) | Fight Nights - Battle of Desne | September 17, 2012 | 1 | 3:51 | Bryansk, Russia | |
| Victory | 8-0 | Eddie Sanchez | Knockout (punch) | Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 7 | June 7, 2012 | 1 | 1:59 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Victory | 7-0 | Karol Celinski | TKO (doctor's stop) | FFC 2 - Russia vs. Latvia | April 14, 2012 | 1 | 0:55 | Riga, Latvia | |
| Victory | 6-0 | Ivan Frolov | Choke hold (rear) | IMMAT - International MMA Tournament | June 29, 2011 | 1 | 0:45 | Bryansk, Russia | |
| Victory | 5-0 | Juan Espino | Knockout (punch) | Sambo 70 vs. Spain | April 21, 2011 | 1 | 0:09 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Victory | 4-0 | Valery Shcherbakov | Pain hold (elbow lever) | M-1 Challenge 22: Narkun vs. Vasilevsky | December 1, 2010 | 1 | 1:05 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Victory | 3-0 | Vitaly Yalovenko | unanimous decision | M-1 Selection 2010: Eastern Europe Finals | July 22, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Moscow, Russia | |
| Victory | 2-0 | Alexander Zubachev | Choke hold (rear) | Sambo-70 / M-1 Global: Sochi | July 14, 2010 | 1 | 0:27 | Sochi, Russia | |
| Victory | 1-0 | Ruslan Kabdullin | Pain hold (elbow lever) | M-1 Selection 2010: Eastern Europe Round 2 | April 10, 2010 | 1 | 4:19 | Kyiv, Ukraine |
Activities outside of sports
In 2011, he took part in the Channel One television project Special Task. He served as the commander of the Tiger Detachment. He rose to the rank of sergeant, after a disagreement with an officer, he voluntarily left the project.
On September 14, 2014, after the elections, he became a deputy of the Bryansk Regional Duma, and then was elected deputy chairman of the regional parliament.
Family
Married, father of two children. The younger brother Dmitry Minakov is a sambo wrestler, winner of the championships of Russia and Europe, master of sports of Russia of international class.
On June 2, at the Fight Nights Global 68 tournament, the Russian heavyweight won his 20th victory in MMA. Minakov finished the Brazilian fighter in round 2, successfully maintaining his flawless record.
The same tournament hosted the first Fight Nights league heavyweight title fight. Following the results of 5 rounds, he won by unanimous decision over and became the first champion of the FN Global League in the heavyweight division.
Minakov has an 8-0 record in the Fight Nights league and theoretically has every chance to fight the winner of the upcoming championship fight between Sergei Pavlovich and.
On the air of Match TV, Vitaly shared his opinion about possible fights with Russian athletes.
“I don’t want to fight with my own people, there are people to beat anyway. Pavlovich and Mokhnatkin went out to fight for the belt, but it was clear that they did not want to beat each other. They both wanted to win, but we all know each other, we train together. Pavlovich did not even reveal himself by 40 percent in this battle, as well as Mokhnatkin. It's hard to spar with your own. That's when you leave to train in the USA, there already - walk, flaw! We work with foreigners at full capacity,” Minakov said.
Vitaly Minakov (born February 6, 1985) is a Russian MMA fighter who became the world champion in sambo for four years in a row, master of sports in judo and ZMS in sambo. Vitaliy is a former Bellator heavyweight champion.
Minakov practiced sambo under the guidance of Valery Safronov, Honored Coach of Russia. He held his first fights according to the rules of mixed martial arts in Russian promotions, such as M-1, and very soon won 7 victories in a row.
On June 7, 2012, Minakov fought his eighth MMA fight at the Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 7 tournament, where former UFC fighter Eddie Sanchez acted as his opponent. Minakov knocked out Sanchez in the first round.
After that, in September 2012, another knockout victory over Fabiano Scherner at Fight Nights - Battle of Desne followed, and then Minakov signed a contract with the American promotion Bellator, and announced his desire to participate in the autumn heavyweight Grand Prix.
Vitaly's first Bellator fight took place on November 2, 2012 at Bellator 79, where he faced Vladimir Starchenkov in a cage. He wins this fight and takes a break from performances. In Munich, Minakov undergoes an operation on the meniscus, where he recovers and returns to the ring again.
In 2013, he became one of the participants in the Summer Series of the Bellator Heavyweight Tournament. The format of the Grand Prix was changed, and now, in order to qualify for a fight for the championship title, he needed to achieve not three victories, but only two. In the first round, Vitaly fought with the American Ron Sparks, whom he defeated by technical knockout in the first round.
In the final, the Russian heavyweight met with the American Ryan Martinez. The fight for Minakov was quite difficult, but in the third round he still managed to defeat the opponent by TKO and win the Grand Prix.
This victory gave him the right to fight for the title, where he met in the ring with Bellator champion Alexander Volkov. The fight took place on November 15, and Vitaly Minakov became the new heavyweight champion, defeating Volkov by TKO in the first round. In April 2014, he defended his title by defeating ex- UFC fighter, Cheika Congo.
In May 2016, Bellator President Scott Coker announced that Vitaly Minakov was no longer the Bellator MMA champion. Cocker explained that the Russian heavyweight remains on the organization's roster but will be stripped of the title due to inadequacy. The last time the Russian defended the championship belt was in April 2014, defeating Cheick Kongo by unanimous decision, after which he did not appear in the cage of the American organization, but had three fights under the Fight Nights banner. June 17, 2016 at the EFN 50 tournament - Emelianenko vs. Maldonado he had a fight against Peter Graham, winning by submission in the 1st round.
Titles and achievements of Minakov:
Sports sambo
Champion of Russia among students (2007) in weight up to 100 kg
Champion of Russia (2008) in weight over 100 kg
Four-time world champion (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) in weight over 100 kg
Honored Master of Sports of Russia
Bellator Heavyweight Championship (1 defense)
Vitaly Minakov was born on February 6, 1985 in the city of Bryansk. Dreamed of since childhood sports career. Graduated from the Bryansk branch of the St. Petersburg National State University physical culture, sports and health named after P.F. Lesgaft. He was engaged in sambo under the guidance of the honored coach of Russia Valery Safronov.
He entered the ring for the first time in Crocus City at the M-1 Selection tournament. In April, he knocked out the Pole Karol Tselinsky in the city of Riga. Minakov fought his eighth MMA fight on June 7 against former UFC and Bellator fighter Eddie Sanchez as part of the Fight Nights-organized Battle of Moscow 7, held in Crocus City. The fight began with an exchange of blows at close range, and then moved to the ground, where Sanchez took a dominant position. However, Minakov managed to tie his opponent's hands, which forced the referee to raise the fighters to a standing position. Soon Vitaly threw a long jab, followed by a sweeping blow right hand, who reached the goal and sent Sanchez to a knockout.
A little later, it was announced that Minakov had signed a contract with the American promotion Bellator Fighting Championships. At the same time, Vitaly initially expressed a desire to compete in the autumn Grand Prix of heavyweights. Nevertheless, he later changed his mind, explaining that he would like to start with a few rating fights to get used to the grid, as well as improve his striking technique in training. Thus, Minakov was not included in the list of participants in the upcoming Grand Prix.
Vitaly's debut in the American promotion took place on November 2 on the undercard of Bellator 79. His opponent was Vladimir Starchenkov, who at that time had two victories in his record in professional career. In the first round, Minakov managed to quickly transfer his opponent to the ground, where he took a dominant position, from which he attacked the rest of the five-minute period. At the very beginning of the second round, Vitaly shocked Starchenkov with a left jab and finished off, which was stopped by the referee.
Vitaly Minakov won the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix on July 31st. In the decisive fight, he defeated American Ryan Martinez by technical knockout in the third round. The duel was not easy for Minakov. He had the advantage in each of the three rounds, but the awkward and uncompromising opponent snapped dangerously in the counterattack. In the second round, the referee deducted a point from Minakov for an unintentional blow to the groin. In the third five-minute period, Vitaly performed a takedown, took a dominant position and crushed the opponent with a series of blows from above, forcing the referee to stop the fight.
The Grand Prix win qualified Minakov for a title shot against Bellator heavyweight champion Alexander Volkov. In November, he was allowed to go under the Russian composition.
Vitaly Minakov April 4, 2014, playing in mixed martial arts tournaments under the auspices of Bellator, for the first time in his career, defended the champion title in heavy division. Experts note that Minakov moved well in the battle against the Congo, was more active and more often took good positions from above. In addition, his advantage was noticeable in the final fifth round, when it seemed that the Russian could finish off his opponent. This did not happen, and the fighters had to wait for the decision of the judges, who unanimously gave Minakov the victory with a score of 48:46.
In May 2016, Bellator President Scott Coker announced that Vitaly Minakov was no longer the Bellator MMA champion. Cocker explained that the Russian heavyweight remains on the organization's roster but will be stripped of the title due to inactivity. The last time the Russian defended the championship belt was in April 2014, defeating Cheick Kongo by unanimous decision, after which he did not appear in the cage of the American organization, but had three fights under the Fight Nights banner. On June 17, he fought against Peter Graham, winning by submission in the 1st round.
