Vitaly Minakov....safe to say will never fight for US org?

[ChangeIsComing]

All the rumors aside...Minakov has not fought outside of Russia since 2014, has had failed talks with Bellator and UFC or at least talks that never came to fruition and has been competing more frequently as of late in Russia (Beat Peijao via TKO rd 2).

Any solid news on him recently? or is it safe to say that this fighter will waste his prime fighting HW's that are far from top 10 standards...at least anymore.

If he were in the UFC he could potentially be the champ...great technique, big HW etc....I do not see anyone outside of Stipe being able to hang with him...

 

[ChangeIsComing]

Damn...no responses lol.

Guess he has been forgotten FAST.

 

[noizer]

what is there to say about Minakov what we dont allready know really?

yes he could be the best Heavyweight currently not signed by the UFC. yes i would like to see him either in the UFC or back in Bellator but we all know he is still under contract with Bellator and refuses to fight for them because he thinks his contract ( which he himself or atleast his management signed ) is not fair.

if he wants to compete in the states again which i doubt at this point he should honor his contract and go from there. If he proves his worth i am sure he can land a bigger paycheck at either Bellator or the UFC.

 

[Valhoven]

what is there to say about Minakov what we dont allready know really?

yes he could be the best Heavyweight currently not signed by the UFC. yes i would like to see him either in the UFC or back in Bellator but we all know he is still under contract with Bellator and refuses to fight for them because he thinks his contract ( which he himself or atleast his management signed ) is not fair.

if he wants to compete in the states again which i doubt at this point he should honor his contract and go from there. If he proves his worth i am sure he can land a bigger paycheck at either Bellator or the UFC.

You recall how many bouts he has to fulfil per that contract?

If we're talking 1-2...suck it up, boyo; raise your stock by showing the combat community what's what and then leverage those showings contractually when you're in a position to do so. Just my two pence to move matters forward rather than toil between a rock and hard place. I'm surprised he'd rather duke it out in obscurity than fight on a world stage...decisions like this are career-determiners.

 

[ChangeIsComing]

You recall how many bouts he has to fulfil per that contract?

If we're talking 1-2...suck it up, boyo; raise your stock by showing the combat community what's what and then leverage those showings contractually when you're in a position to do so. Just my two pence to move matters forward rather than toil between a rock and hard place. I'm surprised he'd rather duke it out in obscurity than fight on a world stage...decisions like this are career-determiners.

Yeah its really mind boggling why some fighters do this...especially when huge opportunities are on the horizon...ah well I hope we see him fighting top 10s sometime in the next year.

 

[Meathead Jock]

Damn...no responses lol.

Guess he has been forgotten FAST.

Not forgotten. Just no one knows what his plans for the future are so we are sparing you of wild guesses.

 

[Valhoven]

Yeah its really mind boggling why some fighters do this...especially when huge opportunities are on the horizon...ah well I hope we see him fighting top 10s sometime in the next year.

Same here, mate. I love how he kind of drops and buries his head while "going in" and throwing, covering crazy distance with each shot but chin-finding all the while; he reminds me of a tactician suited in Kevlar just walking into gunfire but knowing how to navigate it, if you know what I'm on about. Would absolutely bloody love to see him and Stipe duke it out.

We really don't have a lot of sword-or-shield warriors like this in modern MMA. Shame. Bellator even offers guys the sponsorship platform so if any North American promotion is going to incentivise him to fight in their organisation, it's his current promotion (Bellator) no matter how you slice it. Some guys just get numbers or things stuck in their heads and can't let go of them...what a loss for combat sport if this is all she wrote.

​

 

[potemkin723]

[QUOTE="ChangeIsComing, post: 133549863, member:AmericaAll the rumors aside...Minakov has not fought outside of Russia since 2014, has had failed talks with Bellator and UFC or at least talks that never came to fruition and has been competing more frequently as of late in Russia (Beat Peijao via TKO rd 2).

Any solid news on him recently? or is it safe to say that this fighter will waste his prime fighting HW's that are far from top 10 standards...at least anymore.

If he were in the UFC he could potentially be the champ...great technique, big HW etc....I do not see anyone outside of Stipe being able to hang with him...[/QUOTE]
I think you're right, he will never set foot on North American soil again...

But Europe is filled with great organizations like KSW, FNG, Bamma,Cage Warriors and ACB.

And I have a feeling Jon Jones might join this expedition soon.

 

[potemkin723]

This is the promotion that Minakov is competing.

Btw check out their upcoming event, Rousimar Palhares and Diego Brandao are competing on it.

 

[potemkin723]

Also Fabio Maldonado is on it

 

[potemkin723]

I want to see Jones Jones compete in it

 

[CC27]

Dont get how his contract hasnt expired already.

Each contract has fights/time on it, he was stripped of his title. SHouldnt his contract be close to expiring by now.

and really Bellator should just let him go. There comes a point in time after holding someone where you just let them go.

UFC let Wandy and Mir go, yes they were suspended for roids but they coudl have held on to both of them but instead they were allowed to fight fight in another org.

Why doesnt Bellator do the same? We arent talking bout a superstar that is a major loss for them, he hasnt even fought in 3 years, nobody but hardcores care about him.

Let him out of his contract already so we can see him in UFC fighting the best.

 

[Danespina]

This is the promotion that Minakov is competing.

Btw check out their upcoming event, Rousimar Palhares and Diego Brandao are competing on it.

This is all for one event? Or is it just advertising the overall company?

Vitaly Minakov, Rousimar Palares, Diego Brandao, Ali Bagautinov, Nikita Krylov, Fabio Maldonado. Roster is growing.

 

[Cousin Oliver]

Dont get how his contract hasnt expired already.

Each contract has fights/time on it, he was stripped of his title. SHouldnt his contract be close to expiring by now.

and really Bellator should just let him go. There comes a point in time after holding someone where you just let them go.

UFC let Wandy and Mir go, yes they were suspended for roids but they coudl have held on to both of them but instead they were allowed to fight fight in another org.

Why doesnt Bellator do the same? We arent talking bout a superstar that is a major loss for them, he hasnt even fought in 3 years, nobody but hardcores care about him.

Let him out of his contract already so we can see him in UFC fighting the best.

Fight contracts don't expire if the fighter turns down fights; they just keep extending with every refusal. You can be sure that the UFC is offering fights to Stipe, and will never release him even if his contract holdout drags on as long as Minakov's.

 

[Ying Li]

A contract that has no time expiration is bullshit and evil. Only a parasite, bottom of the earth, lowlife lawyer would write up such a thing.

 

[potemkin723]

This is all for one event? Or is it just advertising the overall company?

Vitaly Minakov, Rousimar Palares, Diego Brandao, Ali Bagautinov, Nikita Krylov, Fabio Maldonado. Roster is growing.

Well Maldonado, Palhares and Brandao are fighting on the same event.

 

[Ling Ling]

This is a guy the UFC should get. It would make for some great fights in the HW's and we all know they need some new guys in that division.

 

[skylolow]

At this point I see no purpose in Bellator to not release him. By all accounts both sides tried a few times and enough is enough already. Hell, Bellator doesn't even seem interested in crowning a HW champ.
Minakov has shown interest in the UFC and the UFC has shown interest back. Which might be the only reason Bellator hasn't let him walk.

 

[Rovert]

 

[ryanrandy]

Good fighter with decent power and good subs. I honestly don't think he's anything special at all. If he didn't crush cans he would take a couple L's pretty fast. He is very sloppy on the feet and extremely easy to hit. Also from fight to fight never know what kinda shape he's gonna be in.