VITALY MINAKOV 22-1

[careto]

Vitaly Minakov tried to leave Bellator for the UFC in 2015 after he defended successfully defended his Bellator HW title.

Unfortunately he had too much pride to lose the title and quickly fight out his lengthy Bellator contract like Volkov did. Minakov was undefeated at the time and understandably wanted to keep his 0 but this in turn meant he would be under Bellator contract in perpetuity due to the champ clause.

Eventually Bellator stripped him of the HW title but it did not matter since he still had something like 8 fights left on his contract and had been violating the contract by fighting for Fight Nights Global during the contract dispute.

I think he hired Ali and ended up getting a pretty good deal but he is too expensive for Bellator to book unless there is a live gate; so he has not fought since the COVID pandemic began.

I think he will end up fighting in the UFC but it will take him at least two more years to fight out his Bellator contract and he is already 36 so him winning a UFC HW title will probably be unrealistic but it is possible.

IIRC, its not a matter of having an expensive contract but more about Minakov having legal issues that prevent him from fighting outside of Russia. I believe he has legal dispute with his lawyer for a lot of money so any money he makes outside of Russia his lawyer would keep. Good old @Feniamin explained this to us a while back.

 

[careto]

No that's for sure true. Kerimov is probably a top 5 BW in the world and they obviously didn't offer him his worth.

Do uou think they even made an offer? And how do you see Kerimov compared to Merab?

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Do uou think they even made an offer? And how do you see Kerimov compared to Merab?

I suspect they didn't make an offer due to stupid quota bullshit (he might also have failed to get a visa I guess). I think his grappling is quite similar to Merab but he has better entries and has more to offer in the standup.

 

[TempleoftheDog]

which of those reasons is the one Fedor never fought in the UFC?

According to his fans, it was money. I’m not entirely buying that.

The guy didn’t do great in a cage. As opposed to being a ring. Japan vs N America. It seems like such a minor thing, yet there it is.

I don’t like to shit on any legend that hasn’t been busted for peds. So Fedor is fine by me. But, I really don’t want to hear any of this Pride was the best, and all the top HW at the time were not in the UFC bullshit. Either you fought in the UFC, or you didn’t. You were a UFC champ, or you weren’t.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

According to his fans, it was money. I’m not entirely buying that.

The guy didn’t do great in a cage. As opposed to being a ring. Japan vs N America. It seems like such a minor thing, yet there it is.

I don’t like to shit on any legend that hasn’t been busted for peds. So Fedor is fine by me. But, I really don’t want to hear any of this Pride was the best, and all the top HW at the time were not in the UFC bullshit. Either you fought in the UFC, or you didn’t. You were a UFC champ, or you weren’t.

It was co-promotion contract issues and Vadim Finkelstein. That's it.

 

[Skarr]

According to his fans, it was money. I’m not entirely buying that.

The guy didn’t do great in a cage. As opposed to being a ring. Japan vs N America. It seems like such a minor thing, yet there it is.

I don’t like to shit on any legend that hasn’t been busted for peds. So Fedor is fine by me. But, I really don’t want to hear any of this Pride was the best, and all the top HW at the time were not in the UFC bullshit. Either you fought in the UFC, or you didn’t. You were a UFC champ, or you weren’t.

its not possible that thru his dealings with Dana and seeing how Zuffa ran their brand....he just had no wish to do business with them and having already achieved the status that he had ((because Pride was regarded as the best mma organization pretty much right up until they folded)) he was not in a position to have to be beholden to some foreign shitheads ((dana and crew))?

I mean.....his match history kind of shows that whether or not the cage hampered his performances......he certainly had no fear about fighting in them....

youre either a UFC champ.,............or you kick the shit out of 7 or so UFC champs.....and walk your own line....like a boss

 

[UFCIsNOTRigged]

Lol too expensive? Bellator has deep pockets they could afford any fighter out there if they REALLY wanted to. Some of these myths perpetuated by UFC casuals are hilarious

Vitaly fought in February 2019, August 2019, and was booked to fight in October 2019 but had visa issues for unclear reasons; he states in this article that he believed he would have been able to ultimately obtain the visa in time but was pulled from the fight anyway.

Why has Bellator not not booked Vitaly since October 2019? They have been holding this guys career hostage for nearly ten years.

If Scott Coker were a decent man why has he at every turn tried to ruin Vitalys career? Vitaly only fought for Bellator 5 times, yet because of that Coker believed Vitaly was some kind of indentured servant to Bellator?

They stripped Vitaly of the HW title in 2016 and at that point had not fought in Bellator for over 2 years but Coker still refused to release him and allow him to sign with the UFC.

Why would Scott Coker do this other than out of spite?

Vitaly is definitely keeping up with the UFC HW division, as you can see from this June 2021 interview where he broke down the Gane/Volkov fight.

He seems to know a lot about the division, maybe because he has his eyes on fighting in it in the near future?

Hopefully Vitaly can escape Bellator ASAP. If there were a sanctioning body that Bellator was accountable too, which we know there is not because they hold all their shows on tribal land or foreign soil, there would be hearings on the mistreatment of Vitaly Minakov.

Bellator, which as we know pays fighters on their undercard as little as $250, is one hundred times more unethical than the UFC.

 

[Bluesbreaker]

He lost to a 46 year old with double digit losses.

Can you believe all the guys who lost to a 42 year old BJ Penn with double digit losses... or everyone who lost to 55 year old Mike Tyson!?!

 

[DC23]

Bellator holding back talent and ruining their career.

Imagine my shock.

 

[SalvadorAllende]

Where is his “soon fight”? With that record I’d expect it to be in the UFC.

Nope, I actually just googled the guy. His nickname is “the new emporer”. Lol, Fedor fans should love that shit.

If you are not already in the UFC, there is a reason for that. Either you are not good enough. You don’t believe enough in yourself to make the jump. Or they don’t want you.

If he makes the jump, I might give a damn.

He was locked in a Bellator contract dispute and that was the main explanation for his inactivity during the years and why he was stripped of his title.

Also he works in politics and does not seems like he really care about his MMA career. He has looked out of shape for years now and pretty much goes in there and collect paychecks.

At his prime he was easily a top 5 fighter.

 

[Stan]

Bellator, which as we know pays fighters on their undercard as little as $250, is one hundred times more unethical than the UFC.

LMFAO the unbelievable things people just come up with. If you really believe that hows the horse dewormer working for you?

 

[Feniamin]

IIRC, its not a matter of having an expensive contract but more about Minakov having legal issues that prevent him from fighting outside of Russia. I believe he has legal dispute with his lawyer for a lot of money so any money he makes outside of Russia his lawyer would keep. Good old @Feniamin explained this to us a while back.

He lost in court to his ex-manager in US. But he also says that he doesn't have visa and have problems with getting it.

He will give % of money Bellator pays him to his ex-manager. I remember reading and mentioning it here that Vitaly was sued in Russia for not paying bills for his gym, so I guess he is that type of people that doesn't like to pay. And I would not be surprised if we find out one day that Vitaly doesn't even apply for visa, because he doesn't want to pay money to his ex-manager.

 

[Feniamin]

Where is his “soon fight”? With that record I’d expect it to be in the UFC.

Nope, I actually just googled the guy. His nickname is “the new emporer”. Lol, Fedor fans should love that shit.

If you are not already in the UFC, there is a reason for that. Either you are not good enough. You don’t believe enough in yourself to make the jump. Or they don’t want you.

If he makes the jump, I might give a damn.

Nope, his reason is exclusive contract with Bellator.

Mext to last fight I read,?

Yes, Fedor said that after that fight he has another one on his Bellator contract.

Vitaly Minakov tried to leave Bellator for the UFC in 2015 after he successfully defended his Bellator HW title.

Unfortunately he had too much pride to lose the title and quickly fight out his lengthy Bellator contract like Volkov did. Minakov was undefeated at the time and understandably wanted to keep his 0 but this in turn meant he would be under Bellator contract in perpetuity due to the champ clause.

Eventually Bellator stripped him of the HW title but it did not matter since he still had something like 8 fights left on his contract and had been violating the contract by fighting for Fight Nights Global during the contract dispute.

I think he hired Ali and ended up getting a pretty good deal but he is too expensive for Bellator to book unless there is a live gate; so he has not fought since the COVID pandemic began.

I think he will end up fighting in the UFC but it will take him at least two more years to fight out his Bellator contract and he is already 36 so him winning a UFC HW title will probably be unrealistic but it is possible.

Hm, what is your source for that info?
For example, according to Minakov after fight with Volkov he had surgery, and after that Bellator agreed to allow him to take a tune up fight in 2015 in Fight Nights.
And he said that he was surprised that it took that long for Bellator to strip him (and sounds like he wanted them to strip him, so your "had too much pride to lose the title" makes no sense).

 

[Hellowhosthat]

Nope, his reason is exclusive contract with Bellator.

Yes, Fedor said that after that fight he has another one on his Bellator contract.

Hm, what is your source for that info?
For example, according to Minakov after fight with Volkov he had surgery, and after that Bellator agreed to allow him to take a tune up fight in 2015 in Fight Nights.
And he said that he was surprised that it took that long for Bellator to strip him (and sounds like he wanted them to strip him, so your "had too much pride to lose the title" makes no sense).

Do you have any clue how many fights Minakov has left at Bellator? Would love to see him make a late run in the UFC but I'm losing hope tbh.

 

[Feniamin]

Do you have any clue how many fights Minakov has left at Bellator? Would love to see him make a late run in the UFC but I'm losing hope tbh.

I don't remember, but he mentioned it in one interview. I think it's 4 or more but (not 100 % sure) it's also № fights/№ years type of contract, so maybe contract expires faster than he would be able to fight it out.
Also, I think he said that he might retire because of visa issues -- like, without visa he would be able only to fight once or twice a year and he is not interested in training and being in a proper form for a whole year just for 1(or 2) fight.

Btw, if you are interested -- this Sunday at EFC there is Akhmedov-Erdogan fighting and Khavalov; Grigor Matevosyan (I might be wrong with name or surname) said few weeks ago that he is fighting LHW ACA champ Muslim Magomedov in November at event in UAE; also Open FC announced for November event final for their girls tournament (at Flyweight?) and one of the girls is in yout top 15 rankings in your thread.

 

[Hellowhosthat]

I don't remember, but he mentioned it in one interview. I think it's 4 or more but (not 100 % sure) it's also № fights/№ years type of contract, so maybe contract expires faster than he would be able to fight it out.
Also, I think he said that he might retire because of visa issues -- like, without visa he would be able only to fight once or twice a year and he is not interested in training and being in a proper form for a whole year just for 1(or 2) fight.

Btw, if you are interested -- this Sunday at EFC there is Akhmedov-Erdogan fighting and Khavalov; Grigor Matevosyan (I might be wrong with name or surname) said few weeks ago that he is fighting LHW ACA champ Muslim Magomedov in November at event in UAE; also Open FC announced for November event final for their girls tournament (at Flyweight?) and one of the girls is in yout top 15 rankings in your thread.

Sweet, I noticed EFC was on Tapology a bit late and added it, very interested in the Khavalov and Akhmedov fights. I haven't seen Diyar Nugozhay yet but his record looks interesting.

Cool about Dudakova, looking forward to that too.

 

[BFoe]

Where is his “soon fight”? With that record I’d expect it to be in the UFC.

Nope, I actually just googled the guy. His nickname is “the new emporer”. Lol, Fedor fans should love that shit.

If you are not already in the UFC, there is a reason for that. Either you are not good enough. You don’t believe enough in yourself to make the jump. Or they don’t want you.

If he makes the jump, I might give a damn.

I’m def a Minakov fan, dude is absolutely legit. I’d love to see him in the UFC, but honestly it would’ve been better a few years ago. I think he’s in a place now where he’s starting to leave his prime. But even so, I’d imagine Minakov would be top 5 in the UFC. A fight between him and Stipe would be perfect at this stage in their careers. Would love to see it.

 

[Feniamin]

I suspect they didn't make an offer due to stupid quota bullshit (he might also have failed to get a visa I guess). I think his grappling is quite similar to Merab but he has better entries and has more to offer in the standup.

Yep, I think I also posted it here -- he said that he didn't get a contract and he doesn't have a visa. Look at this coming UFC card in UAE -- from all Russian guys without visa they gave a fight only to Gamzatov.

According to his fans, it was money. I’m not entirely buying that.

The guy didn’t do great in a cage. As opposed to being a ring. Japan vs N America. It seems like such a minor thing, yet there it is.

I don’t like to shit on any legend that hasn’t been busted for peds. So Fedor is fine by me. But, I really don’t want to hear any of this Pride was the best, and all the top HW at the time were not in the UFC bullshit. Either you fought in the UFC, or you didn’t. You were a UFC champ, or you weren’t.

There were a couple of interviews with Fedor recently. According to him, first time he was already signed to Strikeforce and when he asked will they (UFC) pay for his lawyer and related stuff if Strikeforce sues him their answer wasn't certain.
When he talked to them before signing with Bellator he says that he asked for more money and to sign his team. Answer was that they are ready to talk about money but they have 0 interest in his guys. So, he says that Bellator pays him less but they signed his team.

 

[Feniamin]

Vitaly fought in February 2019, August 2019, and was booked to fight in October 2019 but had visa issues for unclear reasons; he states in this article that he believed he would have been able to ultimately obtain the visa in time but was pulled from the fight anyway.

Why has Bellator not not booked Vitaly since October 2019? They have been holding this guys career hostage for nearly ten years.

If Scott Coker were a decent man why has he at every turn tried to ruin Vitalys career? Vitaly only fought for Bellator 5 times, yet because of that Coker believed Vitaly was some kind of indentured servant to Bellator?

They stripped Vitaly of the HW title in 2016 and at that point had not fought in Bellator for over 2 years but Coker still refused to release him and allow him to sign with the UFC.

Why would Scott Coker do this other than out of spite?

Vitaly is definitely keeping up with the UFC HW division, as you can see from this June 2021 interview where he broke down the Gane/Volkov fight.

He seems to know a lot about the division, maybe because he has his eyes on fighting in it in the near future?

Hopefully Vitaly can escape Bellator ASAP. If there were a sanctioning body that Bellator was accountable too, which we know there is not because they hold all their shows on tribal land or foreign soil, there would be hearings on the mistreatment of Vitaly Minakov.

Bellator, which as we know pays fighters on their undercard as little as $250, is one hundred times more unethical than the UFC.

If you can read in Russian Minakov says in interview for Sport Express in December of 2020 that he was booked to fight Linton Vassel at event in Italy (but he can't remember why he didn't fought there and also mentions that there were another opponent, but it's not clear he talks about this event or some previous).

Mistreatment? He signed exlusive contract, but then changed his mind and, probably decided to wait until his contract expires while taking fights in promotion owned by his friend. Plus, I've seen he said that Bellator was offering him fights.

 

[TorontoTO]

Do you have any clue how many fights Minakov has left at Bellator? Would love to see him make a late run in the UFC but I'm losing hope tbh.

He signed a new 6 bout 300K/300K contract before the Kongo bout, so after this event he will have 3 more bouts. They all have to be in Europe I assume since he owes 20% of his money to his old agent because he lost the court case in America.