Undefeated Russian heavyweight Minakov KOs another opponent, takes record to 21-0 (VIDEO)
Undefeated Russian heavyweight Vitaly Minakov has extended his pro MMA record to 21-0, beating America’s Tony Johnson by way of technical knockout last weekend at the Fight Nights Global 82 event in Moscow.
Top Russian heavyweight Minakov defeated yet another opponent, this time by way of technical knockout. Despite the Russian’s pre-fight talk regarding the high quality of his opponent, Johnson presented little threat to the Bryansk native.
In the first round, Minakov was able to get in the full mount position, staying on top of his opponent until the end of the first part of the fight, landing a solid number of strikes. At the very beginning of the second round, Minakov executed a successful takedown and proceeded with significant strikes on Johnson for the next 15 seconds, forcing the referee to wave the fight off.
The 32-year-old four-time Sambo world champion, who is arguably the best MMA heavyweight outside of the UFC, has been undefeated for all of his professional career since 2010, and could compete with the best fighters in his weight class in any organization. However, he hasn’t performed in the States since he defended his Bellator championship belt in 2014.
Minakov revealed to RT Sport in July that his unwillingness to fight in the American promotion is explained by the amount of money he receives per bout. In his words, his pay barely covers the training camp for the fights and trips from Russia to America, while his opponents make up to 10 times as much as he does.
Instead, Minakov fights for Russian MMA promotion Fight Nights Global, where he has had seven straight victories since 2015.
In May 2016, Bellator stripped Minakov of his belt, but according to the athlete there are no signs of interest in him from the organization, as he has only once spoken to Bellator’s new head, Scott Coker, who took over in 2014, replacing former chief Bjorn Rebney.
“I was in Los Angeles last year to meet with him (Scott Coker), and we had a good and productive conversation,” said Minakov, talking to RT Sport in the summer.
READ MORE: 'I am the only Bellator heavyweight champion' - Vitaly Minakov
“I liked talking to him, he was very professional and a very interesting interlocutor. I told him that I’ve never refused to perform in Bellator, but talking about the financial conditions of my contract, I think I am on a different level already. And Mr. Coker agreed with it. It seemed like we had a good understanding at that moment. But then something suddenly changed and we haven’t spoken since my visit.”
When RT Sport reached out to Minakov shortly after Bellator announced their decision to host the Heavyweight Grand Prix in 2018, where eight fighters will compete for the organization’s championship belt, to find out if there were any attempts to return to contract negotiations, he said that the situation hasn’t changed and that no one has attempted to get in touch with him. Therefore, with the contract, which has no expiration date, and is based on the number of fights, Minakov finds himself in a hostage situation, where he has no chance to negotiate with any other American organization, and in his own words “can't afford to risk his health” for the entry level fighter's purse. To add insult to injury, his current contract automatically gets prolonged with every victory.
by Denis Geyko for RT Sport
