June 2, at the tournament Fight Nights Global 68, the Russian heavyweight won his 20th MMA victory. 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 Sergey 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.
At the end of 2017, Sovetsky Sport conducted a large survey and identified the best Russian fighters MMA at the end of the year in their weight categories.
It's time to find out who is the best fighter in Russia, regardless of weight categories. The best of the best participate in the final poll.
The results of the year in Russian MMA "Soviet Sport" will sum up very soon - on January 7th! There is still time to vote for your favorite. The survey is at the end of the text.
Heavy weight
Vitaly Minakov (3-0)
Minakov had three fights against foreign fighters in a year and won all of them. Defeated were DJ Linderman (3rd round KO), Antonio Silva (2nd round KO) and Tony Johnson (3rd round TKO). Vitaly spent all his fights in the Fight Nights organization.
Alexander Volkov (2-0)
Volkov is on the 7th line of the UFC heavyweight rating and is preparing for new achievements. In 2017, he had two fights in the strongest league in the world. In April, he defeated Roy Nelson by unanimous decision, and in September he defeated Stefan Struve by TKO in the third round.
Alexander Emelianenko (2-0)
Alexander victoriously returned to MMA by signing a contract with the WFCA league. In September, he defeated Geronimo dos Santos by technical knockout in the first round, and in December he defeated Virgil Zwicker by the same method. Next fight Emelianenko will hold in early March.
Sergey Pavlovich (2-0)
Sergei continues to progress and crush his rivals. In January, he defeated teammate Mikhail Mokhnatkin by unanimous decision to become the Fight Nights heavyweight champion. He held his first defense in November against Fedor Emelianenko's student Kirill Sidelnikov and left him no chance - a technical knockout in the first round.
Sergei Kharitonov (3-0)
Kharitonov was unusually active in 2017. He fought three fights in two different organizations (Bellator and M-1) and scored early victories in the first rounds. First Chase Gormley was knocked out, then Thierry Sokuju. In July, Sergei forced Geronimo dos Santos to surrender after a painful hold on his leg.
light heavyweight
Ivan Shtyrkov (4-0)
The Ural Hulk previously competed in the heavyweight division but decided to drop down to a lower category. During the year, Ivan had four fights: he knocked out Philip De Fries and Satoshi Ishii and defeated Rodney Wallace and Christian Mpumba on points. Shtyrkov fights for RCC Boxing Promotions.
Rashid Yusupov (2-0)
At the beginning of the year, Yusupov had an amazing fight against the German Stefan Pütz in the M-1 tournament and defended the championship belt in light heavyweight, winning by TKO in the third round. Then Yusupov left the organization and fought in the young GTC promotion, where he knocked out Croat Stepan Bekavach in the first round.
Average weight
Alexander Shlemenko (2-1)
For Alexander, 2017 was not an easy year. He spent his first two fights in Russia as part of the M-1 tournaments. First, he defeated Paul Bradley on points, and then took a confident revenge on Brandon Halsey in 25 seconds. In October, Shlemenko fought against the top Dutch athlete Gegard Mousasi, who recently left the UFC. The Russian lost by unanimous decision of the judges, but most experts and MMA fighters are sure that Shlemenko's victory was stolen from him.
Albert Duraev (2-0)
Albert became the ACB Middleweight Champion. To do this, he needed to first defeat Clifford Starks by submission, and then Vyacheslav Vasilevsky by technical knockout in the first round.
Welterweight
Andrey Koreshkov (1-0)
Koreshkov had only one fight in a year. In August at Bellator 185, he defeated Chidi Njokuani by TKO in the first round.
Abubakar Vagaev (4-0)
Vagaev plays in the WFCA league. In this promotion, he spent four fights and all ended in his favor. Were defeated: Luiz Jorge Dutra, Jorge Filho, Nodar Kudukhashvili and Beslan Ushukov.
Alexey Kunchenko (2-0)
Aleksey is already 33 years old, but he is in no hurry to leave the M-1 organization, where he is the undisputed champion. The undefeated fighter in 2017 defeated Maxim Grabovich by unanimous decision and Sergey Romanov by technical knockout in the first round.
A light weight
Khabib Nurmagomedov (1-0)
Khabib might not have been included in our rating, but it so happened that he fought on the last day of 2017. Yes, how did it go! Nurmagomedov once again proved that he is worthy title fight in the UFC, defeating the Brazilian Edson Barbosa in one wicket.
Eduard Vartanyan (2-1)
In 2016, Eduard lost a fight to ACB champion Abdul-Aziz Abdulvakhabov by knockout. Then Vartanyan did work on the mistakes and spent the next year on a solid five. In April, he defeated Alexander Sarnavsky by submission, and in September he arranged a cage war for Andrey Koshkin. In December, at the final tournament of the organization, he again fought the champion. This time, Vartanyan was much better, and in the opinion of many MMA fans, he won. However, the judges decided that Vartanyan lost.
Alexander Shabliy (2-0)
Shabliy started the year back in the ACB organization, where he defeated Gleristone Santos, and finished in the Fight Nights organization. In December, Alexander successfully debuted in the promotion, knocking out Miroslav Štrbak.
Shamil Zavurov (4-0)
One of Ramzan Kadyrov's favorite fighters, Shamil Zavurov, seems to be experiencing a second youth. In 2017, the 33-year-old athlete from the Akhmat club fought in the cage four times and won in all fights. Now Shamil is one of the main favorites of the Grand Prix of the Road organization.
Feather-weight
Zabit Magomedsharipov (2-0)
Probably hit on this moment the brightest Russian MMA fighter who competes in the UFC. He conquered foreign MMA fans with his non-standard style of fighting. He fights well and works great with his hands and feet in the rack. Two victorious fights in the UFC - and in a year Magomedsharipov became recognizable all over the world.
Yusuf Raisov (3-0)
22-year-old Yusuf is the most promising fighter in Russia. In 2017, he had three fights and became "temporary" ACB Champion at featherweight. In his last fight against Alexander Peduson, he showed an excellent physical form and excellent skills on the ground.
Bantamweight
Petr Yan (2-0)
2017 is the most successful year in his career for Petr Yan. In April, he took revenge on Magomed Magomedov and became the champion of the ACB league. In September, he made a successful defense against the strong Brazilian Matheus Mattos. Has signed a contract with the strongest league in the world UFC and is preparing for his debut.
Abdul-Rahman Dudayev (4-0)
Dudayev had four fights, winning them all. WFCA Bantamweight League Champion.
Flyweight
Tagir Ulanbekov (3-0)
Nobody knew this guy a year ago. And now he is the champion of Fight Nights. In 2017 he defeated Assa Almabavev, Shai Haka and Vartan Asatryan in a very exciting fight.
Ali Bagautinov (2-1)
After Ali left the UFC and returned to Fight Nigts, things did not go well for him at first. In the first fight after returning to Russia, he was knocked out in a fight against Tyson Nam. True, then he rehabilitated himself in front of his fans, defeating Pedro Nobre and Danny Martinez in turn.
fighter girl
Marina Mokhnatkina (2-0)
Marina is a rising star in Russian MMA. On account of her last year, two early submission victories in the framework of the Fight Nights organization. Mokhnatkina is being followed by UFC scouts. It is quite possible that soon she will fight in the strongest promotion in the world.
Bryansk fighter Vitaly Minakov announced his readiness to complete sports career, if he cannot agree with Bellator on signing a contract on improved terms and further cooperation with this organization.
- If it is not possible to agree with Bellator, of course, I could continue my career in Russia and perform here from time to time. Perhaps that will happen. But, most likely, if a compromise with the head of the organization, Scott Cocker, is not found, this will mean the end of my career. In our sport, it is not the fact of holding fights that is important, but motivation. Today, I am driven by the desire to return to the American market, the desire to return to Bellator on decent terms. I hope Cocker and I can reach an agreement. We are reasonable people and we can find a compromise,” Minakov said in an interview with fighttime.ru.
Vitali confirmed that he intends to fight Matt Mitrione, who recently knocked out Fedor Emelianenko, if an agreement with Bellator is still reached:
- After defeating Emelianenko, Mitrion, of course, became a very interesting opponent for many fighters, including me. With great pleasure I would go against Matt in the Bellator tournament. The likelihood of this fight is much higher than any other, since we are signed in the same organization. It's just a matter of whether Bellator will make me an offer that I really deserve. I do not require anything supernatural. I just want to have an agreement with an organization no worse than that of my opponents. Unfortunately, negotiations about my return with the head of the organization, Scott Cocker, dragged on a bit. Just last August, we had a very interesting conversation in Los Angeles. Cocker is a professional in his field and, as it turned out, a very good negotiator. We talked for about two hours. I said that I never refused to compete in Bellator, I just didn’t like the conditions offered. I think I outgrew the contract I had. Cocker agreed with this. We heard each other. But at some point the situation changed. I can't even tell what it is. Scott withdrew from the negotiations. Yes, there was talk about my transition to the UFC, but it was nothing more than a rumor. These media ducks have complicated our relationship with Cocker. I believe that everything is resolved. If Scott is ready for a dialogue, then I'm ready to fly to Los Angeles and talk to him.
Minakov called his goal the return of the championship belt, which was taken away from him due to the insufficient number of fights for Bellator:
- To date, I am the only heavyweight champion of this organization, although the title was taken away from me. I lost it due to a misunderstanding that arose between me and the organization. I have one goal - to return to Bellator and get conditions that match my level of sport. Unfortunately, today this component is not always placed above popularity. A good fighter is not always interested. But showmen are in demand, even if they fight with one foot or one hand. I don't think this is correct. We must not forget: MMA is first and foremost a sport. As an athlete, I consider myself worthy good conditions, though maybe I'm not that popular. Better be a good fighter than a clown. I want to go back to Bellator and get back the belt that was taken from me.