Vitaly Minakov competed under the Bellator banner for less than two years, but it was enough for him to win four fights and become the promotion’s heavyweight champion. A lot has changed since though.
More than a year after his last title defense against Cheick Kongo, the undefeated fighter returned to his home country of Russia to compete at Fight Nights in 2015. Minakov finished Adam Maciejewski in 21 seconds, and never returned to the Bellator cage. When Minakov scored three straight finishes in Russia, Bellator decided to strip him of his belt in May 2016.