2017 Vitaly Minakov finished with 20-0 MMA stats. Behind him, victories over Tony Johnson, Chick Kongo and Alexander Volkov; plus a bunch of comparisons with Fedor Emelianenko. American gym trainer Top Team says he has never seen such a heavy weight before. Since December 2017, Minakov has only had four fights, his stats are 2-2. The losses are completely inappropriate – a strange refereeing decision in a rematch with Kongo and a technical knockout due to a finger injury in a fight with Said Souma.
Now Minakov hasn’t fought since October 2021, he hasn’t received a visa for the United States, he is already 38, and you have certainly heard such stories about one of the players when you have the potential for several Golden Balls, but you seem to be about to realize it, then they ask you about the last season and the end of your career.
The only glimpse is that last Tuesday Minakov had his first fight in a year.
You haven’t fought in two years. When will this end?
– The problem of the visa remains, and I think that I will not be able to obtain it in the near future, for obvious reasons. I’ve been relying on Bellator European tournaments lately. But for some reason they don’t put me in either, although the tournaments are happening. So I definitely won’t be at Bellator in the near future.
I want to talk – in Russia I have four proposals, we will decide in the near future.
– Didn’t Kamil Hajiyev invite you to kickboxing?
– I’m not a kickboxer at all, my discipline is MMA, and at the moment I’m only considering offers there.
I was offered the ACA Grand Prix, we were negotiating, but just before the start of the Grand Prix itself. There was very little time to reflect and prepare. So I didn’t get into the heavyweight bracket, basically through no one’s fault.
– Is the contract with Bellator still valid?
– Yes, that was also one of the reasons why I am not in the ACA: my contract with Bellator is valid, and in Russia I can only play without signing [долгосрочного] league contract. Negotiations are conducted by my manager Rizvan Magomedov, and I hear the final specific terms. I know there are four proposals.
Are you ready to challenge Sergei Kharitonov again?
– This epic has been going on for 7 or 8 years, I’m open, I’m ready. I’m interested in Sergei, but there’s no point in reigniting this storyline, let Seryoga have his say.
When was the last time you fought?
– Last week with my brother (Dmitry Minakov, former contender for the Fight Nights belt. – “”). I just started to get in shape, training on the mat, and before that I only endured more, I was engaged in general physical training. I did crossfit complexes, worked out with iron. But since last week he has started to come out on the mat. I wrestled in freestyle, I spent sparring, there was a very long break before that, more than a year, I think. Everything happens quickly. At this point, two months will be enough for me to prepare, but I still haven’t sat on the stove, but I’ve been studying all this time.
The general physical preparation stage went very well for me, now if we agree on any of the proposals, special work will begin.
– But there was no idea to arrange a wrestling match with Alexei Oleinik?
– Suggested Ali Bagautinov. True, not with Oleinik, but with Ali Isaev. It would be interesting. He’s a freestyle wrestler, I’m also a grassroots wrestler, a master of the sport, I definitely know the discipline. Interesting, but unlikely.
It doesn’t matter to me which heavyweight to fight, the main thing is that they are not bloggers, YouTubers and the like.
– How do you like the fight of Alexander Emelianenko?
– I can not say anything. I didn’t watch, I only saw a piece of this tragedy of a great athlete. Alexander chose to live as he lives, what to talk about him.
– You understand Fedor’s reaction when he said: “How can I help?”
Do you think it didn’t help? He’s his brother and they’ll find out for themselves, we don’t need to climb into someone else’s family with advice and provocative questions. Fedor said everything correctly, but you can imagine how many similar questions have been asked of him over the past 10 years, because Sasha has already lived and existed in this format for 10 years. Hence Fedor’s irritability. Alexander himself has chosen his own path, how can I help him here? When he wanted to, we all saw what form he returned to when he played for Akhmat. It was clear how he was reborn as an athlete, he had a second life… He even motivated me. And I realized that I myself was not quite old, I can still fight, get back into shape. He crawled out of the ground. He is physically gifted like few others: quick hands, good motor skills, trainability. Its form is a question of time and its desire: it wants and returns to normal life, it does not want, it will come to the drama towards which it was heading.
Can you play in his current form?
“Of course not. It’s difficult. At one of their events, he can enter and will not come out of the cage. On the one hand, for the organizers it can be a name, and on the other hand , a potential tragedy. And I think he shouldn’t be released back into the cage until he’s back to normal. It’s clear he’s not going to fight because of a good life, but we can’t speculate on that either. It will be right to give him time, to be alone with himself, without giving him fights and contracts, letting him decide whether he wants to come back or not. And I would recommend to each of us not to interfere in their affairs, to let them fend for themselves.
“What can you say about Sergei Pavlovich?”
– In principle, Sergei Pavlovich is the most real contender for the UFC title among Russian fighters. I especially believe in him. It is clear that Sasha Volkov has a lot of experience, a great track record, a lot of serious scalps, but why Pavlovich, because he has good punching power and such aggressive and fast banks. We talked a lot with him, and if before he had complexes to attack, moved a lot, he had more amateur technique, now he advances and strikes. And a teal on the head is a knockout. Although I wouldn’t rule out Sasha Volkov, but potentially Sergei Pavlovich has the best chance. Even against Jon Jones his chances are relevant – very fast hands.
will broadcast the UFC 289 tournament on June 11 at 1:30 a.m. You can also watch live broadcasts of mixed martial arts tournaments on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
