In addition to releasing lightweight champion Will Brooks, Bellator MMA has confirmed that they have stripped heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov of his title.
Minakov, who sports a perfect 17-0 professional MMA record, with an undefeated 5-0 run under the Bellator MMA banner, was reportedly stripped of the Bellator Heavyweight Championship due to inactivity.
Bellator MMA President Scott Coker spoke with MMAJunkie.com on Saturday afternoon regarding the company’s decision to strip Vitaly Minakov of the Bellator Heavyweight Championship.
“We’re going to retain Minakov’s rights with the company, but we are going to strip him of the title for lack of participation, basically,” Coker said. “We hope we can work it out, but we’re going to be moving on from Minakov.”
Minakov last fought on December 11, 2015, where he tapped out Josh Copeland in the second round with a kimura, however his last Bellator MMA fight came four fights ago when he defeated Cheick Kongo via five round unanimous decision back at Bellator 108 in November of 2013.
