Two of the biggest heavyweight stars outside the UFC and Bellator MMA are set to collide in St. Petersburg, Russia this June. Fight Nights Global announced Tuesday that former Bellator MMA heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov will face former UFC title challenger Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva June 3. The bout is expected to be the headliner for the event, taking place during the 2017 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2017).
Minakov (19-0) has long been the hottest heavyweight prospect outside the major promotions. Serving as Bellator’s heavyweight champion after defeating fellow Russian Alexander Volkov back in 2013, Minakov would defend the title just once, against Cheick Kongo the following year. After that defense, Minakov wound up in exile, fighting under the Fight Nights banner in Russia while a contract dispute with Bellator unfolded. He was finally stripped of the title in May of 2016, but not released from his Bellator contract at that time. Rumors of a UFC signing made the rounds, but unfortunately never panned out.
Undefeated in 19 fights as a professional, Minakov has finished all five of his post-Bellator opponents, and is coming off a February knockout of DJ Linderman.
Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva (19–11 (1)), meanwhile, has had a rough go since challenging for the UFC heavyweight championship against Cain Velasquez in 2013 at UFC 160. Bigfoot has just one win to his name since, against Soa Palelei at UFC 190 in 2015. Overall, he’s 1-6 with one No Contest (stemming from his classic brawl with Mark Hunt in 2013) since the Velasquez loss. In his first fight since being released by the UFC, he was on the losing end of a unanimous decision to Ivan Shtyrkov in the Titov Boxing Promotion. The fight was not without controversy, however, as several reffing errors seemed to favor the Russian Shtyrkov.
