Vitaly Minakov is back in action and back home.
Officials announced Monday that the former heavyweight champion is set to fight Tyrell Fortune (11-1, 1 NC) at Bellator’s upcoming event in Moscow on Oct. 23. This will be Minakov’s first fight since August 2019. The bout was first reported by TASS.
This will also be just the third fight for Minakov (22-1) since he returned to Bellator two years ago. Minakov went 5-0 in his first run with Bellator before parting ways with the promotion following a contract dispute. He then went 7-0 for Russia’s Fight Nights Global before re-signing with Bellator in 2019 and losing a unanimous decision to Cheick Kongo at Bellator 216.
Most recently, Minakov rebounded from that Bellator 225 loss, defeating Timothy Johnson by first-round knockout.
Fortune has won three straight (excluding one no-contest) since losing the first fight of his career to Johnson at Bellator 239 in February 2020. Since then, he’s scored victories over Matt Mitrione, Jack May, and Said Sowma, including back-to-back first-round finishes of Mitrione and May.
Bellator Moscow is headlined by heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko facing an opponent to be announced.