5 top fighters UFC should try to add to their roster

#5 Vitaly Minakov

Vitaly Minakov is currently the best Heavyweight outside the UFC

The UFC is always looking to add talent to its ageing Heavyweight division, and while the boat has now sailed on the legendary Fedor Emelianenko, his fellow Russian fighter Vitaly Minakov is another story entirely. Minakov is almost certainly the best Heavyweight outside the UFC – he’s 21-0 and never lost the Bellator Heavyweight title he claimed by beating current UFC contender Alexander Volkov in 2013.

Minakov comes from a similar Sambo background to the afore-mentioned Fedor – as well as current UFC Lightweight champ Khabib Nurmagomedov – and he’s got everything it takes to succeed in the UFC. He’s a good-sized Heavyweight at 6’2” and 250lbs, he hits like a truck, he’s got a solid chin and his grappling game is phenomenal, with brutal top control and ground strikes reminiscent of Fedor himself.

Most recently, Minakov re-signed with Bellator to attempt to regain the Heavyweight title he never lost, but nobody is really sure whether he had a lot of choice in the matter, as his initial Bellator contract prevented him from signing with the UFC for years.

Once his current deal is up, though, the UFC should make a huge push to bring him in – at 33 years old, he’s probably only just in his prime as a Heavyweight, and with the likes of Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum and Daniel Cormier getting no younger, Minakov would almost definitely be an instant title contender.