Bellator 216: MVP vs. Daley - Predictions and Picks

#2. Cheick Kongo vs. Vitaly Minakov

Former Bellator champ Vitaly Minakov is back this weekend

The former Bellator Heavyweight champion, most fans were hoping the unbeaten Minakov would find his way to the UFC in 2018 as a contract impasse seemed to make a possible return to Bellator impossible. But evidently Scott Coker is a solid negotiator, as the Russian is now firmly back in the fold after 7 fights – and 7 wins – under the Fight Nights Global banner since 2015.

Minakov has a record of 21-0 – highly impressive given he’s not been fighting scrubs – and at age 34, he’s probably right in his prime now. I’m actually surprised Bellator didn’t just hold off to match him with the winner of their Grand Prix – the man who now holds Minakov’s Heavyweight title, Ryan Bader – but perhaps it makes more sense to reintroduce him to the Bellator fans this way given he hasn’t fought there since 2014.

His last fight under the Bellator banner? Interestingly, it came against his opponent on Saturday, former UFC contender Cheick Kongo. Strangely enough, the Frenchman has now spent almost as much time in Bellator as he did in the UFC – and he’s actually been more successful there, winning 13 of his 15 fights, with his only losses coming to Minakov and to Muhammad Lawal, who simply outwrestled him to a decision.

Kongo is somewhat of a strange fighter in that he’s always been sold as a knockout striker, and while he does have some excellent KO’s on his record – including a recent stoppage of Timothy Johnson – he’s really not a striker per se at all. Instead, he’s a bruiser inside the clinch, where he loves to punish his opponents with knees, and if he can get them to the ground, then he has some nasty strikes from top position as well.

The issue Kongo has always had is that he’s simply not a hugely durable fighter for a Heavyweight; he’s only been knocked out on 3 occasions, but that doesn’t tell the whole story – he’s been hurt and dropped countless times throughout his career, and at age 43, that’s a worrying pattern. And while he’s excellent from top position he can definitely be outwrestled and beaten up on the ground and essentially, those two problems sum up all of his career losses.

Minakov isn’t a perfect fighter by any means – he’s somewhat hittable due to the fact that he’s not the fastest athlete, and at times he comes off as a bit plodding in his movements. He’s also become tired on occasions too, although he’s always overcome this. But despite those issues – issues that would probably stop him from winning the UFC’s Heavyweight title – I still believe he’s the best big man outside of the world’s top promotion, and the best in Bellator.

That means he should beat Kongo with little difficulty here. The last time they fought, Kongo landed the odd big strike and got off a couple of takedowns, but for the most part, he was outstruck on the feet and got beaten up on the ground – and I see no reason why Minakov can’t just recreate the same fight again to take a comfortable win.

The Pick: Minakov via unanimous decision