Vitaliy Minakov

Vitaly Viktorovich Minakov - Russian sambo wrestler, four-time world champion in sports sambo, honored master of sports in sambo, judo and freestyle wrestling. In 2011 he took part in the television project of the First Channel “Special Assignment”. Since 2014, he served as a deputy of the Bryansk Regional Duma, then was elected deputy chairman of the regional parliament.

Vitaly Minakov was born on February 6, 1985 in Bryansk. The future world champion dreamed of a sports career since childhood, which is not surprising: his father was a supporter of a healthy lifestyle and even played in the city volleyball team. The head of the family became a real example for two sons. Vitaly's younger brother, Dmitry, is a silver medalist at the Sambo World Cup.

As a child, Minakov was a lanky boy. In an interview, the athlete recalls how one day, being a third grader, he suddenly realized that he needed to take care of himself. It was then that he went in search of "his" kind of sport. It took time: during his school years, Vitaly managed to work out in almost all the sections that existed in Bryansk.

Until the age of 11, the boy was engaged in freestyle wrestling. And then his father took him to Valery Safronov, the Honored Sambo Coach of Russia. At first, he was skeptical of the newcomer - he seemed too weak against the background of other students. Today Minakov is an athlete with a height of 188 cm and a weight of 113 kg.

But in those distant school years, Vitaly had to work hard before he was admitted to fights and competitions. The trainings were not in vain: the young man realized that this was the same “his” sport. At the age of 13 he became the winner of the international tournament “Friendship of Slavic Peoples”, in which athletes from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine participated.

At the age of 23, Minakov became the winner of the World Sambo Championship for the first time.

Высшее образование Виталий получил в Брянском филиале Национального государственного университета физической культуры, спорта и здоровья им. П. Ф. Лесгафта - молодой человек окончил его в 2011 году. Дебют на профессиональном уровне состоялся годом ранее: в 2010-м. Минаков впервые выступил в ММА (от англ. Mixed Martial Arms - смешанные боевые искусства) на турнире М-1 Selection. Бой с Русланом Кабдуллиным завершился уже на 5-й минуте 1-го раунда в пользу “брянского богатыря”.

By the end of 2012, Minakov had nine unconditional victories on his account. He signed a contract with the American sports organization Bellator, took part in the Grand Prix tournament and, having won three victories, fought with Russian Alexander Volkov for the champion belt. After receiving the Bellator heavyweight title and defending the belt against Cheyka Kongo, Vitaly returned to Russia for a while. Here he played in the Fight Nights organization.

In 2015, Vitaly again entered the ring after a long break, and already in the 20th second of the fight sent his rival Adam Matsievsky to a technical knockout. This was the first defeat for the Polish sambist since 2009. 2015 brought the Russian athlete two more victories - over the Brazilian Jerome dos Santos and the American Josh Copeland.

The contract with Bellator allowed Minakov to perform with other promotions, but in 2016 the president of the organization, Scott Cocker, decided to deprive the Russian sambo wrestler of the champion title due to prolonged inactivity.

In 2017, the world champion fought with the American DJ Linderman and the Brazilian Antonio Silva. At the same time, Linderman almost spoiled the impeccable track record of the Russian sambist. The first two rounds made Vitaly's fans jittery, but in the final of the third they rejoiced: the champion knocked out the American with powerful blows.

In December 2017, Vitaly met in the ring with Tony Johnson. Even before the start of the fight, the American admitted that he considered the “Bryansk hero” the most dangerous of his rivals. As a result, in the second round, Minakov inflicted a technical knockout on the opponent.

As for Minakov's fees, they correspond to the level of his skill. Kamil Gadzhiev (head of Fight Nights Global - Russia's largest promotion company that organizes mixed martial arts tournaments) said that the four-time world champion receives $ 100 thousand for one fight.

Vitaly became a four-time world champion, but he has another sporting dream - an Olympic medal. Unfortunately, SAMBO is not one of the Olympic sports, so for some time the “Bryansk Bogatyr” was seriously thinking about going to competitions as a judoka. This idea has not yet been implemented, but, perhaps, everything is still ahead.

On the "personal front", Vitaly is doing well. The sambist met his wife in 2003 during a shift in the Bryansk sports camp - Natalya came to visit friends. The acquaintance took place, but then the young people did not see each other for a year. A new chance meeting became fateful.

The world champion has repeatedly admitted that he has long dreamed of a big family. And this wish seems to come true: now Vitaly is a happy father of three children. By the way, when the eldest son Roman was born, the sambist told reporters that he considered this event (and not one or another victory in the ring) to be the main thing in his life.

Following their son, Vitaly and Natalya had a daughter, Polina. Another addition to the family took place in August 2017 - the youngest heir was named Dmitry. The world champion often shares photos of his babies on Instagram. And in realizing his dream he plans to go even further: five children is his “maximum program”.

Vitaly's sports career is not over. In August 2018, he renewed his contract with Bellator on improved terms. In the official group of the sambist on VKontakte, it is reported that he intends to hold one warm-up fight by the end of the year.

Internet sports publications are already betting on who the four-time champion will have to fight: among the alleged rivals - Mirko Krokop, Roy Nelson, Mohammed Laval. In case of victory, Minakov will have to face the winner of the Heavyweight Grand Prix for the champion title.

2007 - Champion of Russia among students in weight up to 100 kg 2008 - Champion of Russia in weight over 100 kg 2009 - Gold medalist of the Absolute Russian Sambo Championship 2010 - Silver medalist of the Absolute Russian Sambo Championship 2011 - Gold medalist of the Absolute Russian Sambo Championship Four-time world champion (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) in weight over 100 kg Honored Master of Sports of Russia Bellator Heavyweight Champion (1 defense)

Vitaliy Minakov 's estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below.

Let's check, How Rich is Vitaliy Minakov in 2020?

Vitaliy Minakov Net Worth 2021

Vitaliy Minakov 's revenue is $1.3M in 2021. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Vitaliy Minakov and could vary in the range between $992.9K - $1.7M.

Vitaliy Minakov Net Worth 2020

Vitaliy Minakov 's revenue is $1.8M in 2020. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Vitaliy Minakov and could vary in the range between $749.6K - $1.6M.

Vitaliy Minakov Net Worth 2019

Vitaliy Minakov 's revenue is $1.9M in 2019. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Vitaliy Minakov and could vary in the range between $720.4K - $1.6M.

Vitaliy Minakov Net Worth 2018

Vitaliy Minakov 's revenue is $1.5M in 2018. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Vitaliy Minakov and could vary in the range between $962K - $1.1M.

Vitaliy Minakov Net Worth 2017

Vitaliy Minakov 's revenue is $1.1M in 2017. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Vitaliy Minakov and could vary in the range between $529.5K - $1M.

Vitaliy Minakov Net Worth 2016

Vitaliy Minakov 's revenue is $1.9M in 2016. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Vitaliy Minakov and could vary in the range between $897.8K - $1.2M.

Vitaliy Minakov Net Worth 2015

Vitaliy Minakov 's revenue is $1.2M in 2015. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Vitaliy Minakov and could vary in the range between $501.9K - $2M.

It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Vitaliy Minakov. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and an approximation for next year. See above to learn how much money does Vitaliy Minakov makes a year.

The range above shows an estimation based on evaluation generated by public information about sponsorships or other sources found on the internet. It's summarized data from Vitaliy Minakov's projects existing in AidWiki's repository. It's an approximation of the revenue compiled by AidWiki and may not correspond with the real amount.