As far as Vitaly Minakov is concerned, he would already be fighting for the UFC had Bellator not interfered.

BloodyElbow's Karim Zidan confirmed that Minakov will likely transition to the UFC in 2017. Speaking to Russian outlet izvestia.ru, the former heavyweight champion revealed that this was indeed likely to be the case, though he was uncertain when the move would occur because of Bellator's "strange" behaviour.

"I had signed a contract with [Bellator], not based on the number of matches, but for a certain period of three years," said Minakov. "The three years have elapsed but the conditions if you are the champions of the organization, and I was to them, is that they have the right to extend once for six months and twice for three months. And they did.

"My agreement with Bellator will expire in a few months. But now there is strange behavior on their part. They insist that I have to perform a few more fights under their banner, although the contract does not have a word about the number of fights. Now this issue is being studied by my lawyer."

Back in May 2016, Bellator released lightweight champ Will Brooks, who immediately signed on with the UFC. They also stripped Minakov of the heavyweight title he didn't defend since 2014, though opted not to release him. Though Minakov understands the negotiation tactics at play, he remains convinced that the UFC is in his future.

"I will say this: as soon as my contract expires with Bellator, I'll be "free agent" for no more than day. In the near future I will sign a new contract with one of the world's major promotions."