Vitaly Minakov will return to action on a Fight Nights card in Dagestan on Sept. 18 vs. Brazil’s Geronimo “Mondragon” dos Santos.

This will be Minakov’s second fight in roughly 15 months since defending his Bellator title vs. Cheick Kongo at Bellator 115. He beat Adam Maciejewski at Fight Nights – Sochi in a matter of seconds on July 31.

Minakov (15-0) has 13 finishes and 2 decision wins to his name. He is 5-0 inside the Bellator cage, including TKO wins over former champ Alexander Volkov, Ryan Martinez and Ron Sparks. As well as the aforementioned decision win over Cheick Kongo. He is 3-0 under the Fight Nights banner, including wins over Adam Maciejewski, Fabiano Scherner and UFC vet Eddie Sanchez.

dos Santos (36-15) is 3-1 since returning to MMA following a 2 year absence in 2014. He most recently defeated Alison Vicente via TKO in about 90 seconds. This will only be dos Santos’ second fight to not take place in Brazil, he lost the first to Josh Barnett in 2010. dos Santos was signed to the UFC in 2012, but was released before even fighting after multiple set-backs due to injuries.

This bout will likely be the co-main event of Fight Nights – Dagestan, as it appears Rasul Mirzaev (12-0) will face a TBA opponent in the main event. He was the co-main event under Minakov in Sochi.

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