Don't look now, but history may just be about to repeat itself: for the second time in recent Bellator MMA history, their heavyweight champion might retire while holding the title. The first time this happened, it was undefeated Bellator heavyweight champion Cole Konrad, a former training partner of UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and a big part of Lesnar's camp, Death Clutch, along with Pat Barry. After Lesnar retired at the end of 2011, Konrad and Barry kept Death Clutch going for a bit, but Konrad retired in 2012, saying he knew the writing was on the wall for him in the fight game: despite being a champ, he wasn't fighting often enough, had a new family to consider, and didn't have the personality to be a top star. Speaking to MMA Fighting after his retirement, Konrad stated "There's great money there for top guys, but I don't look like Brock and I don't have that same personality." Flash forward a couple of years: Vitaly Minakov, current Bellator heavyweight champ, is rumoured to be retiring to pursue a career in Russian politics. According to a report by Fansided, citing a translated Russian report, Minakov has been elected "Vice-Chairman of the Regional Duma of the Oblast Bryansk" and has opted to walk away from his 14-0 MMA career, leaving undefeated just as Konrad did before him. While there has been no official confirmation by Bellator, there is no sign of a heavyweight title fight on their upcoming schedule, though in theory Minakov should be facing the man he won the belt from, Alexander Volkov, who worked his way back to a title shot via the Bellator tournament system. How does Bobby Lashley fit in? Well, Lashley's second Bellator bout has been confirmed for Bellator 130, October 24th. The fight will take place in Mulvane, KS, against England's own undefeated Karl Etherington (9-0). Etherington is no joke, having finished all nine of his fights in the first round by a mix of knockouts and submissions, so this is not an easy fight for Lashley (11-2), who is doing double-duty with the TNA wrestling promotion. While Lashley was open to fighting Cheick Kongo, the promotion may be hedging their bets here: at heavyweight, Lashley, Kongo, and perhaps James Thompson have most of the star power in Bellator. Volkov is in the mix as well, but the bottom line is, should Lashley win against Etherington later this month, he may find himself in a title fight against Kongo once Bellator returns to the air in 2015 - something that could finally make Lashley more than just "the other pro wrestling behemoth who jumped to MMA." First, of course, comes Etherington. Light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton headlines the Bellator 130 card, and highly ranked women's fighter Marloes Coenen makes her Bellator debut in the promotion's new women's featherweight division.
Primarily covering the sport of MMA from Ontario, Canada, Jay Anderson has been writing for various publications covering sports, technology, and pop culture since 2001. Jay holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Guelph, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Humber College.
