Former Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov spoke about his main motivation in mixed martial arts.
"My main motivation in MMA is to fully return to the organization and compete for the title. I have an interest in that. There have been different phases and different attitudes about continuing my athletic career. At one point I thought about ending it. But at the moment I understand very clearly that I have the desire to compete and the strength to win the title.
I've never taken my martial arts career seriously. Before Bellator it was like a hobby, a way to distract myself from fighting, as I spent a lot of time doing sambo. When MMA came along, it was like a breath of fresh air. In Bellator I got motivated, I began to think about taking up professional fights. In 2013 I refocused on MMA. But I didn't have a clear understanding that I wanted to do that for a long time. Today I realize clearly that I want to stay in this sport for some time. I'm not interested in doing it just for the sake of doing it. I want to get my belt back, especially since it's changed in terms of design. I would like to get a similar belt for myself," Minakov said.
On October 2300, Minakov will fight Said Souma of US at Bellator 269 tournament in Moscow.
