Former Bellator Heavyweight Vitaly Minakov no longer has a visa to enter the United States according to the fighter, but a lawsuit still resides in an Orange County, California courtroom over the alleged “client stealing” accused by his old agent of Ali Abdelaziz. On Monday, the parties will argue whether a prejudgment writ of attachment would be approved by the court which would secure property of Minakov’s in anticipation that the fighter will have to provide his former agent unpaid commissions.
Minakov, a Russian heavyweight fighter, secured a deal with Bellator MMA to fight for the promotion. The deal was brokered by Abdelaziz. However, Minakov’s former (or so he thought) agent, RusFighters, LLC claims that he was still under contract with their agency with Abdelaziz brokered the Bellator deal. Minakov says that RusFighters, LLC did not negotiate a contract with Bellator that he likes and so he turned it down.
According to court documents Minakov entered into a 3-year agreement with RusFighters on February 13, 2016 or the expiration of any fight contract entered into within those 3 years. But RusFighters, LLC alleges Abdelaziz caused Minakov to breach the contract short of the agreement.
Minakov was sued along with Abdelaziz. Notably Minakov did not respond to the lawsuit and a default was filed against him. The fact that Minakov’s visa in the United States has expired, RusFighters, LLC is requesting a prejudgment writ of attachment to ensure a possible judgment.
A prejudgment writ of attachment is a request from a plaintiff that proclaims that their allegations have merit and that the defendant may attempt to dispose or hide assets from the court. Thus, if a judgment is ultimately determined, the plaintiff is left with nothing. The process is similar to a Temporary Restraining Order which preserves the status quo until a final resolution happens. If a court grants a prejudgment writ of attachment the plaintiff must post a surety bond.
The amount that RusFighters, LLC seeks to obtain is redacted from the pleadings.
In court papers, RusFighters, LLC claims he is due 20% commission of Minakov’s negotiated Bellator contract as he was contracted with the agency. Notably, Bellator documents detailing Minakov’s contract were filed “under seal” meaning that they are not accessible by the public.
“An [sic] pre-judgment attachment is particularly appropriate in this action because Minakov resides in Russia, which Plaintiff anticipates may complicate post-judgment collection efforts,” reads plaintiff’s moving papers. Plaintiff also anticipates that Minakov will continue to fight “in the United States” during the lawsuit and seeks to attach any earnings from his fight “to protect against future dissipation.”
While fighting for Bellator, Minakov faced Cheick Kongo on February 16, 2019 and did not pay RusFighters, LLC its contractual commission. Similarly, he fought Timothy Johnson on August 24, 2019 and did not pay RusFighters, LLC.
According to the pleadings, Minakov was served a copy of the lawsuit at the weigh-in before his bout against Kongo on February 15, 2019. Minakov did not respond to the lawsuit and a default was issued. A default judgment was filed but was not entered after Minakov agreed to respond to the lawsuit.
Additionally, RusFighters, LLC is seeking attorneys’ fees of $84,710.90 for the lawsuit.
In opposition to the prejudgment writ, Minakov claims in a Declaration that he was presented a Bellator contract offer from RusFighters, LLC but it was not acceptable and he declined the offer. He states in his Declaration that he had a conversation with Aleksey Zhernakov of RusFighters, LLC and stated that he “believed other management companies or managers were willing and able to secure better terms for fight contracts and promotional agreements.” Yet, Minakov states that he would allow RusFighters, LLC to continueto work with him if he could improve on the Bellator offer.
In August 2016, Minakov claims that he and Zhernakov made an oral modification of the terms of their Agreement. Meaning, that they changed the agreement but did not write it down to memorialize the change. He claims that if Minakov would be allowed to find other representation and as a way of appreciation offer a monetary gift to Zhernakov on behalf of RusFighters, LLC. Allegedly, Zhernakov agreed and was “free to work with anyone.”
In late 2018, Minakov states that he offered $10,000 to Zhernakov as a gift for his cooperation for finding other representation. He declined the offer and requested Minakov pay more.
Payout Perspective:
Monday’s hearing will determine whether the Court will allow RusFighters, LLC the opportunity to freeze certain assets of Minakov pending a determination of whether his contract with the agency was over. Minakov claims that an oral modification of the Agreement allowed him to use another agent to negotiate with Bellator. Oral modifications are legal but usually contracts do not allow them to prevent these types of situations. The reason being is that oral modifications are hard to prove.
MMA Payout will keep you posted.
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