Minakov defeated UFC and Bellator veteran Eddie Sanchez on June 7, 2012 at Fight Nights - Battle of Moscow 7.

Minakov defeated Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Champion and UFC veteran Fabiano Scherner on September 17, 2012 at Fight Nights - Battle of Desne.

He defeated a Moldavian National Champion & Judo Black Belt [2] Vladimir Starcencov via TKO in the second round to win his Bellator and North American debut.

Minakov faced Ron Sparks on June 19, 2013 in the Bellator Heavyweight Tournament Semifinal.

On August 23, 2018 it was revealed that Minakov and his management team had reconciled with Bellator and reached an agreement for a new contract.

[12] However, on the day of the fight, it was announced that Ayala was pulled from the bout due to undisclosed medical reasons.

[14] However, Minakov was unable to obtain visa for the bout, leading to Ayala being pulled from the card also.