A heavyweight clash opened up the Bellator 239 main card in Thackerville, Oklahoma on Friday night. Javy Ayala, having moved past some bad luck that kept him out of the cage for over a year, was taking on Team Fedor member Valentin Moldavsky — who had won all three of his bouts in Bellator to date.

Ayala, of course, rose to prominence with wins over Sergei Kharitonov and Frank Mir.

With the action getting underway, it was Moldavsky securing an early takedown. Ayala worked his way back to the fence and was able to climb back up, but it was mere seconds before he was taken down a second time. Moldavsky then latched on with an arm-triangle, stepping over Ayala despite being cramped along the fence. Ayala, however, survived and moved back to his feet again, only to wind up giving up the back.

Ayala powered up, Moldavsky quickly took him back down. That seemed to be the scene on repeat through the first three-plus minutes of the fight. Moldavsky would throw the odd strike while working on position and submissions; Ayala meanwhile was surviving, but simply couldn’t escape or create space. Another takedown, a trip, was landed by Moldavsky in the final minute. That put him in side control, but Ayala would escape the round.

Round two opened with an early clinch, and before long Ayala was down. He was back up in a scramble, but down once more in short order. Ayala would again spend way too much time on the ground, with Moldavsky in full control despite being unable to finish.

Round three offered more of the same, with Moldavsky hitting home with some heavier shots. Moldavsky came close to moving to mount, although Ayala still proved he could escape to his feet — if little else. Moldavsky was in control from the opening bell to the close. In the end, he left Thackerville with his fourth win inside the Bellator cage.

Official Result: Valentin Moldavsky def. Javy Ayala by unanimous decision (30-25, 30-24, 30-24)

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When heavyweight Javy Ayala steps back in the cage on Friday night to face off against Valentin Moldavsky on the main card of Bellator 239, he will end the longest layoff of his career – a 14-month absence from the sport. “Eye Candy” was last seen in action when he picked up the biggest win of his career by defeating former UFC heavyweight champion, Frank Mir back at Bellator 212 in December 2018.

“It means a lot to beat Frank Mir,” Ayala told Cageside Press. “It feels really good to be able to go in there and get a win over somebody that I idolized early off in my career. If people were to ask me my favorite fighter, I would have said Frank Mir. He kinda represents everything I want to be in the sport. I wanted to be good on the ground and good standing up, just a good well-rounded fighter. I feel like if I got right back in after the win, I would have got a lot more media attention.”

The 31-year-old was slated twice to square off with former Bellator heavyweight champion, Vitaly Minakov in 2019 but the battle fell through both times. They were originally going to meet at Bellator 225 back in August but Ayala was pulled from the contest by the state commission due to illness just hours before the planned matchup. They were rescheduled to face off at Bellator 232 but this time Minakov was the one pulled from the event due to travel VISA issues.

It appears the California native has moved past a bout with Minakov and now has to deal with another Russian standout, the aforementioned Moldavsky. Ayala’s 28-year-old adversary is a former Combat Sambo World Champion with an 8-1 professional record.

“I think it is a good matchup,” Ayala said. “I feel as he is a real strong tough guy. He is a gamer, he likes to fight. I feel like my style matches up good with his style and it is going to make it a really good fight. I feel like I have the advantage with my striking. I know he is a close-quarters kinda guy. From the fights I have watched, he likes stay in tie-ups. That is something I feel like I am best at. I will be able to use a lot of my elbows, short strikes like I did against Frank Mir.”

The California native predicted he would win the fight via, “a first-round TKO.”

If Ayala is able to make his prediction a reality, he would have some serious traction going for him with back to back knockout victorious. He hopes that he can continue to roll the success on his journey to finally capture a major championship.

“I feel like I am close to a title shot,” Ayala said. “I just have to stay more active this year. I feel like I win this one and get two more fights in this year which is totally possible, I am right in that mix at well. Even when I was fighting on the local circuit, I never won a championship. To have this be the one belt that I won and have it be in one of the largest organizations in the world would be like a dream come true, a great accomplishment for my career.”

While Ayala stated that he would face any of the top big men in the promotion, he dreams of getting a chance to duel with a certain legendary combatant.

“I would love the opportunity to fight Fedor [Emelianenko], he is one of my biggest idols,” Ayala said. “Just to say that I got to get in there with him. He is tough. He is definitely one of the guys that I would want to get in therewith. I will go in there in Russia or wherever they want to take me.”

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Additionally, four other bouts were reported for the event, which takes place at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma on February 21, 2020.

Ayala (11-7) has struggled to get back in the cage of late, with a pair of fights against Vitaly Minakov both falling through last year. At Bellator 225, Ayala was pulled by the Connecticut commission for health reasons. The fight was rebooked for Bellator 232, but Minakov was forced out due to visa issues.

That means Ayala missed out on all of 2019, with his last fight a win over Frank Mir in December 2018.

Moldavsky (8-1) has won all three of his bouts in Bellator thus far, after competing for RIZIN earlier in his career.

In a fight that may appeal to MMA history buffs, Lucas Brennan (2-0) — son of UFC alum Chris Brennan — faces Jamese Taylor (0-1). The elder Brennan, now 40, last fought in 2012 under the King of the Cage banner. Once upon a time, however, Brennan competed in the UFC, starting with UFC 16, where he fought twice in a night — defeating Courtney Turner before losing to future welterweight champion Pat Miletich.

The younger Brennan fights at bantamweight, and so far, he has two wins under the Bellator banner, both by submission.

Adil Benjilany (5-2), meanwhile, has been paired up against “The Hard-Hitting Hillbilly” Kevin Croom (20-12). That fight will be contested at featherweight.

Team Alpha Male prospect Chris Gonzalez (3-0) will look to keep his perfect record intact against the much more experienced Aaron McKenzie (7-1-1) in lightweight action. And another top prospect, Jackson-Wink MMA’s Christian Edwards (2-0), makes his first appearance of 2020 against DiMarcco Hutchison (3-2), who previously competed for LFA. Edwards could be a key part of Bellator’s 205lb division in the future.

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The fight between Vitaly Minakov and Javy Ayala for this Saturday at Bellator 232 has been scrapped due to visa issues on behalf of Minakov.  Per Minakov, his application was submitted within reasonable time but ultimately his request was not approved.

In a statement to TASS who reported the news, Minakov said:

“My documents have been processed for quite a while now.  Recently, information came that they were referred for reconsideration.  Yesterday, a manager called me saying that I was pulled out from the fight.  I think that in the end I will have a visa since I have obtained it many times and never faced any problems before.  I regret that all my preparations were for nothing.”

The move comes just days out from Bellator 232 which is set to take place this Saturday at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.  Minakov was looking to ride the momentum of his first round KO victory over Tim Johnson back in August.  After a five year absence from Bellator that never saw him lose his title in the cage, Minakov returned to post a 1-1 record, losing in a title eliminator to Cheick Kongo back in February before returning to the win column against Johnson.

The news is a crushing blow to Javy Ayala who was previously set to face Minakov back in August, but was pulled from the fight at the eleventh hour for an undisclosed medical reason.  Ayala has since clarified that he had a bad infection on the side of his knee that led to a doctor pulling him from the bout.  Ayala has not fought since his career-defining victory last December where he stopped former UFC champion Frank Mir in the second round.

Javy Ayala is not expected to remain on Saturday’s card.

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Bellator 225’s original co-main event was former heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov taking on Javy Ayala. However, Bellator announced on their Twitter just hours prior to the event that Ayala has fallen out of the fight due to unknown reasons, and former UFC heavyweight Timothy Johnson will be taking his place in the fight against Minakov. Ayala is coming off of a knockout win over Frank Mir earlier this year, however, he has fallen out of the fight.

Johnson, on the other hand, is now in the co-main event. Johnson was a former ranked fighter in the UFC’s heavyweight division, with notable wins over the likes of Shamil Abdurakhimov, and Marcin Tybura. Johnson signed with Bellator coming off a win over Marcelo Golm in February of 2018, however, he would go on to lose his promotional debut via first-round knockout to Cheick Kongo last October.

Johnson’s opponent is the former undefeated champion, Vitaly Minakov. Minakov formerly won the heavyweight crown in 2013 with a TKO win over Alexander Volkov and defended it against Cheick Kongo prior to leaving Bellator to leaving for Fight Nights Global in 2015. He would win seven straight fights there prior to returning to Bellator in 2019, where he would lose a rematch to Kongo in his first returning bout.

When reached out for a statement, Bellator said the following:

“He was removed from the card on the advice of the Connecticut Boxing Commission. Azunna [Anyanwu] is not getting a new opponent, but he will be booked in the future and was compensated for this event.

The Johnson/Minakov fight is the rare fight-day switch. The most notorious fight-day switch of opponents was Seth Petruzelli stepping in on hours notice to defeat Kimbo Slice in 14 seconds at EliteXC: Heat. The Slice loss would lead to the downfall of the EliteXC, with the promotion shutting down not long after the Petruzelli win.

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Bellator MMA heavyweight Javy Ayala has made a name for himself over the past couple of years fighting some of the top athletes in the weight class. Names like Sergei Kharitonov, Cheick Kongo, Roy Nelson, and Frank Mir — fights which have turned ‘Eye Candy’ into a fighter definitely worth keeping an eye on. When he returns at Bellator 225 this weekend, it’s another massive name to add to his resume: Vitaly Minakov.

From a former UFC champ, to a former Bellator champ. Ayala has pretty much lived via the “take on all challengers” approach during his career with Bellator. Cageside Press spoke to the heavyweight ahead of Bellator 225 about fighting Frank Mir, his showdown with Minakov, and more.

Getting the Mir fight, frankly, was a pleasant surprise for Ayala. “I was actually super surprised. I guess they got my manager, my manager called me, he’s like ‘hey Javy, they’re offering you Frank Mir.’ Before we even said anything else, I was like ‘yeah! I’ll take it!'” Not a moment’s hesitation to take on the UFC legend. “I was like, this is the opportunity of a lifetime to fight one of my idols, and I’m going to take it.”

Ayala (11-7) made the most of the opportunity, forcing Mir to submit to strikes in the second round of Bellator 212 in Hawaii. Overall, a great experience for Javy. “It was cool, in Hawaii, I’d never been before. It was beautiful there.”

Ayala stayed for the second show of the back-to-back cards back in December, and got to soak up some of the atmosphere. He also took some lessons from the win.

“Going back and remembering the fight and watching it, it was like, okay what do we need to work on? We need to work on some takedown defense,” admitted Ayala. “I felt like when he was getting me down, I felt like my jiu-jitsu defense was good. I was able to stop all his attacks, all his offense.” The problem was, “we didn’t want to be on the ground with him” in the first place. “But he was able to get [us] down, we need to be able to stop that. So that’s something we’ve worked on quite a bit.”

Ultimately, though, it’s hard to find fault in the win, which Ayala sees as the biggest in his career to date. “The win over Kharitonov was great, but nothing beats being able to beat Frank Mir. He’s a legend in the sport, I have nothing but respect for him. Just to be able to go out there and get a win, it felt amazing.”

Now, it’s on to Minakov, who looked unstoppable until finally losing a decision to Cheick Kongo earlier this year. That loss was the first of the Russian’s lengthy career, moving him to 21-1. He’ll be looking to bounce back at Ayala, who has been eyeing this fight a long time.

“When I first started with Bellator and he was champion, I was like, you know what? I’m going to fight him one day,” said Ayala. “Once I heard that he came back, I knew eventually we were going to be matched up against each other, so I paid real good attention to when he fought Chieck.”

Ayala was excited when Bellator offered the ex-champ, adding to his streak of big-name opponents. “He’s a tough guy. Throws some big bombs, and if one of them connects, he hits hard. Watching that fight, it showed me a few things that I need to work on, and things that I can utilize to win this fight.”

Without giving anything away, Ayala said that “I have a good training camp, good coaches. They’ve been working with me a lot on the takedown defense, a lot of countering back off his big punches, things of that nature, and just making sure I’m ready. My cardio feels great, just ready to go out there and put on a show.”

There are also a few factors leaning in his favor. “I have the home field advantage, it’s going to be a good tough fight. He’s been away for a long time.”

That might be an understatement. Minakov held the Bellator heavyweight title from 2013 onward, but only defended it once, against Kongo. That was in April 2014. A contract dispute entailed, one that saw Minakov fighting in Russia, while still technically Bellator’s champion. He was not stripped of the belt until May of 2016. However, he remained undefeated in Russia, fighting names like Josh Copeland, Peter Graham, and Bigfoot Silva for Fight Nights Global.

It wasn’t until FNG fell apart that Minakov returned to the Bellator fold. His return fight, the rematch with Kongo at Bellator 216, was a title eliminator. Kongo now gets the next shot at champ Ryan Bader.

“I noticed rust had a little effect on him against Cheick,” Ayala observed in regard to his opponent’s last fight. “We’ll just see if he was able to shake it off, or he still has some of that rust for this next fight.”

While some heavyweights might have a little ill will toward Minakov for holding up the division, Ayala told us that isn’t the case with him. “Not so much. I wanted to just be able to go out there and prove that, once the opportunity arose, someday to fight for the belt, I wanted to be in that mix. I feel now, with the way Bellator’s going, they’re doing a great job with it.”

“I feel now that Bader’s the champ, he’s going to defend it against Cheick, there’s a lot of opportunity for the next group of guys to prove themselves and see who’s the number one contender now,” he said, while admitting that Bader may have a rough time holding onto the title. “It’s going to be a tough one, there’s a lot of tough guys. He’s got a tough fight in front of him against Cheick. I know from personal experience that Cheick hits hard.”

Adding that Bader’s “wrestling’s really good, maybe he can take everybody down and control them,” Ayala still feels it’s a tough order.

Then there’s the possibility that, with two belts, the heavyweight division may be bogged down once again. “That’s something I think about too. If [Bader] does this win this fight and he retains his belt, when’s the next time he’s going to defend it again? If he fights twice a year, that’s only defending one belt each time. That really does tie everything up for the movement of the heavyweight division.”

For now, however, Ayala must concentrate on the task at hand: Minakov. Although he’d also like to remain active. “If everything goes well, I’d love to get in again before the end of the year. That way I can get at least two fights in this year.”

We’ll know if all goes well Saturday, August 24 at Bellator 225, going down inside the Webstar Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

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Bounced from the World Heavyweight Grand Prix by Fedor Emelianenko, former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir was back in action Friday night. At Bellator 212 in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mir was looking for his first win in the promotion. Opposite him, Javy Ayala, who had fought some of the organization’s best, and who held a knockout win over Sergei Kharitonov.

As the action got underway, Ayala fired first, with Mir clamping on with overhooks but being pushed back to the fence. Mir would break free, and move back to center, looking for and eventually scoring the takedown. In half guard, he worked on softening Ayala up with punches to the body, then looked to isolate an arm.  An early kimura attempt didn’t last, however, but Mir remained in the driver’s seat. As time wore on Mir would add some elbows, while Ayala punched from the bottom before scrambling free with a minute remaining. However a trip by Mir took them back down, but without enough time for Mir to make anything happen.

Javy Ayala went on the attack early in round two, but the veteran Mir quickly had him to the canvas. To Ayala’s credit, he was back on his feet in mere seconds, but he was going to need to find a way to stay there. Mir, however, was showing some damage after a close exchange. Even a high kick landed for Ayala. Mir would eat another standing elbow, then drop down looking for a single leg, however out of position, he opened himself up to some heavy punches to the ribs, and more as he worked back to his feet. Short elbows and body shots were tenderizing Mir. However off the break Mir landed a knee, then clipped Ayala with a punch! They traded a moment, before Mir changed levels for a takedown.

Its gettin' bloody 🤧#BellatorSalutes #Bellator212 pic.twitter.com/MaKTrOwKq8

— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) December 15, 2018

Ayala, however, stayed standing. Stayed on the bloodied Mir. And after eating several more shots, Mir tapped out! After the finish, it appeared Mir may have suffered some damage to the mouth, as his mouth piece had popped out earlier in the exchange.

Javy Ayala def. Frank Mir by submission (strikes), Round 2, 4:30

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Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir will return to the Bellator cage this December in Hawaii. On Thursday, MMA Junkie was first to report that Mir will take on Javy Ayala in the co-main event of Bellator’s “Salute the Troops” show. The recently announced event comes a day before Bellator 213, where Hawaii’s own Ilima-Lei Macfarlane defends her women’s flyweight title against Valerie Letourneau.

Mir (18-12) fought exclusively for the UFC between 2001 and 2016. There, he won the promotion’s biggest prize after submitting Tim Sylvia at UFC 48. However, he was stripped of the belt after a motorcycle accident kept him out of action for over a year.

Feared for his ground game, Mir holds notable wins over Sylvia, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Big Nog), Bigfoot Silva, Roy ‘Big Country’ Nelson, Mirko Cro-Cop, Cheick Kongo, and, of course, Brock Lesnar. However, following a failed drug tested under USADA after a loss to Mark Hunt at UFC Fight Night 85 in 2016, he exited the company. Once his suspension was up, he made his Bellator MMA debut, losing to Fedor Emelianenko earlier this year. That fight went down in April at Bellator 198, and served as a quarterfinal match-up in the promotion’s World Heavyweight Grand Prix.

Mir will look to snap a three-fight losing streak when he faces Javy Ayala (10-7). Ayala was first noticed in Bellator’s heavyweight division after a shock upset of Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 163 two years ago. There, he knocked the dangerous striker out in just sixteen seconds. However, Ayala is 0-2 since then, losing to both Cheick Kongo and Roy Nelson.

Bellator: Salute the Troops takes place at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 14. Michael Chandler and Brent Primus meet for the second time in the night’s main event.

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At Bellator 199 on Saturday in San Jose, CA, Cheick Kongo made his return to the cage. Opposite him was Javy Ayala, the man who shocked with a knockout of Sergei Kharitonov last year, then went three rounds in a losing effort against Roy Nelson. Surprisingly, the bout wasn’t part of the heavyweight grand prix, despite the pair being two of the top heavyweights in Bellator MMA.

In this heavyweight affair, Ayala came out swinging hard, forcing Kongo to neutralize him with a clinch. Breaking out of the clinch, Ayala chose to close the distance and look for a takedown of his own, eventually pushing Kongo into the fence. The grappling went on for a short while, then Kongo landed a leg kick back in the middle. Then, Cheick Kongo decided to give us all a glimpse of the old Kongo: Javy Ayala charged in with an overhand right, and Cheick Kongo answered with a crushing right to the side of the head. Ayala dropped like a stone, and Kongo followed him down for follow-up strikes as the ref dove in to make the save.

A stellar knockout my Cheick Kongo, who makes a statement in his return to action!

Cheick Kongo def. Javy Ayala by knockout, Round 1, 2:29

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Bellator 199 took place Saturday night in San Jose, with the last quarter final bout in Bellator’s heavyweight grand prix topping the card. That fight saw light heavyweight champ Ryan Bader take on the man many expected to challenge for his 205lb title, King Mo Lawal. Instead of a title fight, however, it was a battle to determine who would move forward in the tournament.

Also on the card, Jon Fitch was set to make his Bellator MMA debut, taking on the always dangerous Paul Daley. And Cheick Kongo returned to action after a year-long layoff to take on Javy Ayala.

Earlier in the night, a host of preliminary card bouts were scheduled (with a number set as post-liminary fights, taking place after the main card). Among them, Amber Leibrock would finally make her Bellator debut. Originally expected to fight Alexis Dufresne in December, the bout was scrapped when Dufresne missed weight by a full ten pounds. Now, the Invicta veteran, whose only loss came to Megan Anderson, would get in the cage against Janay Harding to see who would move forward in the featherweight division.

Check back come fight time for results, and our Bellator 199 live stream video of all the action. Watch all the fights right here, courtesy of Bellator MMA — the action gets underway at 7PM ET!

Bellator 199: Bader vs. King Mo – Live Tonight 9/8c, on Paramount Network

Bellator 199 Preliminary Card Results:

James Terry def. Danasabe Mohammed by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Jordan Williams def. Brandon Hester by TKO, Round 2, 1:11
Cass Bell def. Khai Wu by submission (guillotine), Round 2, 3:27
Justin Tenedora def. David Rivera-Cruz by submission (Triangle Choke), Round 1, 4:27
Deron Winn def. Ahmed White by TKO, Round 1, 2:32
Amber Leibrock def. Janay Harding by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
Gaston Bolanos def. Malcolm Hill by TKO (Leg Kicks), Round 1, 2:54

Dark Fights:

Mark Climaco vs. Daniel Oseguera
Elias Anderson vs. Hyder Amil
Josh San Diego vs. Hohelin Hernandez
Dominic Sumner vs. Tom Oswald
Josh Paiva vs. Adam Antolin
Ignacio Ortiz vs. Matt Aragoni
J.J. Okanovich vs. Hugo Lujan

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