The Bellator MMA championship landscape has been shaken up without a single punch being thrown.
On Saturday, lightweight champion Will Brooks was released from the organization, and heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov was stripped of his title.
Scott Coker spoke to MMAjunkie to confirm that they will waive all negotiation rights to allow Brooks to become an unrestricted free agent.
"It was very simple," Coker said. "Will Brooks' contract is ending, and we made a decision not to renew it. We're going to give him a full release, so we're not going to be in the Will Brooks business any longer."
After a 1-1 start to his Bellator career, Brooks ripped off eight straight wins including perfect 4-0 record in title fights. "lll Will" last fought in November and was not scheduled for a fight in 2016.
Minakov is undefeated in 17 MMA contests, including a 5-0 record in Bellator. He won the organization's heavyweight in November 2013, but only defended the belt once before going on to compete for the Fight Nights promotion in Russia.
Though his championship has been vacated, the 31-year-old Minakov will remain under the Bellator umbrella.
"We're going to retain Minakov's rights with the company, but we are going to strip him of the title for lack of participation, basically," Coker said. "We hope we can work it out, but we're going to be moving on from Minakov."
