Forrest Molinari
American freestyle wrestler and mixed martial artist
Forrest Ann Molinari (born September 4, 1995) is an American freestyle wrestler and mixed martial artist. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's 65 kg event at the 2021 World Wrestling Championships held in Oslo, Norway.[ 3] [ 4] She is a four-time medalist, including three gold medals, at the Pan American Wrestling Championships .
Background
Growing up playing baseball and swimming among various other sports, she wanted to play football coming as a freshman into Benicia High School .[ 2] However, her stature was too small for the sport, so she started wrestling after a suggestion by her mother and football coach.[ 2] She went on to become a two-time state medalist in the sport and gaining college scholarship to Missouri Baptist University after graduating from Benicia in 2013.[ 2] She then transferred to King University where she won national championship in her junior year and gaining four All-American honors in women's collegiate wrestling overall.[ 2]
Wrestling career
Molinari competed in the women's 67 kg event at the 2015 World Junior Wrestling Championships held in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.[ 5] At the 2017 Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Lauro de Freitas, Brazil, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 69 kg event.[ 6]
Molinari competed in the women's freestyle event of the Wrestling World Cup in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In 2018, she lost her bronze medal match in the women's 65 kg event at the Klippan Lady Open in Klippan, Sweden.[ 7] A few months later, Molinari won the gold medal in this event at the 2018 Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Lima, Peru.[ 8] [ 9] She lost her bronze medal match in both the women's 65 kg event at the 2018 World Wrestling Championships held in Budapest, Hungary and in the same event at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships held in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.[ 10] [ 11] In 2019, Molinari defeated Maya Nelson in the women's 65 kg event at the Final X: Rutgers event held in Piscataway, New Jersey, United States. A month later, she won the gold medal in the women's 65 kg event at the 2019 Yasar Dogu Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey.[ 12]
In 2020, at the Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 68 kg event.[ 13] [ 14]
In January 2021, Molinari won the silver medal in the women's 68 kg event at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane held in Nice, France.[ 15] In June 2021, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 68 kg event at the 2021 Poland Open held in Warsaw, Poland.[ 16] [ 17] A few months later, Molinari won one of the bronze medals in the women's 65 kg event at the World Wrestling Championships held in Oslo, Norway.[ 4] [ 18] She defeated Maryia Mamashuk of Belarus in her bronze medal match.[ 4] [ 18]
In January 2022, Molinari won the silver medal in the women's 65 kg event at the Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin held in Krasnoyarsk, Russia.[ 19] [ 20] In February 2022, she won the gold medal in the women's 65 kg event at the Yasar Dogu Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey.[ 21] Molinari won the gold medal in her event at the 2022 Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Acapulco, Mexico.[ 22] [ 23]
Molinari won one of the bronze medals in the women's 68 kg event at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2023 held in Nice, France.[ 24] She won the gold medal in her event at the 2023 Ibrahim Moustafa Tournament held in Alexandria, Egypt.[ 25] A few months later, Molinari also won the gold medal in her event at the 2023 Pan American Wrestling Championships held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[ 26] [ 27]
Molinari won the gold medal in the women's 68 kg event at the 2023 Pan American Games held in Santiago, Chile.[ 28] She defeated Soleymi Caraballo of Venezuela in her gold medal match.[ 28]
She won the silver medal in her event at the 2024 Grand Prix Zagreb Open held in Zagreb, Croatia.[ 29]
She attended 2024 United States Olympic Trials where she advanced to the finals, but lost both matches to Amit Elor who would eventually win gold in the 2024 Summer Olympics .[ 30]
Achievements
Mixed martial arts career
After losing the finals of the olympic trials, Molinari decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts and joined The MMA Lab .[ 1]
She made her professional debut in the sport against Brigid Chase at Borroka 1 on November 22, 2024, winning the bout via unanimous decision.[ 31]
Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
1 match
1 win
0 losses
By decision
1
0
Res.
Record
Opponent
Method
Event
Date
Round
Time
Location
Notes
Win
1–0
Brigid Chase
Decision (unanimous)
Borroka 1
November 22, 2024
3
5:00
Las Vegas, Nevada , United States
Featherweight debut.
[ 31]
References
^ a b c Spectation Sports (November 20, 2024). Wrestling phenom Forrest Molinari talks MMA debut Nov. 22 vs. Brigid Chase – via YouTube.
^ a b c d e f Cody Goodwin (April 19, 2019). "Meet Forrest Molinari, member of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and one of the country's best female freestyle wrestlers" . hawkcentral.com .
^ Burke, Patrick (October 6, 2021). "Adelaine Maria Gray wins sixth title at Wrestling World Championships" . InsideTheGames.biz . Retrieved October 6, 2021 .
^ a b c "2021 World Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021 .
^ "2015 World Junior Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021 .
^ "2017 Pan American Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ "Results Book" (PDF) . 2018 Klippan Lady Open . Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2020 .
^ Pavitt, Michael (May 4, 2018). "Cubans earn further Greco-Roman golds at Pan American Wrestling Championships" . InsideTheGames.biz . Retrieved October 6, 2021 .
^ "2018 Pan American Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021 .
^ "2018 World Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 14, 2020 .
^ "2019 World Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved April 12, 2020 .
^ "2019 Yasar Dogu Tournament Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ Abbott, Gary (January 26, 2020). "Forrest Molinari wins bronze medal on final day of Ivan Yarygin Grand Prix in Russia" . Team USA . Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ "Results Book" (PDF) . Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2020 . Archived (PDF) from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2020 .
^ "Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2021 Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021 .
^ Rowbottom, Mike (June 11, 2021). "Adekuoroye scatters Rio 2016 medallists en route to gold at UWW Poland Open" . InsideTheGames.biz . Retrieved July 4, 2021 .
^ "2021 Poland Open Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021 .
^ a b Price, Karen (October 6, 2021). "Adeline Gray Makes History With Record Sixth Wrestling World Title" . Team USA . Retrieved October 24, 2021 .
^ Miller-Gregorio, Taylor (January 28, 2022). "Bruntil becomes seventh U.S. woman to win Yariguin, Maroulis and Kilty to wrestle for gold, Dieringer and McKenna in hunt for bronze" . Team USA . Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 28, 2022 .
^ "Golden Grand Prix Ivan Yarygin 2022 Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022 .
^ "2022 Yasar Dogu, Vehbi Emre & Hamit Kaplan Tournament Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived (PDF) from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022 .
^ Burke, Patrick (May 6, 2022). "Godinez impresses to clinch gold at wrestling's Pan American Championships" . InsideTheGames.biz . Retrieved May 7, 2022 .
^ "2022 Pan American Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived from the original (PDF) on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022 .
^ "Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2023 Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023 .
^ "2023 Ibrahim Moustafa Tournament Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023 .
^ Lloyd, Owen (May 5, 2023). "Burroughs and Hildebrandt extend remarkable Pan-American Wrestling Championships records" . InsideTheGames.biz . Retrieved May 6, 2023 .
^ "2023 Pan American Wrestling Championships Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024 .
^ a b "2023 Pan American Games Wrestling Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023 .
^ "2024 Grand Prix Zagreb Open Results Book" (PDF) . United World Wrestling . Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024 .
^ Cody Goodwin (April 20, 2024). "U.S. phenom Amit Elor qualifies for first Olympic team after winning eight world titles," . themat.com .
^ a b "Forrest Molinari MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography" . Sherdog .
External links