Forrest "The Bear" Molinari

Forrest Molinari was born and raised in Benicia, California, where her athletic journey began on the wrestling mat. Competing at Benicia High School from 2010 to 2013, she quickly distinguished herself as one of the top young wrestlers in the state and the nation — earning All-American Honors, three trips and two third place finishes at the California Wrestling State Championships, back-to-back USA Wrestling California Folkstyle State Championships, and a California Freestyle State title. In her senior year, she was recognized as the 2013 Solano County Female Athlete of the Year and Benicia High School Female Athlete of the Year, and in 2025 was inducted into the Benicia High School Athletics Hall of Fame.

Forrest took her talents to the collegiate level, competing first at Missouri Baptist University, where she earned All-American honors as a true freshman. She then transferred to King University in Bristol, Tennessee, where she became a three-time All-American, a 2016 National Champion, a two-year team captain, a three-time Academic All-American, and hepled lead The Tornado to three National Championship Team Titles. She graduated with dual bachelor's degrees — one in Mathematics and one in Business Administration — before earning a Master's degree in Coaching and Athletics Administration from Concordia University of Irvine in 2018.

Her academic excellence never slowed her competitive drive. Simultaneously building one of the most decorated senior careers in U.S. women's freestyle wrestling, Forrest became a fixture on the national and international stage. Competing for the Hawkeye Wrestling Club and the Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club, she was a four-time U.S. Open Champion, represented the United States of America on the Senior World Team, captured three Pan American Championship titles, won the 2023 Pan American Games, and earned a Bronze Medal at the 2021 Senior World Championships. Ranked consistently in the top five in the world in UWW Women's Freestyle Wrestling from 2019 to 2024 at 65kg and 68kg, Forrest built a worldwide reputation as an exceptionally intense competitor whose power and conditioning are hard to match at any level.

Her pursuit of the ultimate prize in amateur wrestling — an Olympic gold medal — defined nearly a decade of her career. In a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in the 2024 Olympic Trial Finals to future Olympic Gold Medalist Amir Elor of Team USA, Forrest came as close as any athlete can without boarding the plane. Rather than step back, she stepped forward — walking directly from the Olympic trials to the professional MMA arena, bringing with her every ounce of the work ethic, conditioning, and championship mentality that made her one of the most formidable wrestlers on the planet.

In just three professional MMA fights, Forrest has already shown she is operating well ahead of schedule technically. The same relentless intensity that defined her wrestling career is on full display in the Octagon — and it is only the beginning. Her goals have not changed: she wants to be the best, period. She is already setting her sights on the elite level of women's MMA, closing in fast, and making clear that everything that came before was preparation for what is coming next.

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