Mixed martial arts are not developed that much in Italy, but sometimes bright and gifted athletes appear there. One of the country's main MMA hopes is 26-year-old Chiara Penco. This material will tell you about the charming girl fighting for Bellator.
Chiara Penco was born on November 21, 1995 in Livorno, Italy. Chiara Penco has loved volleyball since childhood. But the more she trained, the more she understood that team sports didn't suit her very well. After she quit the team, Penco changed her field dramatically and took up martial arts. She experimented with different types of martial arts and decided to try her hand at MMA.
Her professional debut was at the age of 21. On May 13, 2017, Penco performed in The Golden Cage undercard in Milan. Chiara faced Judith Levi, but it was not a hard-fought encounter. It took Penco just over a minute to apply an armbar to her opponent and make her surrender.
Penco started her MMA career with flying colors. She demonstrated magnificent ground fighting skills and won her first four tournaments early. Besides, Chiara became the champion of the African Extreme Fighting Championship promotion, having defeated Danella Eliasov on March 10, 2018, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
On December 8, 2018, Penco encountered the Polish Karolina Wójcik at EFC Worldwide 76. The girls spent five close rounds in the cage, and after that, the judges gave the victory to Wójcik by a split decision. Chiara took her first defeat hard and put her career on pause.
The large world promotion Bellator got interested in the promising Italian. The organization offered her a contract. Chiara's debut was on February 22, 2020. Penco didn't fight for 18 months, and it made itself felt. She faced Danni McCormack at Bellator 240 and lost to her via unanimous decision. Then Chiara decided not to make big breaks and returned to the cage after seven months. Her persistent training yielded results. Penco defeated Aleksandra Toncheva by TKO in front of her home audience in Milan.
After that, Chiara decided to perform in the Chech promotion Oktagon to keep fit. But her trip to Prague was unsuccessful. On July 24, 2021, Penco lost to Magdaléna Šormová by a choke with a second left in the first round.
But in Bellator, Penco is doing great. On October 1, 2021, she applied an armbar to Katharina Dalisda, and on May 13, 2022, she defeated Lanchana Green via unanimous decision at Bellator 281. Chiara has an unusual nickname — "Beasty Barbie." The pretty girl explains it with her own metamorphosis during the fight. Her model appearance and charming smile remain outside the cage that the real beast enters.
I smile until I get into the cage. Then the transformation happens.
Chiara Penco
Penco is now on a streak of three consecutive wins at Bellator. Given that the organization's strawweight roster could be stronger, Chiara could get a title fight soon if she keeps winning.
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