Jessica Penne: “Bellator Hasn’t Done Much With Women”

Source: FIghters

Jessica Penne made history in 2009 when she was involved in the first WMMA bout under the Bellator name. She needed 95 seconds to take a TKO win against Tammie Schneider in a 117 pound catchweight fight.

Looking at the current state of Bellator's female division, Penne doesn't seem overly impressed.

"It was a big opportunity and I was excited to be a part of it," said Penne to Fighters.com. "Unfortunately, Bellator hasn't done much with the women, so I'm extremely happy to be with a promotion like Invicta [FC] that really puts women out there on a huge platform."

Bellator only has a women's strawweight championship, but the title was vacated last month when Zoila Gurgel left for Invicta FC. Her two plus year reign didn't see the belt defended once. The promotion does hold female fights on occasion.

Penne currently has a 10-1 record, with her lone blemish coming from Gurgel at Bellator 25. After that loss, Penne went to atomweight and has taken three wins. Her last two came out of Invicta FC with a TKO over Lisa Ellis and submission against Naho Sugiyama in October to become their first atomweight champion.

Next month, Penne headlines Invicta FC 5 as she makes her first title defense opposite Michelle Waterson. That is on April 5 from the Ameristar Casino Hotel in Kanas City, MO. Streaming information is yet to be provided.

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