Lana Stefanac

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Lana Stefanac
Born (1975-06-16) 16 June 1975 (age 48)[1]
Cleveland, Ohio, US
Other namesLethal[2]
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)
DivisionMedium heavy[3]
Middleweight (MMA)
Reach70.0 in (178 cm)
TeamRelson Gracie
Open Dor Bjj
Gracie Elite
trinity bjj[4]
RankBJJ black belt
Years active2006–2009 (MMA)[5]
Mixed martial arts record
Total6
Wins6
By knockout1
By submission4
By decision1
Losses0
Websitehttp://lanastefanac.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Medal record
Representing  United States
Grappling
ADCC World Championship
Silver medal – second place 2007 Trenton, USA +67kg
ADCC North American Championship
Gold medal – first place 2008 Newark, USA +60kg
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
World Jiu-Jitsu Championship
Gold medal – first place 2009 California, USA +74kg
Gold medal – first place 2009 California, USA Absolute
Bronze medal – third place 2011 California, USA +74kg
Bronze medal – third place 2011 California, USA Absolute

Lana Stefanac is an American mixed martial artist, grappler and black belt Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and instructor. Stefanac is a World, Pan American, and US National Brazilian jiu-jitsu Champion in colored belts, she is a two-time black belt world champion[a] and the first American woman to become world champion in both her weight class and in the Open class.[6]

Career[edit]

Lana Stefanac was born on 16 June 1975 in Cleveland, Ohio, US, her father was born in Lika, Croatia before emigrating to the US.[7] Stefanac started training in Muay Thai then after meeting 3rd degree black belt Donald Park, a student of Royler Gracie, she started Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) in 2003.[7]

In 2006, after receiving her blue belt, she won the Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship in her division, that same year Stefanac started competing MMA winning 3 matches that year, all won by submission. Her first match was against champion boxer Martha Salazarbe.[5] Stefanac won again the Pan Ams in the purple belt division in 2007 in both Gi and No-Gi then won silver at the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championships. Stefanac won three more MMA matches between 2006 and 2008, ending her MMA career with an impressive 6–0 professional record. In 2008 she had a record of 200 wins, 3 losses in both Gi and No Gi.[b][8] In 2008, she won the ADCC North American Trials.[5]

Stefanac was promoted to black belt in 2009 by Randy Bloom straight after winning double gold at the 2009 Brazilian jiu-jitsu world championship after defeating Kyra Gracie in her division and Gabi Garcia (16-0) in the Open class.[9][10] Stefanac retired from MMA undefeated in 2009.[5] In 2011 she won Bronze at the world championship in both her weight and in Open class, that same year she announced giving up competing to pursue her career in law enforcement.[11]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

Brazilian jiu-jitsu[edit]

Main Achievements (Black belt):

  • IBJJF World Champion (2009[c][4][d])
  • 3rd place IBJJF World Championship (2011[12][d])

Main Achievements (Colored belt):

Grappling[edit]

Mixed martial arts[edit]

  • 3 Professional MMA Title Belts in 2 weight divisions

Mixed martial arts record[edit]

Professional record breakdown
6 matches 6 wins 0 losses
By knockout 0 0
By submission 4 0
By decision 2 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 6–0 Teyvia Reid Technical Submission (Armbar) FFF 4 – Call of the Wild April 3, 2008 1 0:36 Los Angeles, United States
Win 5–0 Megumi Yabushita Decision (Unanimous) Smackgirl 7th anniversary: Starting Over December 1, 2007 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan
Win 4–0 Franita Gathings Decision (Unanimous) AOW – Art of War 3 September 1, 2007 1 1:07 Dallas, United States
Win 3–0 Teyvia Reid Technical Submission (Armbar) FCFS 4 – Damage Control November 19, 2006 1 5:00 Indiana, United States
Win 2–0 Stacy Piper Ford Submission (Armbar) FCFS 3 – Full Contact Fight Series September 16, 2006 1 0:29 Indiana, United States
Win 1–0 Martha Salazar Submission (Guillotine Choke) Extreme Wars 3 – Bay Area Brawl June 3, 2006 1 2:09 Oakland, United States

Private life[edit]

Stefanac's brother Mark is a police officer, a BJJ black belt and the owner of the Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Willoughby, Ohio.[18]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ As a brown belt competing in the combined brown and black female division
  2. ^ According to the ADCC
  3. ^ black/brown division[4]
  4. ^ a b Weight and Absolute[4]
  5. ^ blue/purple division[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Lana Stefanac ("Lethal") – MMA Fighter Page". Tapology. 1975-06-16.
  2. ^ "Lana". Sherdog. 2012-12-26.
  3. ^ ""Lethal" Lana Stefanac is Coming to Krav Maga Self-Defense of San Francisco". Benzinga. 2011-08-19.
  4. ^ a b c d "World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2009". World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d Jennings, L.A. (2014). She's a Knockout!: A History of Women in Fighting Sports. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-4422-3644-8.
  6. ^ "Bigger Women, Smaller Shot". Vice. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  7. ^ a b "Lana Stefanac - još jedna Hrvatska senzacija". Profightstore.hr (in Croatian).
  8. ^ "– LANA STEFANAC EYES FATAL FEMMES TITLE". MMAWeekly.com. 2008-04-01.
  9. ^ "Gabrielle "Gabi" Garcia". BJJ Heroes. 2010-08-10.
  10. ^ "Timeline, The Development Of The Female Division In The IBJJF World Championships". BJJ Heroes. 2021-12-10.
  11. ^ "Black Belt Corner with Lana Stefanac". BJJ For Women. 2015-07-19.
  12. ^ "World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2011". World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2007". Pan Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2007.
  14. ^ "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2006". Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2006.
  15. ^ "Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2007". Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2007.
  16. ^ "ADCC All The Results". Strictly Fighters. 2022-05-18.
  17. ^ "ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2007 • ADCC NEWS". adcombat.com. 2010-10-07.
  18. ^ "Highland Heights police officer earns his black belt in jiu-jitsu; Gets visit from world master". cleveland. 2013-02-15.
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