Dragan Tešanović

Dragan Tešanović
Born Dragan Tešanović
September 2, 1985 (1985-09-02) (age 26)[1]
Other names Gagi[1]
Nationality Serbian
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)[1]
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)[1]
Division Middleweight
Style Submission Wrestling, Muay Thai
Fighting out of Belgrade, Serbia
Team Car Dusan Silni
Years active 2007-present
Mixed martial arts record
Total 9
Wins 7
By knockout 5
By submission 0
By decision 2
Losses 2
By knockout 0
By submission 1
By decision 1
Draws 0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Dragan "Gagi" Tešanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Драган Тешановић, born September 2, 1985) is a Serbian mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter who competes in the middleweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Tešanović mostly competed in the Eastern European circuit, before signing with the Bellator Fighting Championships. He is undefeated in his professional career to date.

Contents

Mixed martial arts career

Background and early career

Tešanović is regarded as a well-rounded fighter, due to his "solid stand-up, great ground work and dangerous clinch game."[2] Tešanović often utilises "soccer kicks" in fights, drawing on his footballing background.[3]

In addition to his professional MMA career, Tešanović has placed first in five Serbian submission fighting competitions.[2] He also holds a 5-1 record in amateur MMA and has been training since the age of 19.[2]

In 2009, Tešanović was named as the sixth top prospect in Europe by Sherdog.[2]

Tešanović's early career saw him compile a perfect 7-0 record, with three first round stoppages.[1] Amongst this record was a decision victory over Antoni Chmielewski[1] after dominating with knee strikes and effective takedown defence.[4]

Tešanović was scheduled to make his English debut in December 2009 against Papy Abedi,[5] though the fight never took place as Tešanović withdrew.[6] His final appearance in his early career was against Gregor Herb.[3] Tešanović won the fight via decision.[1]

Bellator Fighting Championships

In August 2010, Tešanović signed with Bellator.[7] Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney stated that "Dragan Tešanović has tremendous potential to become a dominant middleweight" and that "his diverse training regime and quickly progressing skill-set set the table for him to make substantial impact in our 185 division"[7]

Later, Tešanović signed to participate in his debut for the promotion. His opponent was named as Mike Bernhard, with the fight taking place at Bellator 34.[8] Tešanović's previous seven fights[1] have been held in Bulgaria,[9] Serbia[10][11][12][13] and Slovenia,[14][15] making his Bellator 34 fight in Hollywood, Florida[8] his North American debut. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

Result Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 7-2 Svetoslav Savov Submission (guillotine choke) WFC 13 - Heavy Hitters 02011-04-17 April 17, 2011 2 Belgrade, Serbia
Loss 7-1 Mike Bernhard Decision (unanimous) Bellator 34 02010-10-28 October 28, 2010 3 5:00 Hollywood, Florida, US
Win 7-0 Gregor Herb Decision (unanimous) WFC 11 - Bash at the Beach 02010-07-31 July 31, 2010 3 5:00 Portorož, Slovenia[14]
Win 6-0 Markus Di Gallo TKO (punch) WFC 10 - Night of Champions 02010-03-27 March 27, 2010 2 3:43 Ljubljana, Slovenia[15]
Win 5-0 Matus Laincz TKO (punches) Ultra FC - Stop the Crime 02009-10-31 October 31, 2009 2 4:31 Subotica, Serbia[10]
Win 4-0 Antoni Chmielewski Decision (unanimous) WFC 6 - Relentless 02008-09-27 September 27, 2008 3 5:00 Sofia, Bulgaria[9]
Win 3-0 Saša Mitrović TKO (punches) Memorijal Gidra Stojanović 02008-04-06 April 6, 2008 1 N/A Belgrade, Serbia[11]
Win 2-0 Mihaly Dobrai TKO (punches) Ultimate Fight - Čačak 02007-12-01 December 1, 2007 1 N/A Čačak, Serbia[12]
Win 1-0 Bojan Vojnović TKO (punches) Memorijal Gidra Stojanović 02007-03-31 March 31, 2007 1 2:49 Belgrade, Serbia[13]

Except where otherwise indicated, details provided in the record box are taken from Sherdog[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Dragan "Gagi" Tesanovic". sherdog.com. http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Dragan-Tesanovic-21904. Retrieved October 8, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d "Top Ten Euro Prospects". sherdog.com. July 25, 2009. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Top-Ten-Euro-Prospects-18175. Retrieved October 9, 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "10 July Tussles Worth Watching". sherdog.com. July 2, 2010. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/10-July-Tussles-Worth-Watching-25441. Retrieved October 9, 2010. 
  4. ^ "Dragan Tesanovic winner at World Free Fight Challenge 6 in Bulgaria". shootersmma.com. September 29, 2008. http://www.shootersmma.com/news.asp?NewsID=2781. Retrieved October 9, 2010. 
  5. ^ "Bushido Challenge 1 : War Of The Warriors Set For 12.13.2009". mmaspot.net. August 23, 2009. http://www.mmaspot.net/news.php?id=664. Retrieved October 9, 2010. 
  6. ^ "10 December Tussles Worth Watching". sherdog.com. December 1, 2009. http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/10-December-Tussles-Worth-Watching-21204. Retrieved October 9, 2010. 
  7. ^ a b "Bellator signs undefeated Serbian Gagi". sherdog.com. August 18, 2010. http://www.sherdog.com/news/press%20releases/Bellator-Signs-Undefeated-Serbian-Gagi-26400. Retrieved October 9, 2010. 
  8. ^ a b "Bernhard vs. Tesanovic completes Bellator 34 main card, prelims feature six fights". mmajunkie.com. October 8, 2010. http://mmajunkie.com/news/20947/bernhard-vs-tesanovic-completes-bellator-34-main-card-prelims-feature-six-fights.mma. Retrieved October 9, 2010. 
  9. ^ a b "WFC 6 - Relentless". sherdog.com. September 27, 2008. http://www.sherdog.com/events/WFC-6-Relentless-8581. Retrieved October 27, 2010. 
  10. ^ a b "Ultra FC - Stop the Crime". sherdog.com. October 31, 2009. http://www.sherdog.com/events/Ultra-FC-Stop-the-Crime-11753. Retrieved October 27, 2010. 
  11. ^ a b "MGS - Memorijal Gidra Stojanovic". sherdog.com. April 6, 2008. http://www.sherdog.com/events/MGS-Memorijal-Gidra-Stojanovic-7163. Retrieved October 27, 2010. 
  12. ^ a b "Ultimate Fight - Cacak". sherdog.com. December 1, 2007. http://www.sherdog.com/events/Ultimate-Fight-Cacak-6145. Retrieved October 27, 2010. 
  13. ^ a b "MGS - Memorijal Gidra Stojanovic". sherdog.com. March 31, 2007. http://www.sherdog.com/events/MGS-Memorijal-Gidra-Stojanovic-5026. Retrieved October 27, 2010. 
  14. ^ a b "WFC 11 - Bash at the Beach". sherdog.com. July 31, 2010. http://www.sherdog.com/events/WFC-11-Bash-at-the-Beach-14295. Retrieved October 27, 2010. 
  15. ^ a b "WFC 10 - Night of Champions". sherdog.com. March 27, 2010. http://www.sherdog.com/events/WFC-10-Night-of-Champions-12646. Retrieved October 27, 2010.