Dan Koloff
| Birth name | Doncho Kolеv Danev |
|---|---|
| Born |
27 December 1892 Sennik, Sevlievo, Bulgaria |
| Died | 26 March 1940 (aged 47) Sennik, Sevlievo, Bulgaria |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dan Kolman Dan Koloff Dan Kolov Date Petroff Donecho Koley |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) |
| Billed weight | 231 lb (105 kg) |
| Trained by | Zbyszko Cyganiewicz |
| Debut | 1914 |
| Retired | 1937 |
Doncho Kolеv Danev (Bulgarian: Дончо Колев Данев) (27 December 1892 – 26 March 1940), better known by the ring name Dan Kolov (Bulgarian: Дан Колов), was a Bulgarian wrestler and mixed martial artist born in Sennik, Bulgaria who was the first European freestyle wrestling champion from Bulgaria.
He also won the European gold in 1936 in the championship in Paris, which was the second distinction for Bulgaria after the world title of Nikola Petrov (Greco-Roman wrestling) from 1900.
Doncho Kolev Danev was born on 27 December 1892 in the village of Sennik, Sevlievo municipality. He was seven years old when his father died. This tragic event forced him to become a shepherd in order to survive. He left Bulgaria in 1905 and went to then Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1909, he met with another Bulgarian wrestler, Nikola Petrov, who convinced him to emigrate to the United States.
Kolov left Bulgaria and moved to the United States at the age of 17. He worked various jobs until he found work as a railroad construction worker. He impressed people with his physical power and became famous for his ability to twist metal rails around his neck. He even fought a bear while hunting. Legend has it that he fought the beast for an hour with his bare hands until he got a chance to kill the animal with his rifle later. Apparently, witnesses saw the marks of Kolov's hands on the neck of the bear. He was subsequently hired as a wrestler with "Victoria Circus". At the beginning of the last century, wrestling was represented in freestyle wrestling bout in which punches and kicks were allowed. It was a dangerous sport with extremely serious and severe injuries. Catch as Catch Can (CACC) or catch wrestling could be considered the father of today's mixed martial arts (MMA).
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