WRESTLERS from Bulgaria

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Bulgarian Wrestlers of all time. This list of famous Bulgarian Wrestlers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Bulgarian Wrestlers.

1. Aleksandar Tomov (b. 1949)

With an HPI of 44.88, Aleksandar Tomov is the most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages on wikipedia.

Aleksandar Tomov Lazarov (Bulgarian: Александър Томов Лазаров, born 3 April 1949) is a former Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestler, in the heavyweight class. He is in the FILA Hall of Fame as a five-time champion of the World and five-time champion of Europe. He won silver medals at the Olympics in the +100 kg class in 1972, 1976, and 1980.

2. Valentin Yordanov (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 43.33, Valentin Yordanov is the 2nd most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Valentin Dimitrov Yordanov (Bulgarian: Валентин Димитров Йорданов; born January 26, 1960), also transliterated Jordanov, is a retired Bulgarian freestyle wrestler who competed in the up to 52 kg weight class. He is an Olympic gold medalist, seven-time World Champion, seven-time European Champion, and the only wrestler to hold 10 medals (seven gold, two silver and one bronze) from the World Wrestling Championships.

3. Rusev (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 35.06, Rusev is the 3rd most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Miroslav Petrov Barnyashev (Bulgarian: Мирослав Петров Барняшев, [miroˈslɑf pɛˈtrɔf bɑrˈnjɑʃɛf]; born December 25, 1985) is a Bulgarian professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Miro. He is also known for his work with WWE from 2010 to 2020, under the ring name Rusev. In 2010, Barnyashev signed a contract with WWE and was assigned to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), which was rebranded as NXT in 2012. He performed on NXT until 2014, when he and his manager Lana were called to WWE's main roster. During his tenure in WWE, he was a three-time WWE United States Champion. He was released by WWE in April 2020, and debuted in AEW in September of that year, winning the AEW TNT Championship once.

4. Stanka Zlateva (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 34.67, Stanka Zlateva is the 4th most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Stanka Zlateva Hristova (Bulgarian: Станка Златева Христова; born 1 March 1983 in Krushare, Sliven Province) is a retired female Bulgarian freestyle wrestler. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, winning silver medals in the latter two events. She was named World Female Wrestler of the Year in 2006 and 2007 and Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year in 2007, 2010 and 2011.

5. Kiril Terziev (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 29.19, Kiril Terziev is the 5th most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Kiril Stoychev Terziev (Bulgarian: Кирил Стойчев Терзиев; born 1 September 1983, in Petrich) is a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler. He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in his category (up to 74 kg). He is a representative for Bulgarian company TRYMAX.

6. Taybe Yusein (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 28.13, Taybe Yusein is the 6th most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Taybe Mustafa Yusein (Bulgarian: Тайбе Юсеин Мустафа; born 4 May 1991 in Kubrat) is a Bulgarian wrestler. She competes in the 59 kg division and has won a total of six World championship medals, and eight European championship medals. In 2021, Yusein won a bronze medal in her event at the Poland Open held in Warsaw, Poland. She also won a bronze medal in the women's freestyle 62 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. In her spare time, Yusein enjoys reading, especially crime fiction. In 2022, she won the silver medal in the 62 kg event at the Dan Kolov & Nikola Petrov Tournament held in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria. She lost her bronze medal match in her event at the Yasar Dogu Tournament held in Istanbul, Turkey. She won the gold medal in the 62 kg event at the 2022 European Wrestling Championships held in Budapest, Hungary. She won the gold medal in the women's 65 kg event at the Grand Prix de France Henri Deglane 2023 held in Nice, France.

7. Yavor Yanakiev (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 26.64, Yavor Yanakiev is the 7th most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Yavor Dimitrov Yanakiev (Bulgarian: Явор Димитров Янакиев; born 3 June 1985 in Stara Zagora) is a Bulgarian wrestler who won the bronze medal in the Men's Greco-Roman 74kg at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Yanakiev currently competes for Slavia Litex, where his coach is Stoyan Dobrev; his first coach was Petar

8. Evelina Nikolova (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 25.56, Evelina Nikolova is the 8th most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Evelina Georgieva Nikolova (Bulgarian: Евелина Георгиева Николова; born 18 January 1993, Petrich) is a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's 57 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. She won a bronze medal at the 2015 World Wrestling Championships held in Las Vegas, United States. Nikolova is also a five-time medalist at the European Wrestling Championships and a bronze medalist at the European Games.

9. Elitsa Yankova (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 24.37, Elitsa Yankova is the 9th most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Elitsa Atanasova Yankova (Bulgarian: Елица Атанасова Янкова, 18 September 1994) is a Bulgarian freestyle wrestler. She participated in the 48 kg competition in 2016 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal. This became the first 2016 Olympics medal for Bulgaria. As an adolescent, Yankova had ambitions for short-distance running in track and field, but later switched to freestyle wrestling. Her father, Atanas Yankov, is a former Greco-Roman wrestler. In 2009, Yankova, though she failed to secure a spot at the European Championships, was noticed by coach Petar Kasabov, who convinced her to start training under him with the Levski sports club. In 2013, she became a junior world champion. She also holds a number of national titles. In 2015, Yankova damaged her spine, but recovered and returned to wrestling. Yankova's hobby is folk dancing. She is a student at the South-West University.

10. Ivelina Ilieva (b. 1991)

With an HPI of 0.00, Ivelina Ilieva is the 10th most famous Bulgarian Wrestler.  Her biography has been translated into different languages.

Ivelina Ilieva (Bulgarian: Ивелина Илиева) (born 16 August 1991) is a Bulgarian judoka and a multiple Bulgarian judo champion. She competed in the women's 57 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. Ilieva is the silver medalist of the 2016 European Judo Championships in the ‍–‍57 kg category. She won world bronze in SAMBO in 2011 and 2010.