Nikola Petrov better known as Nikola Petroff, (19 December 1873 – 2 January 1925) was a Bulgarian wrestler.

He was born in the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa

Gorna Oryahovitsa

Gorna Oryahovitsa is a town in northern Bulgaria, situated in Veliko Tarnovo Province, not far from the city of Veliko Tarnovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipality...

, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. On 20 July 1898, in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, he earned the title "Champion of America". In the next year in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, he became the European Champion in Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling

Greco-Roman wrestling is a style of wrestling that is practised worldwide. It was contested at the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been included in every edition of the summer Olympics held since 1908. Two wrestlers are scored for their performance in three two-minute periods, which can...

. In 1900, during the Exposition Universelle

Exposition Universelle (1889)

The Exposition Universelle of 1889 was a World's Fair held in Paris, France from 6 May to 31 October 1889.It was held during the year of the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an event traditionally considered as the symbol for the beginning of the French Revolution...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, he defeated the Frenchman Paul Pons and became a world champion.

Nikola Petrov fought in the First Balkan War

First Balkan War

The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...

. In 1921, he established his own private school of wrestling in Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

. Petrov died in 1925 and was buried in his home town of Gorna Oryahovitsa.

Since 1963, a yearly tournament in the name of Nikola Petrov has been organized in Bulgaria. In 1998, he was proclaimed an Honoured Citizen of Gorna Oryahovitsa.

In his 25 year wrestling career he was never defeated.