Karl Gotch

Karl Charles Istaz (August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007), known by the ring name Karl Gotch (カール・ゴッチ, Kāru Gotchi), was a Belgian-born American professional wrestler, catch wrestler, amateur wrestler, and trainer. Considered one of the most influential wrestlers of his time period, he is best known for training several acclaimed and influential professional wrestlers in Japan, and for becoming a catalyst in the faculty development of strong style, alongside New Japan Pro-Wrestling founder Antonio Inoki and fellow trainer Billy Robinson.

Gotch represented Belgium at the 1948 Summer Olympics in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. He learned catch-as-catch-can and professional wrestling at the Snake Pit under Billy Riley and Billy Joyce. He was given the ring name "Gotch" by Ohio promoter Al Haft in honor of American wrestler Frank Gotch. In Japan, he became known as a "God of Wrestling" alongside Billy Robinson and Lou Thesz, due to their collective influence on Japanese professional wrestling.

Gotch had significantly influenced the development of modern mixed martial arts (MMA), especially in Japan. Several of Gotch's students, which included Satoru Sayama, Masakatsu Funaki, Minoru Suzuki, Akira Maeda, and Nobuhiko Takada, established pioneering MMA promotions and training schools to transmit Gotch's training. Examples included Sayama's Shooto and Funaki and Suzuki's Pancrase—both of which predate the UFC— along with Maeda's Fighting Network RINGS and Takada's Pride Fighting Championships (PRIDE), the latter being one of the most popular MMA promotions of all time.