Creator credit recorded on the linked source page: Carotna00 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Juan Espino
“El Guapo”
Source: ufc.comCanarian wrestler who went unbeaten as the White Lion in Senegal, won world grappling gold and then The Ultimate Fighter 28 heavyweight tournament.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Wikipedia, article on Juan Espino (rendered page read 21 October 2026)(opens in a new tab)
Juan Francisco Espino Dieppa was born on 9 October 1980 in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain.
Where in the source: Infobox, Born row, and opening sentence of the article.
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Wikipedia describes him as a Spanish retired mixed martial artist and submission grappler who competed as a heavyweight in the UFC.
Where in the source: Opening sentence of the article.
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In 2013 he went to train with American Top Team in Miami.
Where in the source: MMA career section, paragraph on 2013 and American Top Team.
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Wikipedia lists American Top Team as his team.
Where in the source: Infobox, Team row.
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He began in Canarian wrestling, reaching the top grade of puntal A, and won several individual and team titles in it.
Where in the source: Grappling section, first paragraph.
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Wikipedia gives his Senegalese wrestling record as seven wins and no losses.
Where in the source: Grappling section, Lucha Laamb (Senegalese) subsection.
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Wikipedia says he was recognized by the Senegalese national wrestling federation.
Where in the source: Lucha Laamb (Senegalese) subsection.
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He won the absolute category at the 2011 World Championship in grappling held in Belgrade, beating American Kelly Anundson in the final.
Where in the source: Grappling section, paragraph on the 2011 world championship; accomplishments table, 2011 row.
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At the world grappling championships he took gold in gi and silver in no-gi at Krakow in 2012, and gold in both gi and no-gi in London, Canada, in 2013, all in the over-100 kg class.
Where in the source: Accomplishments table, World Championship Grappling, rows for 2012 and 2013.
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He won no-gi gold and gi bronze at the 2014 worlds in Moscow, and in 2016 in Minsk took gi gold and no-gi bronze.
Where in the source: Accomplishments table, World Championship Grappling, rows for 2014 and 2016.
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The accomplishments table lists six world grappling golds (2011, 2012 gi, 2013 gi and no-gi, 2014 no-gi, 2016 gi) and five European golds (2012, 2013 gi and no-gi, 2015 gi and no-gi).
Where in the source: Accomplishments table, both the World Championship Grappling and European Grappling Championship blocks.
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In European grappling he won no-gi gold in Brussels in 2012, gi and no-gi gold in Kecskemet in 2013, and gi and no-gi gold in Sassari in 2015.
Where in the source: Grappling section, European Championships paragraph; European table.
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Wikipedia lists a 2010 European title in Breton gouren and a win at the first European Leonese wrestling championship in Leon in 2011.
Where in the source: Sections Gouren and Leon Wrestling.
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His first professional MMA fight was in Casablanca in February 2009, when he beat Egypt's El Alfy Amr with a kimura after 35 seconds.
Where in the source: Professional record table, bottom row (Furious Fighting Championship 2).
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The professional record table lists six wins for him between March and October 2017, in Spain and Bolivia, after his move to American Top Team.
Where in the source: Professional record table, rows for 2017.
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On The Ultimate Fighter 28, Robert Whittaker took him as the third pick; he beat Ben Sosoli by unanimous decision and Maurice Greene by rear-naked choke to reach the heavyweight final.
Where in the source: Ultimate Fighter section; exhibition record table.
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On 30 November 2018 he beat Justin Frazier by first-round armbar in the Ultimate Fighter 28 finale, won the heavyweight tournament and earned a Performance of the Night bonus.
Where in the source: Ultimate Fighting Championship section; professional record, 2018 row.
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In September 2020 he submitted Jeff Hughes in the first round at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi with a scarf-hold choke.
Where in the source: UFC section, paragraph on UFC 253; professional record table.
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Wikipedia says he announced his retirement from MMA on 21 April 2023.
Where in the source: UFC section, last paragraph.
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On 23 March 2024 he fought Antonio Silva in an exhibition match at the La Despedida event at the Gran Canaria Arena in Las Palmas, which ended in a draw.
Where in the source: UFC section, last paragraph after the retirement.
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BJJ Eastern Europe (bjjee.com), article on Juan Espino in Senegalese wrestling, 18 January 2016(opens in a new tab)
The BJJ Eastern Europe site introduced him in January 2016 as a Spanish wrestler and BJJ black belt.
Where in the source: Standfirst under the headline, first lines of the article.
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BJJEE reports that his interest in wrestling began on the Canary Islands, in a family setting with his father, and that he then studied a variety of wrestling forms in Brazil and South Korea before taking a particular interest in Senegalese wrestling.
Where in the source: Third paragraph of the article.
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BJJEE says that as of June 2013 he was unbeaten in Senegalese wrestling.
Where in the source: Second paragraph of the article.
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UFC.com athlete profile, Juan Espino (retired heavyweight), read 21 October 2026(opens in a new tab)
The UFC athlete profile lists American Top Team under Trains At for him.
Where in the source: Bio tab, Trains At field.
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The UFC athlete profile gives his nickname as El Guapo.
Where in the source: Page header above the name.
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The UFC athlete page lists a first-round submission win for him over Jeff Hughes in September 2020.
Where in the source: Athlete record list, Espino vs Hughes entry.
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RTVC (Radiotelevision Canaria) with EFE, report on his farewell event, 12 February 2024(opens in a new tab)
A Canarian public broadcaster report from February 2024 says he is known as El Trota or El Guapo, with White Lion as his Senegalese wrestling nickname.
Where in the source: Photo caption and his quoted statement near the top of the report.
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The February 2024 RTVC report calls him a six-time world champion in grappling.
Where in the source: Paragraph in the middle of the report that introduces his remark about his mother; the phrase six-time world champion in grappling follows the quote.
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The February 2024 report describes him as the first Spaniard to win a fight in the UFC.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph of the report.
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The February 2024 report says his official retirement from professional competition was in April 2023.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph of the report, sentence with the farewell date.
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He planned a farewell event, La Despedida, at the Gran Canaria Arena on 23 March 2024, hoping to fight in Canarian wrestling as El Trota, in MMA as El Guapo and as the White Lion in Senegalese style.
Where in the source: Quoted paragraph beginning with his own statement about the event.
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A Gran Canaria sports official at the event launch called him the best wrestler in the history of Spain across the disciplines of the Spanish wrestling federation.
Where in the source: Final paragraph of the report, statement by the Cabildo sports official.
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Le Soleil (Dakar), Que sont-ils devenus feature on Juan Espino, 31 August 2026(opens in a new tab)
He grew up in Las Palmas wrestling Canarian-style with his father, and later trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, grappling, sambo, kurash and Korean ssireum.
Where in the source: Second paragraph of the article, opening lines.
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After seeing footage of Senegalese wrestling in 2008 he travelled to Senegal to learn the version that allows striking; Le Soleil says his arrival was a curiosity, that as a physically imposing white European he got the nickname White Lion, and that he joined the Balla Gaye wrestling school.
Where in the source: Second paragraph, sentences from the year 2008 onward.
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Le Soleil says his time in Senegal lasted more than five years and ended with seven wins and no defeats.
Where in the source: Third paragraph, sentence on the Senegal record.
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RTVC (Radiotelevision Canaria), report Juan Espino, del Trota al Guapo, 14 August 2020(opens in a new tab)
A 2020 RTVC piece says he had tried more than twenty different wrestling styles and wanted to end his professional career in mixed martial arts.
Where in the source: Closing two paragraphs of the short report.
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Lineage
No teaching connections are shown on this page.
Open lineage