Spain has been one of the country’s hit hardest by the coronavirus in the early going of the global pandemic, causing the country to take drastic measures of a mandatory lockdown in hopes of containing the spread of the virus. That’s meant major changes for UFC heavyweight Juan Espino, who detailed what life is like in these uncertain times.
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Juan Espino’s life has changed drastically in the last few weeks.
Because of Spain’s mandatory quarantine during the global coronavirus pandemic, the UFC heavyweight remains mostly indoors and only leaves home to get food and supplies when necessary. Espino (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) lives in Gran Canaria, one of Spain’s main Canary Islands off the coast of northwestern Africa. Approximately one-third of the worldwide population is on lockdown in some form because of COVID-19, which, as of Sunday morning, was more than 665,000 cases and responsible for nearly 31,000 deaths.
Spain is in one of the worst situations, accounting for nearly 75,000 cases and 6,000 dead.
“It’s a very complicated moment. We’re now the country with the second most deaths due to the virus,” Espino told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “I think a big part of this is the stupidity of the politicians that are leading this country. The truth is that I’m not a person that likes to speak a whole lot about politics because I’m not really capacitated to do that. But taking things lightly, not being responsible, not taking action when it was required has made this virus not only destroy the lives of many people, but also the economy of my country.
“And like we’re saying here, after this let’s hope we’re able to surpass it and come out of this well. There’s going to be an economic situation almost like if we’d gone through a war.”
Despite being in one of the places in Spain least affected by COVID-19, the Canary Islands have reported more than 1,000 infections, with 253 of those in Gran Canaria.
The Spanish government has amped up measures to contain the spread, forcing mandatory lockdown on the entire country. People are confined to their homes except to buy food or medicine. The parliament recently extended the lockdown until April 12, and anyone caught outside for non-essential reasons will face heavy fines and even arrest.
“People here are taking this very seriously,” Espino said. “We’ve been capable of neutralizing the situation. We’re only leaving our houses to go to the grocery store, and only one person per household is allowed to go. We’re avoiding any type of reasons to leave home, we’re confined to our homes, and we follow the many tips from experts like washing our hands, not making contact with people. When you have to cough, you cough on your arm or on a napkin. If you have to go out, make sure you’re going out with masks and gloves. Also constantly using disinfectant. So we’ve been able to control it.
“We’ve been two weeks in quarantine. After the two-week period, you see the cases beginning to drop. We’re not like Barcelona or other cities that are having many serious cases. And it’s not even the coronavirus; it’s also just regular things. Imagine you have a heart attack, you have a car accident, or you have an accident at home where you’re cut open and you have to go to the hospital. The lines at the hospitals are infinite, and many people are going to the hospitals not only for coronavirus but due to the accidents that are happening.
“There are stories that are very sad, and it’s become a very dangerous situation. I don’t want to be an alarmist, but I do want to tell all my friends in Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and around the world – luckily, I have friends all over Latin America – I do want to tell them to be very careful because every day this situation is changing and becoming worse. So keep calm, inform yourself as much as you can, and look for the real news.
“There’s a lot of people that are taking advantage of this moment to make up news and spread misinformation. You don’t have to go far off, just look at what is happening in Italy, Spain, countries that are are first world, who have proper hospitals and medical equipment. Imagine how this problem could be in Venezuela and countries that are not as developed. It’s going to be a rough situation, and I hope I’m wrong, but this virus is very violent.”
The significance of structure
Confined to his home, Espino, winner of Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” has done his best to be productive. He’s taken a very methodical and structured approach to the lockdown. And even from home, Espino runs a very busy and varied regimen.
“I have a weekly schedule, like a routine,” Espino said. “So I wake up, I drink a lot of water, I stretch 15, 20 minutes to get the body going, and then I make breakfast. After that there’s several things I like to do. I like to watch the news to see how the country is doing; the ministers are there every day announcing the new measures and what’s being done. I also like to work on my creativity, so I like to paint and do my mandala – it’s a type of mediation I do. In fact, those who followed me on “TUF” should know about that work I do.
“After that, I dedicate some time to social media. I speak to my friends. Actually I’m now doing a few interviews with UFC fighters. Yesterday, I spoke to Aleksei Oleinik, and soon I will speak to Junior dos Santos, Santiago Ponzinibbio. I like to do these because in some ways it entertains my comrades. I understand these are tough times.
“Then I do a training session around 12:30-1 p.m. before it’s time to eat. I have a routine that my trainer from UFC PI sends me. Then I eat, rest a little, and around 4 p.m. I have a boxing class. I finish around 5:00 p.m. I rest again, watch some TV Around 7 p.m. I watch and study potential opponents. Maybe I spend an hour, hour-and-a-half. I watch everything, even their trajectories outside the UFC and see how they came up. Then after that, I speak to my family, and I relax.
“So that’s usually my daily dynamic. I also have a to-do list. At times, I read a book, I have yoga classes, some salsa classes. I mix it up in my routine and do my best to stay entertained. It’s actually somewhat similar to ‘TUF.’ You’re stuck two months in a house, so you have to find things to do. You’re not going to just drink beer and lay around all day.”
Fighting takes a backseat for now
Espino last fought in November 2018 when he was crowned champion of TUF 28. He defeated Justin Frazier with a first-round submission. The Spaniard was out of commission for a while due to complications from a broken hand. However, Espino is back to 100 percent and said he was on the verge of getting booked for a UFC bout until the coronavirus hit.
The UFC was forced to postpone three events – UFC London on March 21, UFC Columbus on March 28, and UFC Portland on April 11. The promotion intends to resume its schedule with UFC 249 on April 18 – an event that currently has no location after being pulled from New York – and beyond.
When asked if he’d be willing to take a fight in this global pandemic, Espino simply said the question won’t hold up for long. He’s unable to fly out of Gran Canaria, but even if he was, Espino thinks the same will soon apply to other countries, potentially forcing the UFC to postpone even more events.
“I don’t think that question will hold up a week from now,” Espino said. “When the virus really gets serious, it’s not going to be in question, because people are not going to be able to travel. Countries are going to be shut down. What are they (UFC) going to do? Get a private jet to come get me? I think that’s very difficult. I would’ve been down to do it if I would’ve been in the States – fly somewhere, fight and then return home.
“I don’t have any interest going against UFC or their advisers. They’re going to run things how they think is best, but unfortunately everything is about to get more complicated. I don’t want to come off as an alarmist or scare people, but things will get tough. To Spain you can’t fly in. I can’t leave my island; it’s impossible. How can I leave? So how will people from the U.K. travel to the U.S.? Maybe you do (UFC 249) in the U.S., and you go get Khabib (Nurmagomedov), but when the U.S. decides to take it seriously, and you won’t be able to fly from New York to Chicago or from Nevada to California or any other state. It’s just not going to be possible.
“I’ve never had issues not fighting or rejecting fights, but I think this is one of those things that doesn’t depend on me, but on the situation. And the situation doesn’t encourage things to happen.”
‘Take advantage of the time’
Many countries have and will continue to ban travel and close borders as the spread of coronavirus gets worse. It’s uncertain how much that will affect the UFC’s schedule in the coming weeks.
Espino hopes things return to normal soon in Spain and around the world, but he believes it will probably take a while before that happens. For now, Espino has no other option than to wait out the situation at home. In the meantime, he wants to share some advice for anyone on mandatory lockdown now or in the coming weeks.
“You might be able to lay around drinking, watching TV and your phone for a week,” Espino said. “But there will come a time that day, day after, day after, day after, you’re just doing the same thing, and you have to go, ‘Hey, this won’t be over soon.’ When you see the scale is going up, you’re gaining weight, in a bad mood, you have to make a routine.
“I recommend people to do exercise and to set times for things. Say every day at 6 p.m. I’m calling a family member. Maybe your sister, your cousin, a friend, and communicate with people through video. Watch movies, read books, write a book – I mean, what better time than now? Now we have time, so what else do you need? If you can’t do something now, you probably won’t do it ever. Excuses are what you have.
“So take advantage of the time, make those calls you haven’t done in a while to say hi to a friend or make amends with someone. Send those messages of support, be with the family, stay calm. Because it’s a stressful situation. But at the end of the day, I don’t want to force people to take this seriously. But trust me, the moment will come when they will understand the situation. In Spain we had no other option. It was impossible.”
Life on lockdown: How UFC's Juan Espino is dealing with mandatory quarantine in Spain
