Juan Espino started in Canarian wrestling where he reached the level of puntal A, the highest grade in this sport, as well as several individual and collective titles
In grappling, he won the gold medal (in the absolute category) at the 2011 World Championship held in Belgrade (Serbia), after defeating the American Kelly Anundson in the final. He conquered the gold and silver medal in gi and no-gi, respectively, at the 2012 World Championship, held in Krakow (Poland). Gold medals in both grappling modalities at the 2013 World Championship, held in London (Canada) where he also won gold in Mixed Martial Arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The following year he won the gold medal (in grappling without gi) and the bronze medal (in grappling with gi) at the World Championships held in Moscow. He also won a gold medal at the 2016 World Grappling Championships held in Minsk (Belarus), where he also won the bronze medal in grappling no-gi, in the over 100 kg category.
In the European Championships, he won gold medal in Brussels (Belgium), in 2012. The following year in Kecskemét (Hungary), both in grappling gi and no-gi, and in Sassari (Italy), in 2015, where he also got the double. He has obtained numerous victories in different variants of wrestling: champion of Spain (Gijón), in 2012 and 2013, in a Sambo modality. He was also European champion (León), in 2010, in Celtic Wrestling. In 2010 he was European champion in Lucha Gouren, in the championship held in Brittany, France. In Lucha Leonesa, he was the winner of the First European Wrestling Championship, and in the specialty of Tatar wrestling he was proclaimed European champion in 2013, in Mamaia (Romania).
In 2022, Espino competed at a team submission grappling event in Gran Canaria and drew criticism for his disqualification from the event after an eye-poke to his final opponent.

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