Lucía Yépez: from the drive to compete to an aggressive, technically refined elite style

At first, there was sheer determination and an irresistible urge to step onto the wrestling mat and defeat her opponents as quickly as possible. Lucía Yépez added refined technique to that passion. Over the years, it helped her become the top wrestler in Ecuador and the Americas, and one of the world’s most outstanding competitors.

Lucía, 25, was born in Mocache, in Los Ríos province, and has an extremely aggressive style. She excels at takedowns, techniques that target opponents’ legs and throw them off balance. Once on the mat, she secures her opponents’ ankles and turns them over.

To finish bouts as quickly as possible, Lucía uses her technical repertoire of holds and leverage techniques to win by technical superiority. She can end a match with an emphatic 10–0 score without needing the usual six minutes of competition. She gives her opponents no respite.

She demonstrated that against Venezuela’s Alexa Álvarez, winning gold at the most recent South American Games in Argentina with a 10–0 victory. She did not let her opponent catch her breath, adding another medal to an impressive career. Lucía has five world medals, an Olympic diploma from Tokyo 2020 and, most precious of all, a silver medal from the 2024 Olympic Games.

I dial her number so Lucía can tell me the secret behind her technique and the passion that inspires anyone watching her compete on the mat. Lucía is more than 15,300 meters away in Beijing, where she is preparing for the world championship in Kazakhstan in late October. It is seven in the evening in Ecuador and already eight in the morning in the Asian city.

The phone rings, but there is no answer. Later, Lucía explains that she was training at the time. Her discipline, passion and technique have made her a formidable wrestler. But there is another quality that defines her. “I train very hard, but I enjoy it. I never put pressure on myself over whether I’m going to win or lose. I enjoy it.”

The world championships and the Olympics: her new challenges

In Beijing, the Ecuadorian trains alongside elite athletes because China is a world wrestling powerhouse, along with the United States and Russia. She went there as part of her preparation for the Olympic cycle. Lucía is part of the government’s High Performance Program as an elite athlete. She is always looking for the best preparation because her greatest challenge is to win another Olympic medal, this time at the Los Angeles 2028 Games. She wants to stand on the podium again. “The color of the medal doesn’t matter…”

She is accompanied in Beijing by Cuban coach Jorge González, who has trained her for much of her life. He has been coaching her for more than thirteen years, since meeting her at selection trials in Ecuador.

Lucía sees her Cuban coach as a father figure. He refined her technique and gave her the nickname La Tigra, as she is better known in Ecuador. It happened one day when they were talking about wrestling styles. Jorge told her that Olympic wrestlers identify strongly with big cats. “The lion is completely aggressive and fearless… The cheetah is very fast and effective because of its speed, but sometimes loses its balance… The panther is opportunistic… But the tiger combines all those qualities.” On hearing the explanation, Lucía said with complete conviction, “Coach, then I’m a tigress.”

The Ecuadorian identifies completely with that nickname. She knows no other way to wrestle. She attacks from the outset. She never waits around to carry out a plan. Her strategy is to take down her opponents from the very beginning. She is La Tigra.

That style is complemented by studying her opponents. Her coach reviews videos of rival wrestlers’ bouts and then shares his findings with Lucía. She admits that she does not like sitting down to analyze the person she will face. She prefers the information her coach gives her.

Lucía always speaks spontaneously. She says she has always been that way, and it shows on the mat. After a victory, she raises her arms and celebrates with joy. She would not have it any other way.

There have also been difficult moments. In 2018, she lost a final and failed to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games. It was a huge disappointment. Lucía admits that she considered retiring from wrestling after a decision prevented her from reaching what was then the event she wanted most in her career.

Will La Tigra compete in the UFC?

But triumph followed that setback, and Lucía does not intend to stop there. She reveals that she would like to try competing in the UFC after the 2028 Olympic Games. She has already received offers and support from Ecuadorian fighters such as Marlon “El Chito” Vera and Michael Morales, among the country’s leading competitors in the sport.

She can picture herself in that sport, although her coach is not entirely enthusiastic because he believes it poses greater risks to physical safety. That is why she has already started competing in RAF in the United States, a more street-style wrestling competition that brings together leading athletes in the discipline. Lucía always sees herself competing at the highest level.