In a heartwarming encounter, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson surprised UFC star Themba Gorimbo by buying him a new home.
The Rock shared the news with a social media video, showing the moment he handed Gorimbo the keys to his new home.
The Story of Themba Gorimbo.
Themba Gorimbo was born in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. One of the poorest countries in Africa. His childhood was one of heartbreak, disasters and risky encounters. At the age of nine, Gorimbo’s mother passed away. Four years later, his father’s death would leave him parentless in an environment that was a tough upbringing for a now thirteen-year-old boy. To add even bigger pressures, Gorimbo had a younger brother who he felt it was now his responsibility to care for and protect.
The Diamond Fields.
At age sixteen, Themba, wanting to provide food for his family, took the decision to enter the diamond fields. The fields, 100km away from where Gorimbo lived were extremely dangerous. Gorimbo would go into the fields to dig, illegally, for diamonds in the hope of being able to sell them and receive money to feed his family.
The diamond field ventures were unbelievably risky, to the point where Gorimbo claims he saw a man be shot dead right in front of him. With no other form of income, it was a risk that Gorimbo felt he had no choice but to take.
In a horrific turn of events, Gorimbo was captured by the police whilst escaping the fields with diamonds. Unlike the society we live in, Gorimbo claims that the police were equally as likely to try to steal the diamonds as anyone else. The police and other groups would wait outside the fields, in the hope of capturing somebody like Gorimbo on their way out, with the intention to steal the diamonds at gunpoint. On this particular occasion, the police set their dogs on Gorimbo. The five police dogs attacked and bit Themba repeatedly, leaving him bloody and motionless on the ground.
Gorimbo claims that he lost a lot of blood and almost died in the attack. The scars all over Themba’s body from the attack remain visible for all to see to this day.
Escaping Zimbabwe.
Themba decided it was time to move and tried to illegally smuggle himself into South Africa. At the first attempt, he was caught and deported immediately. Not to be disheartened by his initial attempt, Gorimbo, after being deported at 4pm, returned in a second attempt to sneak into the country. This time, a mere three hours later at 7pm, he was successful. Gorimbo, who refers to himself as ‘The Cinderella Man’ claims that he is always successful the second time around.
Introduction to MMA.
Themba credits his introduction into MMA to the film ‘Never Back Down’. After seeing the film, Gorimbo joined a BJJ (Brazilian Jujitsu) gym and began to study martial arts.
Gorimbo had his wins and losses throughout the early stages of his MMA journey as so many do. Finally becoming the EFC welterweight champion of the world.
Themba Gorimbo and the UFC.
Themba Gorimbo was desperate to become a UFC fighter. So much so that he would persistently contact the UFC via email. He offered to pay for his own ticket (and his coaches ticket) to get to Abu Dhabi to fight in the UFC. Unfortunately on his first attempt there were some visa issues which prevented this from happening.
Gorimbo came over to the USA to train in MMA and made some friends instantly. Gorimbo has spoken previously on how Colby Covington would bring food to him at the gym to help him, as he knew Gorimbo was in a difficult situation. Another person who Themba became friends with was Cory Sandhagen. Sandhagen offered Themba the chance to join him at international fight week and paid for Gorimbo’s accommodation for the trip.
It was at the afterparty that Gorimbo would meet the UFC’s Sean Shelby. Gorimbo convinced Shelby to give him an opportunity to fight in the UFC.
Finally Themba would get his opportunity. In February this year, Gorimbo was offered the chance to fight on the Jessica Andrade Vs Erin Blanchfield card against AJ Fletcher. In typically cruel circumstances, the win escaped Gorimbo as he fell to a second-round submission defeat.
Gorimbo returned to action following his defeat in May and got his first UFC win against Takashi Sato. Unsurprisingly, at the second attempt, a previously mentioned common occurrence for Gorimbo.
The Rock and Themba Gorimbo.
Following his win over Sato, Gorimbo claimed that prior to the fight he only had $7 to his name. In an incredibly kind gesture, Themba auctioned off his fight gear and sent the money home to his native Zimbabwe to help build a bush pump to provide clean drinking water for the local residents.
This gesture caught the attention of Hollywood superstar Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. The Rock, who resonated with Themba’s story, reached out on social media and offered to help sponsor Gorimbo’s career moving forward.
The Rock then surprised Gorimbo by sneaking up on him during an interview at his gym in what was the pair’s first face-to-face meeting. Gorimbo was clearly emotional to see how far he had come and The Rock had more news to give Gorimbo.
The Rock drove Gorimbo to one of his ‘friends house’s’ to introduce the pair but when they arrived Gorimbo was surprised to see pictures of his own family on the window ledge. The Rock then informed Themba that he actually didn’t know anybody who lived in the property and held up the keys for Gorimbo.
As the realisation hit, Gorimbo fell into The Rocks arms as the two embraced. The Rock announced on his social media accounts that the “Lights are on. Bills are paid.”
Themba Gorimbo has one hell of a story and is an inspiration to us all. A man who has been through hell but never gave up on himself.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
