The famous Hollywood actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently made a wonderful gesture. The former fighter learned of the difficult financial situation of the UFC fighter Temba Gorimbo and gave him a great gift: a house in Miami.
Gorimbo had only two fights in the UFC. After the fight with the Japanese Takashi Sato, the fighter sold all the equipment in which he entered the Octagon and sent the proceeds to buy a bush bomb for his hometown in Zimbabwe. This despite the fact that before the fight itself, there was only $7 left in Temba’s account, and he lived in the gym, sleeping on the couch.
“I must say that your story touched me. When I found out you had $7 in your bank account, I knew what it was like. I was here in Miami when I was $7 myself. So you won your second fight, then you decided to sell the fighting gear and buy a well for your town in Zimbabwe so your people would have clean water. But you could have taken this money to later buy a car, an apartment, but you didn’t. You took care of your people and that says a lot about who you are. That’s why I flew so far. Just to look you in the eye and tell you I’ve got your back,” Johnson wrote.
The story of Temba Gorimbo could well form the basis of a Hollywood movie scenario that should not be renounced under any circumstances.
The wrestler grew up in Zimbabwe, in a small town in the Masvingo province. At 13 he was orphaned, having lost both parents, and at 16 he began smuggling diamonds, just to survive. According to Gorimbo, he earned good money, but he was close to death: “The money was good. However, if you look at my body, you will see that I have scars all over. One day I met the police and the dogs bit me badly. There were five German Shepherds there and I almost died. I lost consciousness there.”
In search of a better life, Temba risked illegally crossing the border and immigrating to South Africa. The future UFC fighter swam across the river for this, but was caught the same day and deported to Zimbabwe. Gorimbo did not give up: “At about 4 or 5 in the morning I was deported and at 7:00 pm I was back in South Africa.” During the second escape attempt to another country, the Zimbabwean was again threatened with death.
“When you cross the South African border illegally, you are not only running from the police, but also from criminals. They steal and kill. Before my eyes, people were killed while running from the police, and for the first time I was actually threatened with a knife. I remember losing consciousness when I saw such a big knife. When he came to, he wanted to turn himself in to the police so they would arrest him, not kill him. Halfway there I met a guy we crossed the border with, and he took me with him,” Temba recalled.
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For several days he had to live on the streets of Johannesburg. Gorimbo handed out leaflets, bought water and bread with the proceeds, then saved a small amount and went to relatives in Cape Town. There he took any job, he was both a gardener and a painter, he spent 17 hours in shifts. There, in Cape Town, Gorimbo learned what MMA is. The motivation for him was the popular movie Never Back Down.
“I come from a family of fighters, we are used to fighting. This is our nature. I had my first fight three months after I started training. I won by knockout in seven seconds,” Temba said.
The contract with the UFC did not open all doors for Gorimbo. Also, after the loss in AJ Fletcher’s debut, the team and family members turned away from the fighter. It was then that he found the MMA Masters lounge, where he was provided with a bed. And Colby Covington, who works at the same gym, brought food to Temba.
Now things are much better for Gorimbo. He calmly prepares for a new fight, calls to believe in him and promises to become a UFC champion. Looking at the path of Temba, one believes in such a perspective.
