UFC fighter Themba Gorimbo says he has been facing betrayal since getting kicked out of the gym by Colby Covington, and now he suffered another scorn from his cousins who celebrated his loss to Vicente Luque.
Zimbabwean fighter Themba Gorimbo suffered a first-round submission at UFC 310 after stepping in on short notice to face Vincente Luque. Luque was initially supposed to face Nick Daiz, but the fighter had to withdraw. Gorimbo gave it all he got in the fight and almost caught a break, but “The Silent Assassin” had other plans and had Gorimbo in a choke in the first round that led to a submission. The loss was a painful one for the welterweight fighter, and the agony continued when his cousins called him to celebrate his loss and mock him.
In an interview, Gorimbo revealed that the reason for the mockery could be because of his family’s misconception about him. Gorimbo comes from an impoverished community in Zimbabwe and used to work in blood diamond mines before he got his big break in UFC. Since then, the fighter has tried to reach back and help his community by creating some projects, including building a well, but some people in his town have frustrated all his plans.
“When I go online, like one of my cousins, I can’t speak his name, but he messaged me that day.” Themba Gorimbo stated to The Pivot, opening up on his UFC 310 loss to Vicente Luque. “After I lost this last fight. Some of my cousins were celebrating my loss, they were all celebrating my loss. He sent me a video of them in a place where we were 15 years ago. Just this small circle in Danone.”
“It’s a slum, like you call it, a slum. These cousins were celebrating my loss, and do you know how much that eats you? Because all I do, is try to do better for everybody. I might not directly help you, but I want to build a well for the community. Then, one person gets angry ‘Why did you build the well close to this guy’s house and not this house?’… People think that I’m in the UFC and I’m a millionaire, I’m not.”
His own family celebrating his loss seems to have taken a toll on him but Gorimbo remains undeterred and still plans on helping out his community. Before his loss to Luque, Gorimbo was on a 4-fight win streak, which certainly shows how strong he is in the Octagon. We can expect him to go even higher with the fans’ push.
