Win when burning
Temporarily ignore the professional significance from the victory of Themba Gorimbo against Takashi Sato at the last UFC Fight Night event, pay attention one thing: Gorimbo is almost smooth the bag before the competition. He was turned away by all friends and relatives after the debut in UFC, and had to be self -reliant for the next match.
“I have nothing left. 7 weeks ago I went to the US without money. The money at home was just enough for me to buy air tickets, go from the airport to the gym and stay there. My friend felt so loved so he gave an additional $ 200. Up to now, my account balance is 7 USD,” Gorimbo said like crying on the day of the first match in the tournament.
Gorimbo didn't know how much money he would receive with this victory, but he claimed he would enjoy it. He also would like to thank Colby Covington. In the most difficult days of Gorimbo, an anonymous boxer at UFC, Covington is the supplier, supporting him.
When it comes to UFC, people often think of the image of millionaires like Conor McGregor: traveling everywhere, receiving millions of dollars, driving luxury and drinking strong alcohol. In fact, only a few people can reach that peak. Most MMA boxers have to live with their daily livelihoods.
As for the individual Gorimbo, he could not spend too much money on himself. At home, he still has his wife and children waiting. That makes Gorimbo unable to spend too much money on training. During the wandering days in the US, he had to sleep in a gym, on an old sofa.
However, it was not the most special story of Gorimbo. For this Zimbabwe South African boxer personally, the miserable life from an early age taught him one thing: Living was a lucky fortune not to be missed. Instead of giving up the surrender to failure, he had to find a way to rise up in everyday life.
Chased by dogs and blood diamonds
Before becoming a MMA boxer, Gorimbo's life was a series of days like living in hell. He was born and raised in a family in Zimbabwe. Whenever repeating the past, Gorimbo only used an adjective to describe his home: Poor. Not only lack of money, Gorimbo also grew up without family affection.
When Gorimbo was 9 years old, he witnessed his father's death. Four years later, his mother also left Duong The. Without both parents, Gorimbo grew up in the love of relatives. But anyway, it is not a dream life that people can dream, when surrounding him is the poor, the difficulty surrounded.
Poor family, unable to go to school, Gorimbo quickly launched a livelihood in teenagers. In the 16th year, he started making money by receiving Diamond theft and sold illegally for the heads. The series of days of Gorimbo was more realistic and more cruel than the images in the movie Diamond (Blood Diamond).
“Diamond theft has a bad income. However, we are always ready to receive death,” Gorimbo said. “If you look at my body, you will see that I have scars all over my body. This is a trace from the police chasing by the police, as well as being bitten by a dog. I was bitten by a dog many times, sometimes I was bitten by 5 children at the same time.
Many times, Gorimbo was chased by the Zimbabwe professional dog to the point of unconsciousness in the middle of the wasteland. Gorimbo himself had time to think he was dead. But in the end he still stood up and continued to survive. The drought in Zimbabwe that time led to a great famine, but Gorimbo still tried to survive.
After the days of digging diamond theft, Gorimbo knew he could not live like this forever. That is why he decided to cherish a bigger plan. If he could not continue to live by digging diamond stolen, he would be aimed at another job, in another land. That was when Gorimbo decided to flee to South Africa.
Looking to the new land
Gorimbo first crossed the border at the age of 18. He did not have a passport in his hand, so he risked going across the border by wading the river. Many people died when doing the same thing, but Gorimbo was still alive. Lady smiled at the life of the 18 -year -old boy, but the South African police did not. They caught Gorimbo and deported him back.
“They forced me because I could not produce the necessary papers. I was imprisoned, then brought to Zimbabwe. But the more difficult situation, the more I realized I could not give up.” So Gorimbo decided to cross the border again, right in the day I was expelled back to my homeland.
Right at the first stop of the bus, Gorimbo asked his driver to come down. Within 3 hours later, he was again in South Africa, of course illegally. This time, he almost died but not for the police. A robbery math threatened him and the whole group of people, and then took their money.
Gorimbo came to South Africa with empty hands like that. He lives with manual work on the streets of Johannesburg. The first Gorimbo work is to distribute leaflets, from which he can earn enough money to buy food and water every day. Since then, he has not criticized anything. Gorimbo was a gardener, and a painter, protected.
UFC boxers recalled: “Everyone who hires me to do it, they tell me whatever I do. My life is not easy, because I don't have a degree, nor have any special skills. I just don't criticize my job, and I can work up to 17 hours a day.
The instinct of a boxer seems to always exist in Gorimbo. It took him only 3 months to practice to play the first match, a victory not only after 7 seconds. From an anonymous guy living on the street, Gorimbo gradually reached UFC, the most prestigious MMA in the world. People may laugh at Gorimbo's dream of winning UFC belt, but he knows he can make his aspirations come true.