Competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship was an emotional roller coaster for Themba Golimbo.
Golimbo (12-4) is scheduled to face Ramiz Brahimaj (10-4) this weekend at UFC Fight Night 241 at the Apex in Las Vegas. The Zimbabwean welterweight has revealed that his South African wrestling coach has been helping him with his training camp in the US for the past eight weeks, despite his mother having cancer. Just before UFC Fight Night 241 Media Day on Wednesday, his coach’s mother passed away.
Pledging to win for his coach, the 33-year-old said: “All I know is that I’m going to pull off a spectacular win for my coach, whose mother just passed away about two hours ago. He’s been here with me for eight weeks. He told me his mother had cancer. He never said it was that bad. I told him, “Okay, let’s go back to South Africa together when the battle is over.” Just say it. He had no plans to go there, but was going to visit his mother. And his mother just passed away three hours ago…two hours ago, dude, I’m going to win for him. ”
Golimbo’s path to becoming a UFC fighter had its fair share of obstacles. Orphaned at the age of 13, Golimbo smuggled blood diamonds through rural Zimbabwe before fleeing to South Africa, where he discovered mixed martial arts. Golimbo entered the UFC after a 10-year professional career, but “The Answer” continued to struggle. After scoring his first UFC victory over Takashi Sato in May 2023, Golimbo revealed he had $7 left in his bank account by the time of the fight. The story resonated with WWE and Hollywood superstar Dwayne Johnson. He once left with exactly the same amount of money after being released by the Canadian Football League.
“The Rock” bought a house in Miami for Golimbo, who had previously been sleeping on a couch at the Mixed Martial Arts Masters gym. Golimbo’s association with Johnson also contributed to the Zimbabwean’s meteoric rise to fame. But Golimbo believes his story somewhat overshadows his accomplishments as a martial artist. “The Answer” reminded fans that he achieved his promotion and earned his position through his years of hard work and sacrifice.
“I didn’t come to the UFC with any hype,” he said. “I got to the UFC through my sacrifice and my hard work and my dedication and my prayers to God. And I made sacrifices to be here, not because of the hype. Of course, what happened in my life The Celebration with Dwayne Johnson also happened, but people seem to be ignoring me because of that story. They’re ignoring me and focusing on the Dwayne Johnson thing. Even Ramiz saw his post for the first time when he first heard about it. [of] there was this battle [booked], he said, “I didn’t like ‘The Rock’ anyway.” And that just tells me what I need to know. People forget that it’s me they’re fighting, not “The Rock.” And as for me, I’m hungry and I’m here to succeed. And no matter how great my life is, I know my purpose, it’s greater than me. ”
