{"id":686725,"date":"2026-05-22T06:04:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T06:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/686725\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T06:04:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T06:04:14","slug":"eight-fight-ufc-vet-issues-retirement-after-recent-loss-i-dared-to-be-someone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/686725\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight-fight UFC vet issues retirement after recent loss: \u2018I dared to be someone\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

This departing
\nUltimate Fighting Championship<\/a> talent is sticking to his guns
\nof title or bust.<\/p>\n

Surprising fans and media with a sudden announcement on Thursday,
\nUFC welterweight Themba
\nGorimbo<\/a> (14-7) has decided to hang up his gloves. The
\nZimbabwe-born Gorimbo last competed mere weeks ago, dropping a
\nsplit call to Jonathan
\nMicallef<\/a> to lose his third straight. Posting on Instagram<\/a> giving his
\nthanks to supporters and farewell to the sport, Gorimbo declared
\nthat if he could not be a champion, he would not continue.<\/p>\n

Gorimbo made waves in the community by declaring after his first
\nUFC victory\u2014a decision over Takashi
\nSato<\/a> in 2023\u2014that he was flat broke, with a mere $7.49 in his
\nbank account. This garnered the attention of pro wrestling
\nsuperstar-turned-actor Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson, who explained
\nthat hearing Gorimbo\u2019s story reminded him of his own difficulties
\ncoming up as an athlete, right down to seven-dollar similarity.
\nJohnson surprised Gorimbo by purchasing him a house in Miami, which
\nallowed Gorimbo to sleep somewhere other than his gym of MMA
\nMasters.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not easy but I\u2019ve tried
\n
\nIn his post on Instagram<\/a>, Gorimbo
\nprovided an image of his last defeat, while explaining his decision
\nto call it a day in active competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you to [the] UFC and everyone,\u201d Gorimbo wrote. \u201cI dared to
\nbe someone and something and failed. Gave all I can in the sport
\nand I am walking away from the sport. My dream was to be a UFC
\nchampion and if I cannot be that I am going to walk away from the
\nsport. It\u2019s not easy but I\u2019ve tried.\u201d<\/p>\n

He continued, not entirely closing the door on MMA as a whole,
\n\u201cMaybe I will make a comeback as a coach or manager someday but for
\nnow the focus will be my family. Thank you to everyone I\u2019ve met on
\nthe journey and everyone who has helped me along the journey. I am
\nofficially retired as from MMA as an athlete. Thank you all.\u201d<\/p>\n

His self-proclaimed focus on family is a shift from
\nstatements he made in January<\/a> where he explained that he does
\nnot have any contact with any family members in his home country.
\nHe expressed that it was not simply that he ignored them, but
\nintentionally cut them out of his life to the point of blocking
\ntheir phone numbers and communications.<\/p>\n

The welterweight did plenty of good while a UFC fighter, as he
\nhelped dig and build water wells in his home city of Bikita. He
\nattempted to build a library as well, but later
\nalleged<\/a> that corruption in the local government resulted in its
\ncollapse.<\/p>\n