Themba Gorimbo has been facing betrayals every December. Back in December 2023, Colby Covington, who used to help the Zimbabwean by getting him food at the gym, kicked him out of the UFC PI while he was using the treadmill. And now, after he lost his bout against Vicente Luque with a first-round submission, his own family betrayed him.

During a recent conversation with the former NFL stars Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor, on their talk show, The Pivot Podcast, Gorimbo revealed the harsh reality of success. He said, “[My cousin] messaged me like the day after I lost this last fight, some of my cousins were celebrating my loss. They were all celebrating my loss. And they sent me a video of them in a place where we were 15 years ago… And these cousins of mine were celebrating my loss. Do you know how much that eats you? Because all I try to do is better for everybody.”

Needless to say, Gorimbo was in despair. He came from a past that was full of pain and suffering. There was a time when he used to work in blood diamond mines. But coming to the UFC gave him hope beyond measure. It took him no time to start a project of digging up bush pumps in his village, Bikita. He was also planning to build a free-accessible library that was powered by the sun in his village. But when his own family celebrated his loss, it seemed to have taken a huge toll on the welterweight fighter. 

ESPN MMA soon shared the footage of Gorimbo’s confession on Instagram. This pushed Derek Brunson to comment, “Nah This a marvel super villain movie for real.” Brady Hiestad also joined the conversation and wrote, “They aren’t family anymore.” But what did the fight fans have to say about the incident? Let’s find out. 

Themba Gorimbo’s story leaves the fighting community worried

Some of the fight fans offered Gorimbo a harsh reality check. One of them wrote, “Blood don’t make you family.” Jealousy is indeed a horrible poison. And it seems like the envious feelings were pretty strong in ‘The Answer’s slums. A fan commented, “Celebrating his loss from the slums. That’s all. They hate to see someone who grew up exactly how they did doing more now. It makes them uncomfortable about their own life.” One more fan added, “Everyone wanna see you doing good, until you doing better.”

A few of the fans agreed with Brunson. It was nothing short of a storyline for the rise of a villain (or a hero. Who knows?). One fan commented, “And so the villain arc begins.” But this was also a wake-up call for the welterweight contender. And he definitely has to get back up and rise even higher. One comment highlighted this and read, “gorimbo bout to turn up.”

Some of the fans also offered a bit of advice to ‘The Answer’. Such feelings of betrayal were often enough to push an entity to break the chains and cross the limits. One of the fans quoted, “make it motivation for you to be better at your job..show them that you are the best at this job.” Another fan advised, “Get to the top! Prove them all wrong!” Currently, on a 1-fight losing streak, the Zimbabwean has amassed 14 victories and 5 losses in his professional MMA career. Before he fought Luque, he was on a 4-fight win streak, which certainly shows how strong he is in the Octagon. With the fans’ push, we can expect him to go even higher. 

Gorimbo’s UFC journey began with just $7 in his bank account. Did you find the resemblance to Dwayne Johnson‘s origin story? Well, ‘The Rock’ also began his journey with just $7 in his pockets. Gorimbo’s struggle and the story of how he used all of the money he won with his MMA fight to build water pumps in his village. This left him with almost no money to get a roof over his head and food in his belly. That was the time when Colby Covington got him food. But things began to change when the WWE star gifted him a house in Florida. This not only gave him a place to stay and train but also propelled his popularity to greater heights.

What do you think of the situation that Gorimbo is currently in? Do you have any suggestions for ‘The Answer’? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.