Themba
Gorimbo is aiming straight for the stars after his first
stoppage win in the
Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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Gorimbo predicted a first round knockout win going into his third
Octagon outing and delivered on it at
UFC Fight Night 235. The South African sent Pete
Rodriguez crashing to the canvas with a thunderous right hand
and finished the bout with follow-up shots on the canvas before
referee Herb Dean stepped in to wave off the fight 32 seconds into
Round 1.
While he is currently unranked at welterweight, Gorimbo voiced his
aspiration to win UFC gold by the end of the year. In addition to
reigning champ Leon
Edwards, “The Answer” mentioned surging Kazakh contender
Shavkat
Rakhmonov as potential title fight opponents.
“This is business. Mr. Sean Shelby, I’d like the biggest
opportunities,” Gorimbo said in his post-fight interview. “I know
that when we get out of here, probably I’m getting the biggest
contract but I wanna fight the baddest guys. And I want to become
the champion in 2024. I’m here to win and become the champ, in
2024. Whether it’s Leon or Rakhmonov, it does not matter, I’m going
to beat them.”
Gorimbo has amassed quite a following for himself within a short
period in the UFC. After getting submitted in his UFC debut,
Gorimbo bounced back with a decision win over Takashi
Sato, which also brought him to the limelight. “The Answer”,
who grew up illegally mining diamonds in Zimbawe, revealed that he
had $7 in his bank account leading up to his sophomore UFC outing.
Gorimbo’s
story resonated with Hollywood and WWE superstar Dwayne “The
Rock” Johnson, who brought him a house in Florida and also got the
fighter a sponsorship deal with his ZOA Energy company. Gorimbo
also mentioned “The Rock” after his win over Rodriguez on Saturday.