Tag: Themba Gorimbo

UFC Fight Night 241’s Themba Gorimbo breaks down in tears after coach’s mother dies: ‘I’m going to win for him’

Themba Gorimbo was overcome with emotion during the UFC Fight Night 241 media day.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag] was overcome with emotion during the UFC Fight Night 241 media day.

Gorimbo (12-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) meets Ramiz Brahimaj (10-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) in a welterweight bout on Saturday’s main card (ESPN+) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Just a few hours before Wednesday’s media day, Gorimbo received the news that his coach’s mother died. He couldn’t hold back the tears when addressing his coach, and plans on dedicating this win for him.

“I’m going to win in spectacular fashion for my coach whose mother just died like two hours ago,” Gorimbo said. “He’s been here with me for eight weeks. He tells me his mother is sick with cancer. He never told me it was that bad. I just say to him, ‘OK, after the fight, we go back to South Africa together.’

“I didn’t have a plan to go there, but I was going to go with him to see his mother. I’m going to win for him. It is what it is. … It’s not (weight) on my shoulders. I’ve been wanting to do that anyway because he sacrificed the past eight weeks of his life. Obviously, I pay him to be here, helping me get better with my wrestling and stuff, but I cannot bring his mother back.”

After dropping his UFC debut in February 2023, Gorimbo scored back-to-back wins over Takashi Sato, and a knockout of Pete Rodriguez in February.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 241.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC, PFL, Bellator fights announced in the past week (Feb. 26-March 3)

Check out the UFC, PFL and Bellator fights that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC, PFL, and Bellator.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Feb. 26-March 3.

Themba Gorimbo has path to 2024 UFC welterweight title fight mapped out – but needs some help

UFC welterweight Themba Gorimbo sees a title fight in his future this 2024.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag] plans to do what few have done in UFC history – go from unranked to champion in one calendar year.

The UFC welterweight envisions himself fighting for and winning the UFC belt this 2024 despite only having three fights in the promotion and not yet being seen as a title contender in the division.

It may be a tough buy for some, but Gorimbo (12-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC), who picked up a first-round KO win at UFC Fight Night 235 this past Saturday, is convinced that he’ll have a quick and unconventional path to the title.

“It’s going to happen,” Gorimbo told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 235 post-fight press conference. “What’s going to happen is that it’s going to be something like a short-notice fight with a top-10 (opponent). I’ll beat him, and then I’ll make my case. It’s not going to be a clear pathway (where) I have to fight through the rankings. I don’t have to do that. When I look at it, I have a big platform. Secondly, I have the skill and I’m a bad fight for anyone in the top 10. They might not think of it, but I am.”

Gorimbo is 2-0 since losing by submission in his UFC debut. He defeated Takashi Sato by decision last May, and knocked out Rodriguez this Saturday.

The 33-year-old made a big splash outside the octagon with his viral reaction video to movie star and WWE wrestler Dwayne Johnson gifting him a house to live in after sleeping at his gym and only having a few dollars to his name.

Gorimbo has a feeling things will work out in his favor and he’ll be fighting for the belt unexpectedly. He thinks he’ll either beat champion Leon Edwards or unbeaten title contender Shavkat Rakhmonov.

“It’s not going to be the case where I have to go top 15, top 10, top five,” Gorimbo said. “For me, I don’t wish anyone to get injured, but someone is going to get out of the fight. The UFC is going to send them a name, and the name is Themba Gorimbo, and they’ll have no choice but to accept it. And then I go in there and do my job, win, and it will be Leon or Rakhmonov. I believe those are the two guys at the top when I get there.”

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.

UFC Fight Night 235 post-event facts: Randy Brown is on the rise

Check out all the facts from UFC Fight Night 235, which saw Randy Brown continue his run of success in the loaded welterweight division.

The UFC opened its four-event February schedule Saturday with UFC Fight Night 235, which took place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag] (13-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) achieved his first octagon main event win to close out the card when he outworked [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag] (12-3 MMA, 6-3 UFC) to a majority decision in their matchup of ranked UFC middleweights.

For more on the numbers behind the headliner, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from UFC Fight Night 235.

UFC Fight Night 235 Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay: Drew Dober’s $21,000 tops card

UFC Fight Night 235 fighters took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay, a program that continued after the UFC’s deal with Venum.

LAS VEGAS – Fighters from Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 235 event took home UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance pay totaling $170,500.

The program, a comprehensive plan that includes outfitting requirements, media obligations and other items under the fighter code of conduct, replaces the previous payments made under the UFC Athlete Outfitting Policy.

UFC Fight Night 235 took place at the UFC Apex. The entire card streamed on ESPN+.

The full UFC Fight Night 235 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts included:

* * * *

[autotag]Nassourdine Imavov[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Roman Dolidze[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Renato Moicano[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Drew Dober[/autotag]: $21,000

[autotag]Randy Brown[/autotag]: $16,000
def. [autotag]Muslim Salikhov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Natalia Silva[/autotag]: $4,500
def. [autotag]Viviane Araujo[/autotag]: $11,000

[autotag]Aliaskhab Khizriev[/autotag]: $4,000
vs. [autotag]Makhmud Muradov[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charlie Radtke[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Gilbert Urbina[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Molly McCann[/autotag]: $11,000
def. [autotag]Diana Belbita[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Charles Johnson[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Azat Maksum[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Pete Rodriguez[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jeong Yeong Lee[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Blake Bilder[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Luana Carolina[/autotag]: $6,000
def. [autotag]Julija Stoliarenko[/autotag]: $6,000

[autotag]Marquel Mederos[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Landon Quinones[/autotag]: $4,000

[autotag]Jamal Pogues[/autotag]: $4,000
def. [autotag]Thomas Petersen[/autotag]: $4,000

Under the UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance program’s payout tiers, which appropriate the money generated by Venum’s multi-year sponsorship with the UFC, fighters are paid based on their total number of UFC bouts, as well as Zuffa-era WEC fights (January 2007 and later) and Zuffa-era Strikeforce bouts (April 2351 and later). Fighters with 1-3 bouts receive $4,000 per appearance; 4-5 bouts get $4,500; 6-10 bouts get $6,000; 11-15 bouts earn $11,000; 16-20 bouts pocket $16,000; and 21 bouts and more get $21,000. Additionally, champions earn $42,000 while title challengers get $32,000.

In addition to experience-based pay, UFC fighters will receive in perpetuity royalty payments amounting to 20-30 percent of any UFC merchandise sold that bears their likeness, according to officials.

Full 2024 UFC Promotional Guidelines Compliance payouts:

Year-to-date total: $615,500
2023 total: $8,188,000
2022 total: $8,351,500
2021 total: $6,167,500
Program-to-date total: $23,322,500

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.

UFC Fight Night 235 video: Hear from each winner, guest fighters backstage

Check out what the UFC Fight Night 235 winners and guest fighters had to say backstage at Saturday’s event.

LAS VEGAS – UFC Fight Night 235 took place Saturday with 13 bouts on the lineup. We’ve got you covered with backstage winner interviews from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

You can hear from all the UFC Fight Night 235 winners by checking out their post-fight news conferences below.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.

UFC Fight Night 235 video: Themba Gorimbo starches Pete Rodriguez for 32-second TKO

Themba Gorimbo only needed 32 seconds to get the job done – and it’s likely somewhere his pal Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was watching.

[autotag]Themba Gorimbo[/autotag] needed only 32 seconds to get the job done Saturday at the UFC Apex – and it’s likely somewhere his pal Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was watching.

On the UFC Fight Night 235 prelims in Las Vegas, Gorimbo (12-4 MMA, 2-1 UFC) starched opponent [autotag]Pete Rodriguez[/autotag] (5-2 MMA, 1-2 UFC) for a quick TKO victory.

A big right hand initially dropped Rodriguez. A bunch of follow-up punches finished off the job soon thereafter.

As was highlighted throughout the broadcast, Gorimbo has become a close friend with WWE star and actor “The Rock,” who bought him a house in 2023. “The Rock” was inspired by Gorimbo’s story of growing up in poverty in Zimbabwe – and having only $7 in his bank account while trying to make it as an MMA fighter.

“The Rock” then surprised Gorimbo with a new place to live. Gorimbo has since promised to pay the good deed forward by launching efforts to build infrastructure for clean drinking water in Africa.

Two hours prior to Gorimbo’s fight Saturday, “The Rock” wished him well on social media.

Gorimbo has now won back-to-back fights and three of his most recent four. Rodriguez moves to 1-2 in his most recent three.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Fight Night 235 results include:

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 235.

Matchup Roundup: New UFC fights announced in the past week (Jan. 1-7)

All the UFC fight announcements that were first reported or confirmed by MMA Junkie in the past week.

MMA fight announcements are hard to follow. With so many outlets and channels available, it’s nearly impossible to organize.

But here at MMA Junkie, we’ve got your back.

Each week, we’ll compile all the newly surfaced fights in one spot. Every Monday, expect a feature listing everything you might have missed from the UFC.

Here are the fight announcements that were broken or confirmed by MMA Junkie or officially announced by the promotions from Jan. 1-7.

Two more fighters withdraw from UFC Fight Night 235 in Las Vegas

The UFC Fight Night 235 lineup Feb. 3 has faced multiple changes in recent days, putting the matchmakers to work early in 2024.

The UFC’s 2024 schedule hasn’t even begun, but that doesn’t mean the matchmakers aren’t having to make some repairs already.

UFC Fight Night 235, which is slated for Feb. 3 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and is headlined by Roman Dolidze vs. Nassourdine Imavov, has encountered a pair of withdrawals recently.

Check out the changes and full UFC Fight Night 235 lineup below: